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Coaches of Port Adelaide and Carlton say a need for speed will be crucial in Sunday's AFL match at the Gabba.

Port Adelaide coach Ken Hinkley and his Carlton counterpart David Teague are promising one thing in Sunday's AFL clash of their emerging clubs.

Speed. And lots of it.

Hinkley's Power are renowned for speed, with a desire for breakneck ball movement a trait in their ladder-leading season.

And Teague's Blues are demonstrating a similar attacking style which has helped lift them into eighth spot ahead of Sunday's Gabba clash.

"We want to play a high-scoring game," Teague said.

"And they (Port) have been playing some great football.

"We have got to make sure our pressure is strong, we have got to match them in the contest.

"They move the ball nice and quick. The lucky thing for us is, we try and move the ball quick at training so hopefully defensively we're used to playing those types of teams."

Port's need for speed has resulted in five wins from six games - and the highest scoring average in the competition.

But Hinkley said focusing on only the scores could be misleading.

"We have got some speed in our team, there's no doubt, " he said.

"And the quarters being a little shorter ... the rotations are the same, so you do get to keep them (players) reasonably fresh, that allows them to use their speed.

"Our team hopefully does have that pressure of defence. We see the good teams, they're all capable of putting real speed on you in defence.

"If you can do that, you can give yourself a chance."

To increase Port's chances, Hinkley knows his side must quell Carlton captain Patrick Cripps, who hurt a shoulder in a 13-disposal game in the Blues' 52-point trouncing of Western Bulldogs last weekend.

But the Power coach will be reluctant to deploy a hard tag on Carlton's prime mover.

"The collective for us has been the answer for us this year and we are going to stick in that space as much as we possibly can," Hinkley said.

"He has been a first-class player for a long time for them and he's really important, but we will do our best collectively to limit the damage."