Port Adelaide captain Travis Boak doesn’t want to hear any finals talk as his club seeks to end an AFL hoodoo.

Port, clinging to eighth spot, return to a venue which haunts them, Etihad Stadium, to play St Kilda on Saturday night.

The Power have lost their past eight matches at the venue – the club’s longest losing stretch at any ground.

“We have let teams play that indoor, uncontested footy and we haven’t been able to bring our shutdown defensive style,” Boak told reporters on Monday.

“We love playing in Melbourne … we just need to make sure we bring our style of footy.

“I don’t think the ground matters at all. Whether it’s something in our mind or our preparation, we just haven’t been able to bring our style of game to Etihad.”

Port remain a win clear of Carlton and West Coast and in the frame to return to the finals for the first time since 2007, but Boak said players were focused solely on the Saints.

“We are not thinking about anything down the track. We are not thinking about finals,” he said.

“We are just concentrating on bringing that style of footy that is going to match it with the top sides.

“As boring as it sounds … when you look too far ahead, that is when you slide off and start losing games that you shouldn’t.”

Port broke even in a demanding month against competition powerhouses – beating Sydney and Collingwood then losing to Essendon and Hawthorn.

“It has been a pretty positive month … we have learnt a lot over the last four weeks,” Boak said.

“We have got a lot of positive energy, a lot of confidence in the group that we can match it with the top sides.”