Hinkley still the boss at Port, says his successor

"It doesn't really feel much different," Carr told reporters on Wednesday.

"Having a focus with what my job is at the moment, for me it's making sure that we're ready to go for round one, that's where it's at.

"Obviously it's out there and it's done and now our focus is about the season 2025."

Midfield coach Carr said he won't be assuming greater responsibility on game day from Hinkley, who is entering his 13th season as head coach.

"The way that we work together, I think it's really clear with what our roles are," he said.

"And the players still fully know that Ken is the boss and he's the coach and that's where it sits.

"Nothing changes for me, game day it's the same thing.

"The only thing that's changed for me is I have more involvement in list management and talking to the recruiting team about what it looks like going forward."

Port open their premiership season on March 15 against Collingwood at the MCG without dynamic midfielder Zak Butters.

The dual All Australian and winner of Port's past two best-and-fairest awards had arthroscopic surgery on a knee and will miss between five and seven weeks.

"We're not going to rush it with Zak, it's important that we've got him longer than shorter," Carr said.

"Around the midfield I don't feel like we ever rely on the one person.

"So there's a number of players that obviously we've got going through there and a number of options ... it's up to everyone just to do that a little bit more.

"We feel like we're lucky in that area."

Key defender Esava Ratugolea is also unlikely to feature in round one as he recovers from hurting the medial meniscus cartilage in a knee at training on February 10.

Carr said a round two return for Ratugolea was likely.