The Crows have nominal hosting rights at Adelaide Oval for Thursday night's latest grudge game between the South Australian rivals.
Nicks' Crows have beaten Port in three of the last four meetings between the clubs, including twice last season, but the overall ledger stands level at 27 wins each.
"Our guys enjoy the battle," Nicks said.
"It's something that we've prided ourselves on and maybe haven't had as much as we would like this year so far.
"We enjoy the fight, we enjoy the battle - and Showdowns are always that."
After four consecutive losses to open their season, the Crows stunned Carlton in round five - and then lost to Essendon in a slip-up followed by a win over the struggling Kangaroos.
"We're trying to now build some momentum," Nicks said.
"We came off our last win and had a really disappointing performance which we look back on, we want to make sure we make amends for that.
"We want to play a similar brand to what we played on the weekend against North Melbourne.
"We ... have a huge amount of respect for Port Adelaide, we know they're near the top of the ladder for a reason and so we know it's going to be harder for us to get the game on our terms.
"It doesn't mean it's going to be any harder for us to live our values and play the way we want to play."
Port (fifth, 5-2) have summoned Ryan Burton and Jed McEntee to replace injured pair Sam Powell-Pepper (knee reconstruction) and Aliir Aliir (concussion).
The Crows (12th, 2-5) will debut 19-year-old Daniel Curtin, with Brodie Smith and Jordon Butts returning at the expense of Luke Pedlar (shoulder) and axed duo Will Hamill and James Borlase.
"All I know is that I take nothing for granted in a Showdown," Power coach Ken Hinkley said.
"We have got to be at our absolute best to give ourselves a chance to win the game.
"The Crows are building. We've been solid.
"So it would suggest to me that it's a pretty even game right from the very start, but Showdowns tend to end up even right to the end."
9°C