That doesn't surprise me too much simply because SDK gets more of the ball and disposals would be valued higher than hitouts which are a bit of a nothing stat.
The caveat would be when a ruck is so dominant in the hit outs that it gives their midfield group a big advantage in clearances, which would be my concern if playing SDK against Port. I think we match or beat port in most areas of the ground, but their midfield have the ability to take the game away from us. So, if we can just neutralise that it goes a long way to winning the match and maybe Stanley is the lower risk, lower reward option (although maybe not). That said Blicavs has done ok down back, and it's not like Sweet is a world beater, so maybe worth rolling the dice.
