How will Port Adelaide fans view the Power’s 2023 season?

The Power’s season has ended in home finals in three of the past four seasons, but not all tough losses are made equally, so where did it go wrong for the Power this year? Have your say here.

Port Adelaide season analysis 2023

Rightly or wrongly the microscope is back on Port Adelaide and Ken Hinkley.

As sure as GWS’ social media content being extremely strong in September, the questions about whether the Power went too early in re-signing its senior coach prior to finals quickly came after the Giants’ ended Port Adelaide’s season on Saturday night.

Post-game Hinkley himself acknowledged the criticism and questions that is set to come his and the Power’s way, and the rising tension after another knockout finals loss.

Whether this is reasonable or not might just come down to whether you are an optimist or a pessimist.

The glass half full approach to Port’s season is that what were the Power actually expected to do in 2023?

After Port’s 2022 season, the Power weren’t really tipped to contend in 2023 - despite prelims in 2020 and 2021.

Ahead of the season in News Corp’s AFL team’s predictions only three people had the Power returning to the top eight.

This author was one of them, but had them sixth.

The big positive out of the Power’s 2023 is the performances of its midfield.

Hinkley and his coaches leave the field after the loss to the Giants. (Photo by James Elsby/AFL Photos via Getty Images)

In Connor Rozee, Zak Butters and Jason Horne-Francis they have the next great midfield in the AFL.

In 2023 the Power’s midfield was one of the best, if not the best in the competition, and it is scary how much those three can improve as they get older.

For a second-year player Horne-Francis’ game against the Giants was a rare positive for the Power, with 20 disposals, four clearances, six score involvements and a goal.

Willie Rioli’s end to the season was very good, Miles Bergman has emerged as a key part of the Power’s future.

The glass half empty approach is that again the Power have not been able to get the job done in a cutthroat final game.

In fact for the second time in three years the Power barely showed up in the first half of its most important game of the season.

There are differences between this season and 2021.

The Power seemed to limp into finals this year, with players carrying knocks and inconsistent form to end the year.

In 2021 before the demolition at the hands of the Western Bulldogs it seemed like the Power had everything aligning nicely for a grand final appearance before it was jumped from the outset.

Connor Rozee and Zak Butters took another giant step forward. (Photo by James Elsby/AFL Photos via Getty Images)

As the Power went on its club-record 13-game winning streak, at one point Port Adelaide were installed as second favourites for the flag by bookies.

Going from this to a straight sets exit will leave a bitter taste in the mouth of many Port fans.

But the things the Power might have been able to get away with in the home and away season, you can’t in finals footy.

The defence is a massive worry after the Power went from being the third-stingiest team ahead of finals two years ago to the seventh-leakiest.

No wonder the Power are in for key defenders Esava Ratugolea and Brandon Zerk-Thatcher but are they going to change things back there?

The Power stumbled on an absolute find with Aliir Aliir’s move back to defence, and they will be praying lightning strikes twice for the undersized backline.

But now there now looks to be some issues up the other end of the ground with the Power’s key forward stocks.

It means for all the steps the Power might have taken this year, the inability to again get over the hump means it’s going to be a long summer of questions around where Port Adelaide is going and whether the path it has chosen is the right one.