Port Adelaide coach Ken Hinkley has Power midfielders better prepared to deal with West Coast intercept defenders
PORT Adelaide is determined to “limit the damage” with the West Coast defence in AFL qualifying final
PORT Adelaide coach Ken Hinkley is wiser to dealing with the “unusual” West Coast defence that has given the Eagles a remarkable unbeaten record against the Power at Adelaide Oval.
“It is an unusual style of defensive football from their back six,” noted Hinkley in the lead-up to Saturday’s AFL elimination final at Adelaide Oval, the fourth Power-Eagles game at the new AFL venue.
The third was notable for West Coast’s loaded defence picking off the majority of Port Adelaide’s 68 inside-50s to craft a 10-point win off just 39 inside-50s to the open Eagles attack at Adelaide Oval.
“We’ve improved our understanding of the way they set up their defence,” Hinkley said on Radio FIVEaa on Tuesday evening.
“Tom Barrass, Eric McKenzie, Jeremy McGovern and Elliot Yeo ... they are a great intercept team. And we can’t afford to have them intercept too often. It is about making sure we limit the damage.”
Port Adelaide proved it was wiser to dealing with the Eagles in Round 16 on July 9 at Subiaco Oval where the Power charged to a 32-point win - ending the three-game losing steak to West Coast, all at Adelaide Oval by 10, eight and 10 points.
The win against the Eagles is one of two victories against top-eight rivals achieved in nine games by the Power this year. The other was in the season-opener against Sydney at the SCG that ended another long-running drought for Port Adelaide.
Hinkley dismisses the statistics that point to the Power being the worst-performed of the top-eight teams in the head-to-head count with fellow finalists.
“We’re capable of beating anyone in the top eight - and that’s the challenge,” Hinkley said. “It now comes down to who will play the best four weeks of football, as we saw with the Western Bulldogs (from seventh spot) last year.”
Hinkley faces an intriguing selection meeting at Alberton on Thursday when the Power has to consider the experience of defender Matthew Broadbent and utility Jackson Trengove to deal with the imposing West Coast forwards, Josh Kennedy and Jack Darling along with ruckman Drew Petrie in attack.
But Hinkley is not fearing taking as many as 10 AFL final novices to the knock-out final.
“We will select the best players who give us the chance to win Saturday night,” Hinkley said. “If they are playing well enough, they deserve the chance. Age and games played does not matter - you pick them if they make the team better.”
michelangelo.rucci@news.com.au