Port Adelaide shows it's a pressure power

ANALYSIS: PRESSURE. There was a time the mere whisper of the word made Port Adelaide teams fold, melt and crack. Every Port player rated

PRESSURE. There was a time the mere whisper of the word made Port Adelaide teams fold, melt and crack.

But that was before Ken Hinkley arrived in the summer demanding his new Port Adelaide live to a theme of "never give up" and could again go to the MCG to play Geelong in a final without fear.

SCROLL DOWN FOR REECE HOMFRAY'S RATINGS OF EVERY POWER PLAYER

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Few would have expected the Power to have been within seven points of the smarting Cats at the last change. At half-time, Port's 23-point lead Geelong marked the first time the Power had an advantage at a break against the Cats since August 26, 2007. It lost by 16, a marked improvement on the 56-point average in the previous nine losses since 2007.

2nd Semi-Final Geelong v Port Adelaide

Few can begrudge Port some credit - and respect - for pushing Geelong to the line in last night's epic semi-final at the MCG. They never gave up, even if they again let a game slip in the third term.

Tactically, the Power was - true to Hinkley's mantra of defence first - built with a "plus-two" system of six core defenders and two rebound men in the back half of the field. The most-damaging of these two extra defenders is Kane Cornes, whose game under Hinkley has progressed to far more than a shutdown specialist.

The way Hinkley's defence - once the weak spot of the old Port - initially soaked up pressure and held up against a heavy barrage of inside-50 sorties by the opposition forced Geelong coach Chris Scott to turn his best defender, Harry Taylor, into a forward in the 18th minute of the second term. The Cats did have just three goals at half-time.

2nd Semi-Final Geelong v Port Adelaide

Despite conceding two forwards for a "plus-two" back half, the Power lacked nothing in potency from a "minimal" attack that works to four men, the talls of Jay Schulz and Justin Westhoff and the smalls of Chad Wingard and Angus Monfries. All that uncluttered space made Monfries so damaging the first half that it begs the question: Did the Cats worry so much about Wingard that they ignored how Monfries has been playing like a player who lives for September?

But between Port's solid defence and opportunistic attack the biggest question mark - that stood in the way of the Power's fairytale conversion from basket case to respected AFL competitor - was Geelong's midfield and the Cats' pride. And Port's problem with third quarters.

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Geelong's control of the third term was so overwhelming that Port's defence became a "plus-12" unit against the quick work of wingmen Travis Varcoe and Matthew Stokes and the class of Paul Chapman, Joel Selwood, Steve Johnson and James Kelly. The Power players became confused. Pressure from the masters of the best football played in the past six years stood out.

REECE HOMFRAY RATES THE PORT ADELAIDE PLAYERS:

Travis Boak 7
Busy at both ends of the ground and led from the front when playing on the ball. Had 26 disposals and was solid as the skipper.

Matthew Broadbent 7
Trusted with the kick-ins and played a decent game in defence before shifted onto the ball in the final quarter to kick a goal.

Angus Monfries 8
His hard ball get in the first five minutes set the tone and he only got better. Kicked one goal and set two others up. Brilliant.

Brad Ebert 6
Got Port's first goal and spent time going head-to-head with Joel Selwood. Consistent effort.

Hamish Hartlett 6
Had 10 disposals in the first quarter and appeared to struggle with a sore shoulder but kicked a big goal with two minutes remaining.

Robbie Gray 6
Livewire up forward, won the footy in and under and kicked a goal right on half time.

Jackson Trengove 8
Blanketed James Podsiadly who was kept goalless and showed a ferocious attack on the footy so a job well done.

Cameron O'Shea 8
Terrific performance dropping back to mark the footy across half back and not afraid to take the game on.

Oliver Wines 5
Played like the raging bull he is, winning contested footy and had quick hands but didn't dominate.

Kane Cornes 6
Tenacious, tackled and showed good foot skills. But costly when caught holding the footy in front of goal in final term.

Chad Wingard 6
Fast start and one of the few who had a cool head early. More hard ball gets than flair but not quite his All-Australian form of the season.

Matthew Lobbe 8
Clutch first quarter goal and took crucial marks in defence, not to mention his 28 hit-outs.

Domenic Cassisi 7
Good job on Stevie Johnson. Tough, uncompromising, at times wayward disposal but good leadership.

Andrew Moore 5
Honest effort with 18 touches and seven tackles without setting the world on fire.

Alipate Carlile 6
Kept Tom Hawkins to two kicks in the first half, then conceded two goals to him in the third quarter. Call it square.

Jay Schulz 6
Pushed up the ground to present an option, flattened Stevie J in the second term then stepped up to kick a massive goal in the third quarter.

Jasper Pittard 7
Very reliable and was often the third-man up to help teammates in contests and generated run from defence.

Sam Colquhoun 5
Good run from the backline and far from over-awed for an 18-year-old. Had 13 disposals then subbed out.

Justin Westhoff 8
Started forward then sent to pinch-hit in the ruck and kicked three goals including a miracle from the boundary in the last quarter.

Aaron Young 3
Subbed into the game at three-quarter-time and crashed in for three touches.

Tom Jonas 5
Set his side up nicely across half back and didn't do much wrong under pressure.

Tom Logan 5
Solid as usual and kicked an important second quarter goal but quiet after that.