Port Adelaide Blueprint: Power strong chance to win 2015 flag, writes David King

IF PORT Adelaide doesn’t finish inside the top four in 2015, something has gone drastically wrong, writes David King.

Fox Footy 2012. David King. Photojohn Tsiavis 1456

KEN Hinkley has changed football.

His Port Adelaide players’ commitment to run until they drop, regardless of the score, looks to continue or recapture momentum.

Most teams slow the game down once they’ve lost momentum, put an extra defender down back, kill two or three minutes of football and hopefully reset in an attempt to stem the bleeding.

JACKPOT: POWER’S PUNT ON WINES PAYS OFF

Not Port Adelaide.

Hinkley embraces the Power’s endurance running advantage and challenges his troops to put more speed into the game in an attempt to score.

If that doesn’t eventuate, he believes the opposition will tire late and the benefits will flow.

Port Adelaide’s Jared Polec was one of the most improved players in the AFL in 2014. Picture: Sarah Reed

PROS

PLAYERS love to play Hinkley’s plan as their flair and dare is accentuated, not managed or harnessed.

Port has the most effective counter-attacking game from the half-back line in the competition as its run is rewarded with possessions.

Port is:

FOURTH for total possessions — everyone gets some leather;

FOURTH for total handballs — run and you’ll be rewarded on the overlap; and

FIRST for playing on from marks and counter-attack speed — it’s positive football, all go, all the time.

The midfield has the perfect blend of ball winners, receivers and uncontested weaponry. Robbie Gray, Travis Boak and Ollie Wines are all top 15 in the key toughness indicators and, along with Kane Cornes, top 20 for total disposals.

Port Adelaide’s Ollie Wines is well on his way to elite status. Picture: Colleen Petch

Gray and Boak are lauded, and rightly so, and Wines is fast-tracking to elite status. Of all second-year players Champion Data has recorded Wines’ average 101 SuperCoach points ranks him fifth behind Chris Judd, Nick Dal Santo, Nathan Fyfe and Heath Shaw.

The Port Adelaide recruiting department has orchestrated a list of pure midfield class, endurance beasts and more pertinently they have an age-layered list profile without gaps or voids.

Jason Cripps will soon be held in the same esteem as Stephen Wells, Scott Clayton and others, because he’s made every selection count. Matthew White and Jared Polec were last season’s additions and securing Patrick Ryder this year highlights Cripps’ effectiveness.

Port Adelaide 2015 blueprint.

CONS

PORT Adelaide’s depth, particularly in the back line, has not been tested.

Does the Power have the reinforcements to cope with injuries to Alipate Carlile, Tom Jonas and Jack Hombsch?

Sydney and Port Adelaide have used the fewest players over the past two seasons. Had Power endured the number of injuries Hawthorn did in 2014, it wouldn’t have been there when the whips were cracking.

The biggest challenge for Port Adelaide is embracing expectation while remaining grounded.

Will Polec and Wines continue their improvement or falter after a season of much personal success?

Port Adelaide will be hoping Chad Wingard can have a more consistent season in 2015. Picture: Michael Klein

Can Chad Wingard reassert himself on the competition consistently?

Port was two wins and percentage clear of the rest after Round 12, but then lost seven of the last 11 home-and-away games. Five of those seven were lost by less than two kicks.

At Geelong, they have players who simply win those games for the team.

Did Port Adelaide miss its opportunity?

Port must start winning at the MCG. The Power lost both opportunities this season and are two from five at the home of AFL football over the past two years.

If Port Adelaide does not finish top four in 2015, then something has gone drastically wrong, because most judges will have them either playing off or winning the Grand Final.

Is it just me, or does Travis Boak look destined to hold the premiership cup aloft?

blueprint: POWER | Create Infographics