How Ken Hinkley has Power players singing from the same hymn book and enjoying the ride ahead of AFL finals

Exactly what Ken Hinkley was saying to his players in the rooms on Monday night remains a secret but the mood is clearly evident.

Tom Rockliff and Riley Bonner celebrate a goal against Collingwood. Picture: Quinn Rooney/Getty Images.

Exactly what Ken Hinkley was saying to his players in the rooms on Monday night remains a secret but their reaction after securing the minor premiership against Collingwood said it all.

Power players sat in front of their coach after the 16-point win at the Gabba and broke into fits of laughter and applause while he held court at the front of the room.

“Look at the faces of these players ... whatever Ken is selling, they’re buying it in truckloads,” Fox Footy’s Garry Lyon said.

Ollie Wines told News Corp it was along the lines of making sure they enjoy the ride which now leads to a qualifying final at home against Geelong next week.

“He was just geeing us up to get around each other after the game,” Wines said.

“He was certainly up and about and that’s probably been the trend of our whole season to really enjoy what we’re doing.

“I’m obviously biased but I’ve never seen a team and a list work this hard together and we’ve had fun doing it and that’s helped us.

“And now we’re back at the hotel to have a beer with each other and reflect on the season and understand where we’re heading and what we want to achieve.”

Ollie Wines says the Power is enjoying the ride. Picture: Michael Willson/Getty Images

Brad Ebert told Fox Footy Hinkley had challenged the team to defend top spot which they did the entire season.

“And after the game he reiterated that and said ‘boys, we’ve done that, let’s enjoy it, let’s have a bit of fun and keep going from here’,” Ebert said.

The Power has had plenty of fun this year. From instigating the foot-stomping rendition of the team song after beating Fremantle in round 3 to putting a fist-pumping Hinkley in the middle after he celebrated AFL life membership in round 6 to the introduction of a drum in round 16, they are savouring every moment of a season many thought may never happen.

Now that they’ve finished on top, Wines said it gave the team confidence for finals rather than heaped pressure on it.

“It’s a tremendous job by the boys and the footy club, we could have been complacent and having top two locked up could have gone through the motions going into finals, but we made a bit of a goal to finish the season off well,” he said of beating Collingwood on Monday.

“We’d been on top of the ladder for 17 rounds and we’d come this far so why drop the ball now? And keep the momentum going into the finals.

“To be able to execute and finish the season on a high is terrific.

“We know the type of footy we’ve been playing to finish on top, it’s an incredibly tough league and to do that after 17 games is a feat in itself.

“It doesn’t do anything for anyone else but I know it gives us confidence to know where we’re at and what we’re able to do.”

Even Charlie Dixon was made to earn his spot back in the SANFL last year.

Hinkley has not been afraid to make hard calls at selection, dropping Brad Ebert and Tom Rockliff this year, leaving Justin Westhoff out of the side and making Wines and even Charlie Dixon play in the reserves last year.

“It’s been a bold move by Ken this year to back guys in and keep guys on notice, but it’s been a trend of our whole footy club the last two years and it’s sort of shaped us into who we want to be,” Wines said.

“With the character of the players we have at this footy club we all want success, and know that Kenny and all the coaches want that, they’re making the calls to get the best out of us and if it requires some tough love or honest feedback at times, I think we have the individuals to cope with that and get their best footy out of it.”

The Power plays Geelong which beat it by 10 goals last month and Wines said the players would be prepared.

“The thing from that game was we reviewed it as if we were going to play them again and funnily enough we face them first week of finals,” he said.

“We learnt a lot of lessons there, they’re a quality team and I think we’ll hopefully be able to implement those lessons on our home deck and give a good showing.”

Hinkley addresses his players during their round 18 clash with the Magpies

Despite finishing on top, Port Adelaide is $2 outsiders to beat the Cats at $1.80 with the bookies and remain only third favourite for the flag.

But Lyon says it’s time the competition woke up to what the Power could do next month.

“Don’t worry about this narrative that you don’t have respect, you have, and you’re in this premiership race right up to your ears,” Lyon said.

“I don’t think anyone had Port on top at the start of the year and they’ve defied everyone.”

Riewoldt added that it was a credit to Hinkley and the club’s attitude in the Covid-impacted season.

“They had the right attitude from the get-go, they spoke about opportunity and what’s possible for this group. So when some clubs were talking about the challenges that this all presents, no, no, Ken Hinkley was always focused on the possibility and what was the opportunity for this group,” Riewoldt said.

News.com.au