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When other supporters draw frustration from their team’s inconsistency, Port Adelaide supporters have been engulfed in jubilation by their team’s likelihood of making the finals a year after being labelled the league’s basket case.
In the past two weeks, Port Adelaide has played their two best games of football since 2007, the year they made the Grand Final.
Victory last week against Sydney could have been touted as a fluke or an off day for the Swans but by backing up a week later against Collingwood in dominant fashion, Port Adelaide now have eight wins and five losses.
While ‘the lid’ is well and truly glued shut and Port Adelaide are far from guaranteed a finals appearance, Ken Hinkley has his men playing football capable of making the finals. Even better, it is the young kids that have taken leadership of the team and leading by example.
Ollie Wines has been a revelation for the Power and with his performance on the weekend, he may become the first ever substitute to poll a Brownlow vote.
He and fellow high-draftee Chad Wingard look to have mastered the one-two run and carry through the corridor which Hinkley formulated during his days at Geelong as the midfield coach. Additionally, Travis Boak, Alipate Carlile, Justin Westhoff and Hamish Hartlett are all reaping the rewards of extending their contracts with Port Adelaide during the club’s darkest times.
It should be no surprise that Hinkley is successfully bringing fast and attractive football to Alberton because he was instrumental in the emergence of Geelong’s dynasty building team.
There can be no denying that Port Adelaide has had the easiest fixture in the league so far though. Of their eight wins, two of those have came against GWS, one against Gold Coast and one against Melbourne.
Their wins against reputable teams have come against West Coast, Adelaide, Sydney and Collingwood.
Port Adelaide’s form fluctuation would normally be a concern but it shouldn’t be. Hinkley’s first season at the helm got off to a flyer with five wins in the first five rounds. But the Power was bought back to reality with five consecutive losses in the following five weeks.
Playing Melbourne, GWS and Gold Coast in their opening block of five wins subtracts from the credibility of those victories. Playing against poor football teams also has a flow on effect of lowering the overall quality of football across both teams.
The block of five losses against North Melbourne, Richmond, Carlton, Geelong and the Western Bulldogs was a necessary wake up call. It allowed Ken Hinkley to trial various tactics to understand what his player are capable of and what they are not.
Port Adelaide’s performance against Sydney and Collingwood suggests he now has his team figured out.
In Port Adelaide’s eight winning games, they averaged 392.5 possessions as a team with 147 of those being contested.
In Port Adelaide’s losses, they averaged 330.4 possessions as a team with 132 of those being contested.
The signature of Geelong’s gameplay when Hinkley was at Geelong was retention of possession through the corridor with an abundance of outside midfielders and continuous handballing. It was very rare that the team did not reach 400 possessions. If they did, they would go on to win.
What’s most impressive is the adaptability of Port Adelaide. In these past two week when they have played the two best games of their season, they have played two completely different styles of football.
Sydney is renowned for their contested possession and their tackling pressure around the football.
Against Sydney, Port Adelaide won the possession count by 34 and the contested possession count by 13. It was the biggest margin all season that Sydney lost the contested possession count by.
Fast forward one week and Port Adelaide played free flowing football where Hinkley outcoached his Collingwood counterpart across every single aspect of football. The men in teal racked up a season high 419 possessions.
While Port Adelaide are sitting precariously in the top eight at the moment, they still have to play Essendon, Hawthorn, St Kilda, Brisbane, Adelaide, Geelong, Gold Coast, Fremantle and Carlton.
Wins against St Kilda, Brisbane and Gold Coast are expected which would bring Port Adelaide to 11 wins but that will not be enough to make the finals this year. They will need an additional two or more wins to appear in September and based on their past two weeks, it is within their capability.
Regardless of how the remainder of Port Adelaide’s year pans out, there can be no denying that the season has been a success.
To have turned the team around by eliminating blowout losses and better yet, winning four games against last year’s finalists is a phenomenal effort across coaches and players.
Port Adelaide is playing the right style of football at the right time of the season. If these last two weeks are more than a Power surge, they are going to have a big influence over the make up of the top eight over the next nine weeks.
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