For Port Adelaide supporters, season 2013 will mostly be remembered for the resurgence of the team that was once labelled the laughing stock of the AFL.
For a team that finished 14th last year with just five wins, and an embarrassing loss to Greater Western Sydney, taking on Ken Hinkley and David Koch as the new coach and chairman was always going to be a big gamble.
But hey, it paid off.
Their arrival signalled the beginning of a new era at Port Adelaide, as fans started to return to AAMI Stadium (for sadly, the final time this year) to see the team winning games again.
Here is Port’s season in review:
What went right
The team started to win back the respect of its fans and the community, equalling its 2012 win tally in the first five rounds of this season alone.
And although there was an immediate hiccup straight after, the team still remained consistent and deservedly reached the finals for the first time since 2007.
The season started with a 79-point belting of Melbourne at the MCG, after which a 56-point victory over GWS followed.
The win erased the demons of last year’s humiliating loss at Skoda Stadium, which spelt the end of Matthew Primus and Brett Duncanson as coach and president respectively.
The victory over GWS was the first of four victories from as many meetings against the AFL’s two expansion clubs, also repeating the dose in Sydney later in the year by 75 points and also beating the Gold Coast Suns twice in the year.
The Power also enjoyed two victories in the final two Showdowns to be played at AAMI Stadium, the latter of which was a thrilling victory capped off by the impossible goal kicked by ex-Bomber Angus Monfries, who proved his worth with an excellent first season at Alberton.
But perhaps its three most significant victories came in the second half of the year.
The Power, with an eight-game losing streak against the Sydney Swans dating back to April 2006, stunned the defending premiers at home with an 18-point victory.
The victory was soured by the fact that their dual Brownlow Medallist, Adam Goodes, suffered a knee injury late in the match and could not continue.
This was backed up with a 35-point victory over Collingwood, also at home, its’ first victory over the Pies since 2007.
They then eliminated that same team from the finals in the first week of the play-offs, just showing how far the Power had come since the dark days of the 2007 Grand Final bloodbath.
What went wrong
After Port Adelaide started the season with five straight victories, it then lost its next five leading into their bye. This included a pair of defeats at home to Richmond (41 points) and Geelong (48).
The team also put in an uncompetitive effort against Fremantle in the penultimate round, thus putting their status as finals contenders in severe doubt.
But that came after the Power had sealed its first finals berth since 2007, and normally when that happens teams are expected to warm up for the play-offs with victories rather than tanking off towards the end of the season (like Freo did in the final round).
But other than those, nothing else wrong has happened for the team on the field, as they righted the wrongs of the last five years and made themselves a force to be reckoned with this year.
The future
This year saw an impressive resurgence from the Power and fans can look forward to some more successful years from the club as they move forward in the Hinkley/Koch era.
A player agent once remarked, after Port’s poor 2009 season: “There is no way I would, or could, recommend any of my players moving to Port Adelaide, no matter how much they were offered. No self-respecting manager could do it.”
The agent who said that may want to take back his words, given the resurgence Port have enjoyed this year.
Next year, though, will be about trying to take that next step forward.
Questions that the fans will want answered in 2014
– Can Port Adelaide build on from their successful season this year and aim for bigger things next year?
– Will the coaching fairytale continue for Ken Hinkley?
– What players need to step up next year?
And last but not least….
– How will they fare at Adelaide Oval, their new home ground, in 2014?
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