From being in the doldrums of the AFL before Ken Hinkley took charge, to being an up and coming team that opposition sides did not want to face, it has been a mixed bag for Port Adelaide since its 2014 preliminary final loss to the Hawks.
Many tipped the Power to be constant top eight finishers and potential premiership fancies on the back of their fifth-placed finish, but it has not exactly worked out that way. So, what exactly has gone wrong at Alberton? And why have they not been able to win a final since 2014?
Let us take a closer look.
In 2013 Port were considered the fittest team in the comp, with a game style that was tough to play against. Their run-and-gun style and explosive leg speed left many teams chasing them for four quarters.
Despite being behind, the Power backed their fitness to run over teams no matter how far they were behind. Speed on the outside was one of Port’s biggest strength’s with Matt White, Jared Polec and Jake Neade up forward and Jasper Pittard running off halfback with Jarmen Impey, once the ball made its way to the outside Port were difficult to stop.
The defence was solid enough with Alipate Carlile. With Jack Hombsch, Jackson Trengove along with Tom Clurey and Tom Jonas, it was a mobile and tough back six to play against.
They were potent up forward too – Jay Schulz was the spearhead, with Neade, Robbie Gray, Aaron Young and Chad Wingard Port had several options and were more reliable than what the side is now.
Since 2014 is where it has gone south. Ladder finishes of ninth, tenth, fifth, tenth and tenth suggest the club is plateauing. Looking at the playing list since then and there has been a notable shift to try and get the club out of this rut.
Jay Schulz, Chad Wingard, Jasper Pittard, Sam Gray, Jackson Trengove just to name a few, have all been shown the door to make way for new additions and draft selections. In the 2017 offseason Port Adelaide put all its chips into the premiership window, adding Jack Watts, Tom Rockliff and Steven Motlop, joining key forward Charlie Dixon who arrived in 2015 to bolster the side which finished the season in fifth and ended in a heartbreaking extra-time finals loss with an after the siren goal against West Coast from Luke Shuey, but that still has not been enough.
Is it the coaching group led by Ken Hinkley that needs changing?
(Photo by Chris Hyde/Getty Images)
Port Adelaide’s list is as good if not better than 2013 and 2014, so why is the club still fluctuating with its performances? With their run-and-gun style of play, opposition teams worked out how to nullify it and Hinkley simply did not have a plan B, and year after year of what seemed like no direction got old very quick with the club’s fans.
Many Power supporters will agree with me here, but Ken Hinkley’s coaching decisions over the last couple of seasons have left a lot to be desired. Constantly dropping players, bring in questionable replacements while leaving out obviously better options lead to a fair amount of criticism aimed at the Power coach and rightly so.
Many believe Hinkley should have been relieved of his duties by now, but the club is sticking by him for this season at least.
Fans demand more from their club, but will they get it? Preseason has been promising and along with a Round 1 win over Gold Coast, things look good at Alberton so far.
If history repeats itself and Port continues to be plagued by inconsistency both on and off the field, some tough decisions will be made on some of the club’s stars and make no mistake, come the offseason Port will be looking for a new coach.
Mooty
Roar Rookie
They’re a bit of an enigma, given they are one of the few teams that play all their home games at Adelaide Oval, except for the one they play in China. They should be able to turn that place into a fortress. Unfortunately no reasonable team goes there with any real fear it seems. Port have been fairly middling over the last 10 years or so, I can’t remember them being threatening, perhaps early on when Hinkley first arrived, but since then they’ve been middle ladder. After reading your list of recruits they’ve had, I don’t see a genuine match winner amongst them, and that includes Watts, who Melbourne would have pleased to see the back of. Hinkleys could be a bit one dimensional as you say, can’t comment on that,have only watched about 30 minutes of their games in China over 2 years.
Maxy
Roar Rookie
only players i would want to have kept that have left is[ burgouyne but that was a bit earlier] impey and wingard,think impey had family concerns back home so that is fine ,wingard was a bit different,my mail is that it had everything to do about his off field attitude ,think he even admitted he became stale,need a change
Joe from Perth
Guest
Losing good players is fair enough, and something every club has to put up with. It happens for a variety of reasons, not just the Head Coach. Polec was offered a mountain of cash and Schultz was 31 when he (was) retired. And which club wants to retain journeymen who are not likely to be in a premiership side's best 22 - think Pittard, Sam Grey, Neade? These players - fair enough, good decisions by Port. But the concern is that Port has had a few really good players leave during Hinkley's time - think Impey, Wingard and Ryder, and perhaps Hombsch too. (And Shaun Burgoyne in pre-Hinkley times.) Why does this happen? Are these players just unhappy in Adelaide? Do they get along with Hinkley, or is that the big unspoken issue? These are the sort of players Port should be making every effort to keep. What also flabbergasts me are the number of outright weird coaching decisions that Hinkley has made over the years (as noted in the article), and the recruiting has been all over the place. One year we top up with Watts, Rockliff and Motlop, and soon after we go after high draft picks. What is their strategy? Mind you, there were calls for Hardwick's head a few years ago, and now he's a dual premiership coach at Richmond. Is this Hinkley's last chance?
Pedro The Fisherman
Roar Rookie
Skills under pressure (or lack thereof)!
Gyfox
Roar Rookie
Most Port supporters still back Hinkley, I think - except, perhaps, for the angry young men behind the goals, beer in hand. Covid19 is going to have a dramatic effect on coaching this year. With a huge reduction in all those secondary coaches & staff, each club is going to see the real worth & ability of their coach. Perhaps 2020 will be the year we go back to the coach (as opposed to the coaching team).