How well are Port Adelaide travelling at the moment? If you remember the cruel but funny ‘Port Adelaide versus the Bye’ video from 2011, you’ll remember how recently the club was a laughing stock.
It was a dire couple of years for the Power, winning a club-worst three games in 2011 to barely avoid the wooden spoon on percentage, then five games in 2012.
At the end of last year, Port Adelaide were certainly in the same struggling group as Melbourne, Gold Coast, GWS Giants and the Western Bulldogs. They even managed to lose to each expansion team in its debut year.
But it is amazing how a new coach can provide an atmosphere that instils the confidence in a group to get to work.
The win over Adelaide in Showdown XXXIV answered so many questions about the improvement in Port Adelaide, led by new skipper Travis Boak.
Yes, they had easily dismantled Melbourne in Round 1 and Greater Western Sydney in Round 2, but they couldn’t have asked for a much easier start to the season.
It was the clash against last year’s preliminary finalists that would be the true test. 40,700 people witnessed the result.
Justin Westhoff has gone to another level, lifted by a new intensity of work rate.
He is the key player in Port’s line-up at the moment, setting a massive example to the rest of the playing group with his desire to win every contest over four quarters.
He is being used as a loose man in defence or as a key target up forward, and having a real impact in this dual role.
Oliver Wines makes you wonder how he got through to pick seven in the draft. Port would be rubbing their hands together at his immediate impact.
Even as a first-year player, Wines has a mature body and a high workrate. He is a natural no-fuss player, doing the basics well and attacking the contest with conviction.
Jake Neade, Kane Mitchell, Campbell Heath, and Cameron O’Shea are not names on the tip of every footy fan’s tongue, but they’ve had an impact, even if Mitchell is now back on the rookie list after Nick Salter’s recovery from injury.
Neade has been a spark, and his defensive work as a small forward is a highlight, laying seven tackles last weekend as well as having tricks of a attacking nature.
Lewis Stevenson, meanwhile, is providing excellent run from defence, beating his man first and taking the initiative to run off and create at the right time.
Port have had a number of changes throughout the club, including David Koch’s appointment as celebrity chairman. But the biggest recruit is coach Ken Hinkley.
A new coach needs to have an immediate impact, and that’s exactly what Hinkley has done. Having been a big part of Geelong’s recent success, he demands a competitive style of play and a commitment to one-on-one contests.
He has never used the word ‘developing’ about the group. Instead, he has put full trust in all of them, and will play those players who earn their spot.
It would have been easy to bring the seasoned and experienced Robbie Gray and Dom Cassisi back into the line-up, especially for a Showdown.
But no, Hinkley stuck to his guns and went with the players who had performed in the first two weeks. He put faith in his young team.
A new coach comes in with a clean slate. Players who may have been on the outer will sense a chance to impress under new guidance. Given confidence these players can excel.
Hinkley’s new game style suits the group. It is more attacking, but with a defensive edge. A new coach needs to identify and be flexible in his approach. His natural way of coaching may not necessarily be the right combination for the playing group.
I remember Rodney Eade changing his focus with us at the Bulldogs when he identified the way we were suited to playing.
His approach turned from defensive to more attacking, then slowly introduced new tactics and strategies of a defensive nature as we gained confidence and experience.
Hinkley looks to have revitalised Port’s self belief. The second-youngest team in the comp are making serious inroads.
They need to be taken seriously by the rest of the competition, just as other coaches will need to regard Hinkley when they do battle in the coach’s box.
With Gold Coast away in Round 4, then West Coast at home in Round 5, we could see Port at 5-0 to start the season. That would make those five wins in 2012 seem a very long time ago.
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