Port Adelaide coach Ken Hinkley has conceded his side is “not where it needs to be” after their pain-staking two-goal loss to Essendon on Thursday night, which now leaves them 1-2 to start this season.
The Power led the home side for two and a half quarters at Marvel Stadium, but were overrun by a relentless Bombers outfit in the final 15 minutes of the match to see the visitors leave Melbourne empty-handed.
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Their loss puts a full stop on what was an incredibly impressive record of late under the roof, having won 11 of their previous 12 games in Docklands.
Speaking to media post-match, the 13-year head coach stated that his side ultimately lost the match in congested passages in a match filled with fatigue after each side’s five-day break.
“It was disappointing, we played okay through patches in the night, but when the game was up for grabs they dominated us in the contest. They were stronger and more willing to keep going the whole way,” Hinkley opened by saying.
“It was around the contest and our ability to play out the fourth quarter. They got a little sniff, and we know how they’ve been feeling — they took that energy that they got from that and took control of the game.”
The Power’s leaders struggled to have their say on the game all night, with captain Connor Rozee well held by Essendon’s Sam Durham around the ground to have just 12 disposals in the first three quarters.
Inclusion Ivan Soldo (five disposals, nine hitouts) and Willem Drew (15 disposals) were among the senior players to have quieter matches, but on the same accord, were not the defying factor for the close loss.
“The disappointing part, our better players, the ones we needed to stand up, they just weren’t quite at that level all the way through the game,” Hinkley continued.
“Collectively, our more senior players were little bit down on us tonight, and they know that … you’ve just got to accept that they can’t play great footy every week, but we had too many down together.
“Connor’s been so good for us so far this year, and I’m sure he would be the first to say tonight’s performance wasn’t what he hoped he would deliver for us, so you give the points to Durham.”
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The absence of Jack Lukosius, Todd Marshall and Ollie Lord up forward was sorely felt, as young gun Mitch Georgiades shouldered the load up forward to shoot out of the blocks early.
The 23-year-old kicked 2.2 from six disposals before quarter time, with every touch registering in a score involvement. As fatigue set in however and Port Adelaide’s entries inside 50 deteriorated however, the Bombers’ key defenders began to have a more meaningful say within the arc.
“It’s challenging to manage, but we knew what we had coming in. We planned really well … it’s not like we can use that (injuries) as an excuse,” revealed Hinkley.
“Let’s be honest, it was 15 minutes in the last quarter (where) they blew the game apart on us.
“Other than Mitch in the first quarter and a half, I think we weren’t having enough aerial influence in the front half of the ground, but again, we knew that going into the game it was going to be a challenge.
“We were too untidy, and that hurts.
“Our form’s not where it needs to be, that’s fact. We’ve played one solid game against a younger team in Richmond last week … we’re still getting ourselves going. We need to quicken that up as quick as we can.”
The Power have a 10-day break heading into their clash next Sunday with St Kilda, with superstar midfielder Zak Butters considered an outside chance to return from knee surgery.
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