KEN HINKLEY has shrugged off any notion he's facing a challenge to extract the best football from his bevy of mature-aged recruits, saying they've all arrived at Port Adelaide with individual points to prove. 

It's no secret the Power battled in attack last year; despite ranking first in the AFL for both time in the forward half and inside 50s in the home and away season, they struggled to score.  

To address this, they've marched in Tom Rockliff, Steven Motlop, Lindsay Thomas and Trent McKenzie, as well as three ex-Melbourne players – Jack Watts, Dom Barry and Jack Trengove – in a mature-age recruiting blitz. 

While all of them, especially the trio of former Demons, have different reasons for leaving their previous clubs, Hinkley believes none of them will lack for hunger in 2018. 

"I've always believed that when players change clubs, they're quite motivated," Hinkley told AFL.com.au recently. 

"Either they're trying to be better themselves and improve, and they have that little chip on their shoulder that they want to show them I was a pretty good player. 

"From our point of view, they're all motivated really highly to improve, so I think the key part for me is that they're motivated to help Port get better." 

The three former Dees come with very different stories as they join another ex-Melbourne player – former No.4 draft pick Jimmy Toumpas – at Alberton.

Barry, who did the most of any of the recruits in the Power's loss to West Coast in Perth in their first JLT Community Series game on Sunday evening, has trod a fascinating path to his new club. 

After being drafted by Melbourne in 2012, Barry walked away from the game at the end of 2014 as a 20-year-old to focus on his indigenous culture and return to the Anangu ­Pitjantjatjara Yankunytjatjara (APY) lands in central Australia. 

There, he drove a school bus and worked with local kids while immersing himself in his family history and heritage. 

Hinkley said he hadn't needed Barry to convince him of his determination to succeed and his commitment to a second chance in the AFL after his strong season for SANFL club Glenelg last year. 

"I've listened to Dom Barry talk, and you get convinced pretty quick," Hinkley said. 

"The passion that comes out, it's just so real. He's a remarkable person. 

"He's got some weapons that says he should be able to play a significant amount of footy." 

For Watts, it was on Grand Final day last year when Melbourne coach Simon Goodwin revealed in a television interview the former No.1 draft pick had been "encouraged to go and explore his options". 

By then, he'd already met with Hinkley and was enthused by how he could fit into the Power's team. 

"We were really honest with him and told him what we thought he could bring to our football club, what his strengths were and for us, those strengths were exactly what we've been looking for and need," Hinkley recalled. 

"That's his ability to finish and kick goals and set up other people in games, and just his football knowledge is first class. 

"His strengths suit what we need, and I think he could clearly see that."

Finally, Trengove found himself thrown a lifeline as a delisted free agent after four injury-cruelled years as a Demon.

The Power remain bullish about his ability to reach his potential despite his injury history, having watched Jared Polec overcome a similar career-threatening foot complaint in 2016. 

"I don't think there's any doubt in Jack's mind. He hasn't missed a beat, he's done the whole pre-season," Hinkley said. 

"My explanation to Jack was, this is a chance for you, but there are no guarantees. 

"It's a pretty good midfield you're going to try break into, if you're playing well enough, you'll get those opportunities, but you need to understand exactly what it is you're coming here to do, and that's help us become a really strong club." 

The Power's list is now the sixth oldest in the competition, with the second-most experience. 

With their number of new recruits and how they fit into the side, plus how much improvement the likes of Riley Bonner, Todd Marshall, Aidyn Johnson, Dan Houston and Karl Amon can show, Hinkley admits there's "certainly some unknown" about his team in 2018. 

But he's excited by the prospect of his new-look list coming together to exorcise the demons – with the specific help of some former ones - of 2017. 

"We're going to need some games to play some footy together, and some of the unknown are some of the ones we've already got there," Hinkley said. 

"There's a number of boys who've come in and they all give us quite good finish, but where they'll actually fall, when the time rolls around, it's still a little up in the air. 

"We've brought in some front-half finishers, there's no doubt we've tried to improve our ability to be more efficient going inside 50. 

"Each of those boys we've brought in gives us a chance to do that."

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