PORT ADELAIDE coach Ken Hinkley says his side didn’t play as well as he would have liked against St Kilda but with a 36-point win – the Power’s fifth in a row – he’d be hard to please if he wasn’t happy.
The Power booted the opening five goals of the contest and was never really headed as it secured its eleventh win of the season - a result that moves it to second on the ladder before other games are played.
Despite keeping the Saints goalless in the opening quarter, mostly because of their inaccuracy, Hinkley said he wasn’t happy with how his side started.
“We didn’t play as well as we would have liked but we were pretty solid by the end and still won the game pretty well in the end,” Hinkley said after the game.
“They had a couple of opportunities in the first quarter where they could have put a bit more pressure on but I thought outside that we gifted them a couple, we kicked it to them in the goal square twice and we held them to 50 points.
“(We were) never going to lose the game, which is pleasing so you take the win and move on.
“We’re 11 and 4 and currently sit second on the ladder so I’m hard to please if I’m not happy.”
Hinkley was full of praise for Steven Motlop in his 150th game after he finished the night with 28 disposals, seven marks and six tackles in a damaging display through the middle.
He was also pleased with the efforts of recalled forward Jack Watts who booted two goals and had clean hands all night.
Charlie Dixon challenged well but was fairly well held for much of the night until the last quarter when he booted three of his four goals.
“It was good to see a quarter where the big fella dominated a bit, where he clunked them and kicked straight,” Hinkley said.
“He works his butt off, he gives everything he’s got so it was just good for him to get some reward.
“He’s been pretty good for us, albeit not at his absolute best from a goal kicking point of view, but his contests remain pretty unconditional throughout the season.”
The Power now faces a nervous wait on the fitness of defender Tom Jonas who limped off with a knee injury in the third quarter.
And while Hinkley conceded his side was not at its best on the night, he said he felt like it was building and had room to improve.
“Every time you play you want to improve and we’re still looking for some real improvement in areas of our game,” he said.
“Some of our finish, whether it be in front of goal or around the ground, I thought we just didn’t quite use the ball as well as we would have liked.
“That willingness to give the first option and to protect a teammate, that’s an area I think we can certainly get better at.
“But, when you get to this stage of the year and you’re 11 and 4 and you’ve got some opportunities to still grow, that’s a real positive for us.”
