The Age rated the Power’s draw the third hardest behind Hawthorn and Geelong, News Corp put it in a similar bracket and afl.com.au described it as “savage” and graded it a “D+”.
PORTADELAIDEFC.COM.AU'S COMPREHENSIVE FIXTURE OVERVIEW
But as Hinkley points out, the Power will play 20 of the same 'teams' as last season, that is to say three re-matches - against Fremantle, Sydney and the Crows - have been programmed again for 2015.
Double-up games against Carlton and Melbourne in 2014 have been replaced by home-and-away repeats against Hawthorn and the Western Bulldogs.
“We play 20 of the exact same teams, or games, as we did last season,” Hinkley told portadelaidefc.com.au.
“We didn’t play Hawthorn or the Western Bulldogs twice, we did play Carlton and Melbourne [twice].
“I say if you look at this draw then it’s line-ball to last season.”
REACTION: POWER WELCOME 2015 DRAW
For Hinkley, the location and sequence of its 2015 fixture is irrelevant, and the Power’s fortunes on the field will be dictated primarily by list quality, injury and, most of all, game day performance.
“We finished fifth at the end of the last home-and-away season, our challenge this year is to try and improve that,” Hinkley said.
“It’s really hard to predict what might or might not happen, we don’t know how the pre-season is going to go, we don’t know how many injuries we might have.
“I think the simple thing is the fact that the draw is only two games different to us from last year, and we look forward to giving ourselves the best possible chance [to finish well] at the end of the home-and-away season.
“The only change is a couple of teams that you won’t play twice, and the positioning of the games.”
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Port Adelaide’s pre-season commences in late November, around the same time as the expected launch of the club’s 2015 membership campaign.
The Power’s list will then travel to Dubai for its second pre-season training camp in the emirate.
While Port will look to harness another strong pre-season and healthy playing stocks leading up to the first game of the new year, Hinkley isn’t using the fixture as a guide to any final win-loss record.
Instead he’s committed his playing list to bring its best effort in every match of the club’s 19th AFL campaign.
“You’ve got to give yourself the best possible chance of being in the best shape you can be at every stage of the season,” Hinkley said.
“I didn’t look at the draw at the start of the 2014 and think we were going to win eight straight, I sat down and thought we were going to have to be at our absolute best in every game we play to see if we could qualify for the finals, because that’s what everyone is trying to do.
“There’s not a side out there at the moment which isn’t thinking about qualifying for finals.
“Where we finish will depend on many factors.
“It doesn’t matter who you play, where you play or when you play them, if you’re not at your best, you’ll get beaten – the competition is brutal.”
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Although Hinkley views his 2015 schedule similarly to last season’s, he is excited by the benefits it provides Port Adelaide’s supporters.
The draw features five night games at the Adelaide Oval, including on ANZAC Day against the premier Hawks.
He’s hopeful the fixture will encourage a membership target that can break through the club’s 2014 membership record.
“I think the fixture is great for our fans and there’s no reason why we shouldn’t smash through the 60,000 members barrier next year,” Hinkley said.
“We’ve got an exciting draw and an exciting brand of football that our supporters expect when they turn up to a game.
“They know their boys bring their effort for the game, they’ll be up for the battle, and we’ll give them something they want to come back and watch.”
