PORT Adelaide coach Ken Hinkley has admitted he doesn't like watching his star midfielder Zak Butters play footy because he is "too tough for his own good".
In the wake of his side's narrow victory over Essendon on Sunday afternoon Hinkley had a wry smile when asked about Butters, who played a crucial role in swinging the contest back Port Adelaide's way in the second quarter.
"I don't like watching him play footy. He's very, very good at it, but I don't like watching him play," Hinkley said.
Now having won its last two games by a combined 12 points, close games are something Port Adelaide has been diligently training for.
"Today our boys were outstanding at wanting to go the distance," Hinkley said.
"Before this week there were 27 games with (a margin of) three goals or less out of 63. 40-plus per cent of games in the competition are going to play like that, so we've been involved in a few."
Port Adelaide was smashed at centre stoppages in the opening quarter, losing the count 1-8 and conceding several goals from those clearances, so it was something the side had to address at the first break.
"We certainly had to go to work on something because they were having a bit of fun coming out of the middle and I think as much as anything, they're quality," Hinkley said of Essendon's midfield.
"We acknowledged that they were winning."
Hinkley had to do some re-shuffling when captain Tom Jonas was subbed off in the third quarter after copping "a whack to the midriff" and was feeling "a bit off". The coach confirmed Jonas would be sent for scans during the week to ensure everything was okay.
Essendon coach Brad Scott had to do some re-shuffling himself after key defender Jordan Ridley was subbed out with concussion in the second term due to a stray Junior Rioli arm.
"I don’t know how it happened," Hinkley said post-match, admitting that he didn't immediately realise Ridley had come from the ground.
Similarly, Scott didn't see the incident, but did see the aftermath and must now plan for Brisbane with a further thinned tall defensive line.
"The player that we could least afford to lose coming into the game to concussion would have been Ridley," Scott said.
"We're already under a bit of pressure back there with our tall stocks and then you have to shuffle your side to protect your defence, but I was pleased that we were still able to put scoreboard pressure one even though we had to take some strengths away from our forward line to shore up our defence."
Despite the loss, Scott is still optimistic about Essendon's trajectory.
"Even when the game wasn't on our terms we were able to find a way to fight and stay in the contest and show some real grit," Scott said.
"I'm really optimistic about what we're building, partly because of what we're demonstrating but the other half of it is that I can see all the really clear areas for us to improve."
"Heartened by what we're doing, but more optimistic about the room for improvement."
