PORT ADELAIDE senior coach Ken Hinkley says the entire Port community is hurting after his side’s one-point loss to Greater Western Sydney on Saturday night.

The Giants led from the outset and were never headed, despite a late surge from the Power where they had six scoring shots to two in the final quarter but couldn’t convert on the scoreboard.

Hinkley said the playing group battled manfully, but he couldn’t help but feel disappointment after being on the wrong end of an extremely close game.

“It was incredibly disappointing for everyone involved,” Ken Hinkley said at his post-match press conference.

“The whole footy club and everyone outside the footy club who support Port Adelaide. It’s a disappointing result.

“But you can’t question the way the boys went about it. They stuck at it. It felt like there was one team out there at the end trying to win, and one team out there trying to defend.”

The Power have slipped to tenth on the AFL ladder - after the Western Bulldogs defeated Fremantle - but still remain only one game and percentage out of the top eight, and Hinkley remains optimistic about his side’s possibility of September action.

“We had to win, we get that, at this time of the year,” he said.

“We are looking for wins, as many as we can possibly get to be a part of it later in the year. We still sit here tonight in the same position as before tonight.

“What a difference four points may have made, but we didn’t get them.

“We couldn’t kick a winning score and that’s what we set out to do at the start of the night.”

The senior coach sent swingman Justin Westhoff into the backline against the Giants, and he was impressed with how the 32-year-old adjusted to the role.

“He competed really well,” Hinkley said.

“We knew we were going to be stretched down there for height. We were stretched all over the ground with their height.

“They had 10 players above probably 195cm. They are just a big team and they use it to their advantage when they can.

“We used our run to our advantage when we could.”

Hinkley was also full of praise for the former skipper Travis Boak, who had 40 disposals on Saturday night, but he knows it doesn’t mean anything to Boak without the four premiership points.

“He’s had an amazing season hasn’t he,” Hinkley said.

“He will be rewarded by that individually, but I’m sure he would much rather be rewarded as a team.

“That’s what Travis has always been about. He will want the team to do well, rather than the individual.”