PORT ADELAIDE senior coach Ken Hinkley says the pressure on the coaches and players of both clubs certainly intensifies in the lead up to a Showdown.
Speaking on SEN SA Breakfast, Hinkley said the media scrutiny and public interest in Showdown week means both sides are even more desperate for a victory.
“It’s a rivalry that is real,” Hinkley said.
“There is not a lot of love between the two teams but we do respect each other, I think that’s really important.
“It goes without saying in Adelaide, if there are two games of the year that you want and have to win, it’s the two Showdown games.
“We know the tightness of those games normally - last year was a fantastic example where we win one with 20 seconds to go, and we lose one with 20 seconds to go pretty much.”
Port had a disappointing 39-point loss to Collingwood last Friday night, but the senior coach says his group is well and truly focussed on Saturday night’s clash with Adelaide.
“The good part about playing Friday night is you get to move on by the Monday comes around almost,” Hinkley said.
“We still do our game review on Monday because our players are away, and we remind them of the needs.
“Simply for us, its reinforcing behaviour, performances and efforts that we look for that makes us consistent.
“We did that yesterday pretty easily and early. We are well and truly into the Showdown now.”
Hinkley was also very supportive of his co-captain Ollie Wines, after the midfielder was critical of his own performance against the Magpies.
“Ollie is a wonderful leader and a wonderful person,” he said.
“Anyone who has played at the level or played high quality sport of any sort, your pride takes over.
“Ollie was trying his darndest to get everything going and it just seemed the harder he tried by the end of the night the worse it got for him.
“We’ve all been in those situations. We’ve all had those types of moments.
“The thing I always fall back on is, what you do consistently is who you are, and what Ollie is consistently is a fantastic player for us.”
Showdown XLVI commences at 7.10pm ACST on Saturday 11 May.