PORT ADELAIDE coach Ken Hinkley says he’s excited about the future of young forward Kane Farrell after the teenager’s first two games.
Farrell debuted against the Western Bulldogs in Round 19 in Ballarat, around an hour from where he grew up near Bendigo.
The 19-year-old had ten touches, two marks and three tackles on debut, along with a goal, and looked composed and comfortable at AFL level.
In Saturday’s Showdown against Adelaide, Farrell booted three goals in the first quarter, finishing with 13 disposals, two marks and three tackles.
“He looks pretty special with what he’s been able to do in a small sample size,” Hinkley said during an interview on Adelaide radio program Sportsday SA.
“Just the cleanness of him is what I like the most.
“He’s got electric speed, and what you haven’t seen properly yet is that he can still catch the ball above his head. For a little
Farrell came to the club with pick 51 in the 2017 draft.
He was given his AFL chance after impressing at SANFL level with his cleanness, foot skills, pressure acts and goal scoring nous.
The Bendigo Pioneers product has booted 20 goals in 13 SANFL games this season.
“He’s a pretty exciting young player,” Hinkley said.
“He’s got a long way to go but… I like to see a glimpse and when I see a glimpse I’m pretty passionate about keeping them there and giving them an opportunity to grow.
“I think your best growth comes from playing and if you stay out there a bit more and play a bit more I think you become a pretty good player quickly.”
Hinkley also revealed impressive backman Dougal Howard could return from injury against West Coast on Saturday evening.
Howard has missed the last two games with a broken hand.
“He did some stuff (on Tuesday) and the medical report was that we think he’s an 80% chance to play,” Hinkley said of the 199-centimetre key position player.
“We’ll know 100% certain on Thursday. He’ll go out and train and see how he can manage his hand.
“It’s one of those small breaks in your hand where you normally get back in one or two weeks and you actually play with some assistance that a lot of people have played with and a lot of people continue to play with.”
The Power faces three big tests to close the regular season against the Eagles, Collingwood and Essendon to determine whether it will play in the finals.
The task was made harder by the narrow Showdown loss and Hinkley revealed he had spoken to AFL Football Operations Manager Steve Hocking about the controversial late score review and the comments the Power boss had made in the post-match.
Hinkley said the pair were former teammates and agreed there was some frustration involved.
But he also revealed Port Adelaide had quickly moved on from the game and turned its focus to this weekend’s crunch match against West Coast.
“We moved on on Monday,” Hinkley said.
“We reviewed West Coast on Monday, we moved straight on to the next game because this season is coming to an exciting finish.
“For us, it’s about getting on the front foot and being prepared for the West Coast game because it’s another significant opportunity that we’ve got to take.”
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