Down by 41 points at the 19-minute mark of the third quarter, the Power rallied to kick seven unanswered goals and claim an astounding victory over the Eagles on Saturday night.
Hartlett’s massive second half included two goals and saw him awarded the Peter Badcoe VC Medal.
The medal is awarded to the player best adjudged to demonstrate the ANZAC values of skill, courage in adversity, self-sacrifice, teamwork and fair play.
But Hartlett says those values were demonstrated by a number of senior leaders who stepped up when the Eagles held Port Adelaide to the sword.
“Kenny (Hinkley) stressed from the start of the year that if our leaders are ever going to stand up it’s going to be on game day and particularly in the second half we did that,” Hartlett told portadelaidefc.com.au.
“Our first half was disappointing and there’s plenty to work on, but there’s plenty of positives to come out of that game which is outstanding.
“We knew we had some momentum going into three quarter time, we kicked five goals in the third quarter and we felt more than capable of doing it again.
“We did that. It’s a real credit to all the guys out there.”
Hartlett says the spirit showed by the team is a product of a self-belief that has built weekly since the pre-season, and gained momentum with each win to start the 2013 season.
That spirit, he says, is critical to Port’s growing ability to catch and overtake teams when behind on the scoreboard.
“There’s a huge belief amongst this group if we can get things going our way we can score quickly and get on top of teams,” he said.
“We never give in – it’s what we’re out to prove.”
Hartlett also praised the strong home crowd in excess of 26,000 supporters during his Badcoe Medal acceptance speech.
He reaffirmed his gratitude for the roaring spectator support, saying the Port faithful have served as a real “spark” for the team so far this year.
“The crowd’s been phenomenal.”
“When we kick a goal and we really need a spark, it inspires the whole group to continue playing well and really drag us over the line.
“We continue to try and do that and we can’t thank them enough.”
Peter Badcoe VC Medal – final voting
14 votes. Hamish Hartlett (PA)
10. Chad Wingard (PA)
8. Scott Selwood (WCE)
6. Luke Shuey (WCE)
2. Jake Neade (PA)
2. Andrew Gaff (WCE)
