PORT ADELAIDE wingman Xavier Duursma says coach Ken Hinkley deserves praise for backing his young players to play their natural games.
Duursma was among his side’s best in the 75-point win over Adelaide on Saturday night, finishing with three goals and 17 disposals.
The 19-year-old was ably supported by fellow youngsters Zak Butters (21 disposals, eight tackles, three clearances and a goal), Connor Rozee (17 disposals, eight clearances and a goal) and Todd Marshall (11 disposals, six marks and two goals).
Duursma told a press conference on Tuesday that he feels fortunate to have been drafted to Port Adelaide and to play under Hinkley, who gives young players a licence to play.
“We’ve been pretty lucky in terms of having Ken as our coach and he just backs us 100%,” he said.
“Right from the very start, even when we got drafted, he said to all of us to just believe in ourselves and back ourselves and that’s a great thing that gives us the confidence to go out there each week and know that we can play with that natural flair and he’ll back us no matter what.
“He just allows us to go out there, play with our natural flair and be the players we want to be.
“All three of us (Duursma, Butters and Rozee) are quite young, fast with good skills, etc. We’re very good in terms of up and down the ground and midfield capability so Ken wants to make sure that he maximises that and gives us a licence to do that.”
Just 22 games into his career, Duursma says the Showdown was one of the most enjoyable games he has played in so far.
“I think you could probably tell out there on the ground I was running around out there with a smile on my face,” he explained.
“It was amazing just to be out there, part of a big win and a great club with a massive history that goes all the way back to 1870, it’s amazing that I got to be part of that.”
With shorter quarters being played in 2020, Duursma thinks it plays into his side’s hands, believing Port’s explosive direct football will benefit.
And he says it was nice to kick a big score on the weekend and play his part, with a conceited effort at making shots as easy as possible.
“It’s been a massive focus for us to convert our score more,” Duursma said.
“A part of doing that is kicking them from the goal square and making it easy for yourself but we want to have a really good chance of converting out score.
“It’s been a massive focus to get our chances in front of goal and actually convert them so by having shots from the goal square makes it much easier to do that.”
Duursma said another young forward, Mitch Georgiades, who debuted in Round 1, will be pushing for selection against Fremantle this week, saying he was close to playing in the Showdown but the club took no risks with a minor calf injury.
Duursma is now looking forward to spending time in the AFL hub on the Gold Coast, saying he will pack his surf board now that the AFL has eased restrictions on players and their leisure activities.
