Ken Hinkley insisted it was “very easy” to stay focused on his job as Port Adelaide coach despite his name being linked to the vacant West Coast job during the week.
The Power are making a late charge towards the top four, having now won four of their last five games, and their most recent triumph over premiership contender Carlton at Marvel Stadium on Friday night was the pick of the bunch.
Taking on the enormous task of turning around the fortunes of battling West Coast looks like far less fun than helming the Power at the moment, and Hinkley sounded as enthusiastic about being Port Adelaide boss after downing the Blues as he did when he took over at Alberton 12 years ago.
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Port power huge comeback over Blues | 02:33
“One hundred per cent. Very easy for me,” Hinkley said when asked if it was a simple task for him to avoid the distraction of the speculation surrounding his future.
“I know what I do. I know my job. I’m Port Adelaide coach and I’m contracted to coach Port Adelaide and I love Port Adelaide and I love the place.”
The Power will probably need three more wins from their last four games to make the top four, and if they do so, they will have earned it considering they face premiership favourite Sydney, finals contenders Fremantle and Melbourne, as well as arch rivals Adelaide, in their run home.
“That’s the challenges we face and we look forward to them,” Hinkley said.
“We want to be a good team and we want to be one of the best teams in the comp.
“If you’re going to do that, you’re going to have to beat them.
“We’ve probably got perfect preparation to go through the back five games of the year where we’re going to find out whether we’re worthy, and that will be really nice once we get that answer.
“We’ve always had some belief … and we’re trying really hard to continue to improve late in the season.
“We’re building, but you’re going to have to keep building. It’s tough.
“It’s so tight, like, lose next week and we’re probably 10th.”
Hinkley saw the Carlton clash as the perfect September dress rehearsal.
“I think what helps most is that was a finals-type of football that we’ve got to get better at,” he said.
“And we took it on in Melbourne against a team sitting second on the ladder. It was good practice.”
Star midfielder Zak Butters has come in for extra attention from the opposition this year, on his way to becoming the most fined player in VFL/AFL history, but Hinkley was expecting big things from the All-Australian in the run home to September.
“Zak’s learnt a lot in the last six weeks. He’s going to be in a good position as he goes through the next four weeks,” Hinkley said.
“He’s grown as a player. I’m really proud of Zak and some of his fines come about from some of the treatment he cops.”
Meanwhile, the Power look like they’ve pulled an ace from up their sleeve just in time for their run to the finals with defender Esava Ratugolea moving forward against the Blues and putting in a commendable performance as a key target.
“I think he kicked a couple (of goals) for us and just some big contests and some big packs,” Hinkley said.
“It always helps to have flexibility in your team.”
Source Agencies
