Power is the AFL's big improver

Port Adelaide first-year captain Travis Boak listens to coach Ken Hinkley. Picture: Sarah Reed. Source: Sunday Mail (SA)

PORT Adelaide has had a rejuvenation under Ken Hinkley, with a new coaching staff, a new board and a new chairman in television identity and financial analyst David Koch.

But to take a line from Hinkley early this year, they are coming from a long way back.

You find three wins for the remainder of the season only by including a Showdown win against the Crows, and those matches are always toss-of-the-coin shows.

There could be other upsets during the season, because the Power has been exciting to watch this season, but it would take a brave gambler to back them to do much better than break even for the rest of the year.

What is more important than the win-loss column from here is that the club stays competitive, because that has been the way the club has begun to regain some respect in the competition after sliding so drastically after the 2007 Grand Final loss.

Clubs exist to make finals; Port's mantra is that it exists to win premierships, but the bar does not have to be set that high for this season to be a success.

There have already been encouraging signs.

Travis Boak has moved to the brink of being an elite player in the competition after assuming the captaincy; it is as though it made him grow both as a player and a leader. The same goes for Brad Ebert.

Ken Hinkley has brought not only a fresh look to training, but also - in tandem with coaching director Alan Richardson - a foundation on which to build.

Port, like Hinkley's previous home, Geelong, is building from defence. Both Hinkley and fellow SA coach Brenton Sanderson understand that defence comes first, then you add the flair. But it's not always a speedy process.

It has been a treat to watch Kane Cornes not only break the club's record for games played, but also re-establish himself as a senior player under the new coach.

But concerns remain, and it is over the club's depth. Most of the losses has come from shocking starts to matches, but that is more about attitude than talent.

The mission from here for Port Adelaide is to continue to build depth, tease the talent out of those who have been flirting with good form for too long and have a wider weaponry in attack: Jay Schulz is as sharp as he's been but he's been left to carry too much of a load.

But one of the obvious differences between Port last year and this season is how fit the team looks.

Darren Burgess, an internationally respected fitness coach, has made a significant impact. He has been with both the Socceroos and Liverpool in the English Premier League but decided for family reasons that Adelaide was his preferred place to live even if he had to take a pay cut.

Alipate "Bobby" Carlile is moving better and looking stronger since he arrived - Carlile was dropped because of fitness issues last year - and the team is no longer expected to drop off in the final quarter.

Other clubs expected Port to fall away before Burgess arrived, even though it is impossible to measure how much of that was because of fitness and how much of it was because of the team's confidence levels.

The long and short of it is this: the Power finally has a structure in place that allows the club to build from the humdrum years after the 2007 Grand Final loss.

The bulk of it came from changes at top level management instigated by the SANFL, which is still the licence holder, and signed off by the AFL.

But it will come down to recruiting and development from here; the Power does not have the depth to play finals because it is not yet in a position to cover injuries to key players.

SUPERSTAR

Few players come into the competition and have as much impact as Ollie Wines, who was taken at No.7 in last year's draft and is already an important player for Port. He's not yet as good as Boak, but he rates highly in contested possessions at the club and looks like somebody who will bring enormous grit and value to the club.

GONE MISSING

Matthew Broadbent was equal second in the best and fairest last year but has been in football's version of the witness protection program this year: often dealing with subs vests and not getting as much of the football. But there have been signs of improvement and there is much hope for a good second half of the year.

COACH'S RATING

KEN Hinkley has been the spark that Port Adelaide needed for a revival. In tandem with coaching director Alan Richardson, he has been firm but calm, has a very clear vision of how he wants football to be played and given the club on-field direction when it was most needed.

8/10

PREDICTION: REMAINING COMPETITIVE

RUN HOME

14 June 29 Collingwood (AAMI Stadium)

15 July 7 Essendon (Etihad Stadium)

16 July 13 Hawthorn (AAMI Stadium)

17 July 20 St Kilda (Etihad Stadium)

18 July 28 Brisbane (AAMI Stadium)

19 August 4 Adelaide (AAMI Stadium)

20 August 10 Geelong (Simonds Stadium)

21 August 17 Gold Coast (AAMI Stadium)

22 August 24 Fremantle (Patersons Stadium)

23 TBC Carlton (AAMI Stadium)

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