Ken Hinkley addresses the team during Round 20. Image: AFL Photos.<\/p>\n
PORT ADELAIDE is at that crossroad where the journey for Season 2026 could start at Kardinia Park this weekend – as could the AFL careers of young forward Jack Whitlock and young defender Harrison Ramm.<\/p>\n
Outgoing senior coach Ken Hinkley on Thursday – before training at Alberton – noted the need to set-up Port Adelaide’s new era under Josh Carr could take greater emphasis now that his team is out of the AFL finals race.<\/p>\n
“We have been doing that a bit already … and we are open to exploring options in the remaining four games,” Hinkley said.<\/p>\n
“We will look at what we have got to help us for 2026.”<\/p>\n
The return to the injury list of key forward Jack Lukosius (calf) does open the door for 2024 No.33 draftee Jack Whitlock (200cm). There also is Ramm, the mid-season draftee from the SANFL ranks at Glenelg.<\/p>\n
“Now is a great time to have that conversation,” Hinkley said. “We look at the upside versus the downside .. \u00a0the upside might get in front. They have played really good footy in the SANFL in recent weeks.\u00a0<\/p>\n
“When the number of players you have available for selection is quite low, the potential to explore youth ahead of time is not off the table.<\/p>\n
“We do need to balance what is next for this team. I am mindful of doing that for the best for the club’s future.”<\/p>\n
The shift in focus to next year’s needs comes amid a heavy run of injuries that have led to 18 rounds of surgery this season, the most recent with Miles Bergman (shoulder).<\/p>\n
“Some footy seasons are full of injury,” noted Hinkley. “Those 18 surgeries since January make for a big number. They are from collision injuries – you can’t do much about them. That is what just happens.”<\/p>\n
MILES END: Recently re-signed defender-midfielder Miles Bergman is already in the 2026 frame with surgery on the shoulder injury that has troubled him for much of this season.<\/p>\n
“It was a tough decision,” conceded Hinkley on the call to end Bergman’s season early. “But it is the right thing for his long-term future at Port Adelaide. It is to make sure Miles is in the best shape for the start of pre-season.”<\/p>\n
For Bergman, the surgery offers a relief from both physical and mental fatigue.<\/p>\n
“Each game Miles played was making it progressively worse for Miles to deal with (injury),” Hinkley said. “It did not take too much to get a knock that would then flare it up a bit more. And there is the mental challenge for a player to have a shoulder injury and be asked to play inside-mid or against some of the best midfielders in the competition.\u00a0<\/p>\n
“Miles did a great job to get to that point.”<\/p>\n
CAPTAIN’S CALL: Skipper Connor Rozee will battle on with his broken hand, despite it taking him through more pain during the Showdown.<\/p>\n
“That injury is more manageable,” Hinkley said. “He has been able to train and play. It will be sore for another week or two. He is capable of playing.”<\/p>\n
RIOLI WATCH: Willie Rioli is back in the selection mix.\u00a0<\/p>\n
“Willie is going reasonably well,” said Hinkley of the specialist forward. “He has trained fully for the last couple of weeks. That has given him the best chance to play AFL. If we do that this week, it will be a positive outcome for Willie with his quality back in the team.”<\/p>\n
Willie Rioli could return to the AFL side this weekend. Image: AFL Photos.<\/p>\n
PLAY TO WIN: Port Adelaide is one of the biggest outsiders of the season among the pundits this week with no-one (not even the notable “Kiss of Death” tipster in the Melbourne newpspaters) prepared to back Hinkley’s crew for the upset.<\/p>\n
The spirit within the playing group is being built on pride in performance.<\/p>\n
“Our players have the opportunity to embrace every chance they get to play AFL,” Hinkley said. “There is no bigger challenge than Geelong at Geelong. Our players should go there looking for an opportunity to perform at their absolute best.<\/p>\n
“They should want to challenge – and beat – Geelong.\u00a0<\/p>\n
“For a lot of the players there is so much to get out of a game at Geelong … to live up to the challenge would be a great confidence boost for those young players going up against an experienced team.<\/p>\n
“Our challenge is to play at a level we can be proud of. We are comfortable that there is a way we play that gives us a chance against any opposition. Can we improve? Can we learn? Can we be much more competitive? Can we give ourselves the chance to win?<\/p>\n
“Our challenge now for the remaining four games is to get in the battle more often. And be willing to stay in the battle more.”<\/p>\n
Last time the two teams met at GMHBA Stadium Port Adelaide emerged victorious by six points. Image: AFL Photos.<\/p>\n
THREE THORNS: This week there is Geelong, one of the league’s most-consistent performers; there is Kardinia Park, the league’s most-testing ground; and there is Jeremy Cameron, the key forward with the most goals this season … and the chance to reach the century this year.<\/p>\n
“We all respect what Geelong has been for a quarter of a century now,” Hinkley said. “They have not been a bad side at any stage in the 2000s. They have been an amazing side.”<\/p>\n
THAT GROUND: Port Adelaide last season won – just for the third time since AFL entry in 1997 – at Kardinia Park where opposition teams are confronted by a formidable home team and a skinny ground that tests ball movement.<\/p>\n
“We all know it is a bit skinnier and teams kick it out on the full,” said Hinkley, who made his playing career at Kardinia Park. “Take away what the ground does, just note Geelong is a hard challenge.”<\/p>\n
CAMERON: “We did a pretty good job last time … to a point,” recalls Hinkley. “Until he exploded in the last quarter.\u00a0<\/p>\n
“Most teams are struggling to stop him. Restricting is more the word than stop. If we can restrict Jeremy – and most of the Geelong team because they are a top-four side – it will give a great learning for our players.”<\/p>\n
ATKINS TRIBUTE: Hinkley recognised Rory Atkins, who will retire at the end of the season, as “one of the spirits of the team”.<\/p>\n
“He faced the challenge of coming to Port Adelaide (from Gold Coast) to start at his third club … and be brought great energy,” Hinkley said. “Whatever I asked him to do, he has been a credit to himself. To get what he has out of his AFL career, he should be really proud.”<\/p>\n
The game will begin at 2.45pm on Sunday.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Ken Hinkley addresses the team during Round 20. Image: AFL Photos. PORT ADELAIDE is at that crossroad where…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":33967,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[560],"tags":[638,64,63,55,639,85,83],"class_list":["post-33966","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-afl","tag-afl","tag-au","tag-australia","tag-australian-football-league","tag-australianfootballleague","tag-sports","tag-text"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/33966","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=33966"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/33966\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/33967"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=33966"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=33966"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=33966"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}