PORT Adelaide coach Ken Hinkley says a double-goal play by Richmond changed the game's momentum, but it wasn't the difference between the two sides at Adelaide Oval on Saturday.
The Tigers went from eight points down to four points up in the blink of eye after Tom Lynch was pushed in the back following a running goal from close range at the eight-minute mark of the third quarter.
The resulting free kick saw him slot his third major from point blank range.
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Despite the umpire's call, Hinkley wasn't interested in making excuses for his team's seven-point loss.
"I don't care. I don't worry about things that you can't control, we had opportunities outside of that – they were good enough to win and that's what happens," Hinkley said.
"It's the rub of the green, sometimes it goes for you sometimes it goes against you. Don't sit here and carry on about a little bit of bad luck or supposed bad luck."
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The Power took the lead twice in the final quarter, following a free kick to Willem Drew and some inspiring intercept work from defender Dan Houston.
They also had 19 inside 50s to eight in the final quarter but were outscored by the visitors 4.1 to 3.2.
Standing in their way was a heroic Dylan Grimes who took six telling marks in the final term.
Hinkley said the side needed to do better in attack.
"We just let them mark the ball too much. We can say Grimes did a great job, which he did, but we didn't make it at all hard on him; we allowed him to get some pretty easy looks at the ball," he said.
The six personnel changes for Richmond – including the suspension of Dustin Martin and the injury to captain Trent Cotchin – had many thinking the Power would account for an unsettled opposition.
Hinkley said while the expectation on Port was coming from outside the walls of Alberton it was still up to the players to deliver.
"We were saying through the week all the time we knew what we were coming up against," he said.
"That's what happens, you get set up and you've just got to handle that, and we weren't able to handle that."
Meantime Port Adelaide's impressive first-year players found the going tougher against Richmond after bright starts to their years.
Rising Star nominee Connor Rozee failed to hit the scoreboard after kicking five goals against Brisbane the week before while Xavier Duursma missed an opportunity to ice the game after taking an overhead mark in Port's forward line late in the fourth term.
"We are happy he (Xavier) got the opportunity to miss, we are disappointed that he missed," Hinkley said.
"But the other boys, people are starting to watch them now too and they are starting to put some real heat on them and they are starting to feel that.
"To be fair all of our younger boys tonight get an opportunity to learn, they understand the speed of the game keeps getting quicker and quicker."
