COURAGE and hard work are the reasons Port Adelaide is back in the finals after a two-year absence according to coach Ken Hinkley.
He said the club has been prepared to choose players on form regardless of their age and experience and it has paid off.
"We haven't been lacking in courage," Hinkley said.
"We played six blokes with less than 20 games today … we were prepared to keep putting them out there and they haven't let us down."
He said the team would be picked on merit and the inexperienced players such as Todd Marshall, who played well on debut, Riley Bonner, Aidyn Johnson, Sam Powell-Pepper, Dan Houston and Dougal Howard had played well enough to hold their spot.
Their inclusion also blew a fresh blast of hope through the group.
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"Sometimes a bit of enthusiasm from the young boys who don't quite know what is coming is not a bad thing either," Hinkley said.
Hinkley said Charlie Dixon's performance was what he expected from the big man now, with his ability to influence games on display more than once this season.
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And he praised his skipper Travis Boak, who had 32 touches and 11 contested possessions, for standing up when needed.
"He's copped plenty this year and I reckon he deserves a pat on the back today," Hinkley said.
Although Port Adelaide's only two wins over top eight teams have been against the Sydney Swans in round one and West Coast in round 16, Hinkley is confident the team can acquit itself well in the finals.
"We're pretty reliable," Hinkley said.
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He described the 17-point win as "great practice" for the upcoming finals series and emphasised it would want to be at its best in the final round against the Gold Coast so it could take winning form into the finals.
Port Adelaide will need results to go its way to finish top four but it looks set to at least play a home final this season.
