DESCRIBING his side as "brutal" and "ruthless" against a young Brisbane Lions outfit on Saturday, Port Adelaide coach Ken Hinkley enjoyed playing the bully at Adelaide Oval.
The game itself was a no-contest after quarter-time, as the Power hammered home 20 goals to four after the first break.
Hinkley said the display was the most consistent he'd seen from his players since joining the club in late 2012.
The Lions blooded three new players against the Power in Nick Robertson, Jackson Paine and Tom Cutler but their day was little short of a disaster and was made worse by losing ruckman Matthew Leuenberger (knee) and defender Pearce Hanley (hamstring) to injury
Hinkley admired the way his team put the Lions to the sword.
"We haven't been able, in my time, to put together a really strong four quarters of football and the boys were able to do that today," Hinkley said.
"Our defensive pressure all over the ground was pretty pleasing and we wanted to come after them as much as we possibly could.
"The Lions had a young side out there, there's no doubt about that…[but] I loved the ruthlessness about keeping on going and the preparedness to keep working.
"It was a comprehensive, brutal performance."
Hinkley was in awe of his players' work ethics.
He said their journey still had a long way to go, but claimed that if they continued working as hard as they were, then success would prove inevitable.
"They're prepared to work really hard for each other, they do everything we ask them to do and more and they're demanding of each other," he said.
He was particularly happy with first-gamer Sam Gray, who was upgraded from the rookie list on Thursday to replace injured forward Mason Shaw.
The 176cm midfielder appeared unfazed in his debut, despite playing in front of a crowd that was almost 30,000 spectators larger than his previous largest audience.
Gray collected 16 possessions and kicked three goals and Hinkley said he knew the 22-year-old from the Eyre Peninsular was worthy of an opportunity at the highest level.
"You don't go denying talent [because on height]," Hinkley said.
"You watch him through last year and you just knew he could play high level football…he needed that next step up to see what it was like and I think he showed today that he's got a bit of AFL football in front of him.
"You get what you deserve, if you work hard and you keep working hard and you do the right things, you get your reward – and he's got his reward."
