IN THE HOURS after Port Adelaide's season ended at the hands of Geelong, Power coach Ken Hinkley was able to briefly acknowledge the massive inroads his club made in 2013.
But he left the MCG knowing the challenge would only be greater next season, and was confident his emerging group "will turn up to work again" and climb an even bigger mountain.
Hinkley was disappointed. He felt his side let an opportunity slip, given it held a 23-point lead at half time and had pressured the Cats into numerous uncharacteristic mistakes.
It was in the main break Hinkley realised that while he felt his side had got what it deserved for its hard work this year, he still wanted more – for both himself and the players.
He said the Power knew the Geelong onslaught would come, and it did, in the form of a 30-point turnaround in the third quarter.
Hinkley said his side was ready for the Cats’ surge, but he conceded his players probably panicked when the game stepped up a notch, with an even bigger lift in intensity than they experienced last week against Collingwood.
Then, with two minutes left, back-to-back goals to Justin Westhoff and Hamish Hartlett had the Power within 10 points, and Hinkley dared to dream.
"I did give myself a little whack and say, 'We couldn't, could we?'" Hinkley said.
"When Westhoff kicks that goal … hang on, maybe … and then you see … nah, I'm not going to talk about free kicks.
"Then you see a decision that happens and you think, ‘gee, maybe if we just went forward’ … I don't have a problem with Geelong, they were worthy winners, but we might have just scared them a little bit more."
When looking back on the season as a whole, Hinkley said it was pleasing to have watched improvement come from his oldest player – Dom Cassisi – to his youngest – Sam Colquhoun.
While Friday night's 16-point loss was considered an opportunity lost, Hinkley agreed there was a sense of ‘mission accomplished’ about the restoration of the club from an also-ran to a gallant semi-final loser.
"It would be unfair of me tonight not to acknowledge the effort of this club and the team and everyone around the whole football club and our supporters – everyone," he said.
"We made some significant steps forwards again.
"I think everyone would acknowledge Port Adelaide became a bit more of a factor again in the competition, and I'm proud of them for that."
Hinkley said it was too early to tell how much his young players would get out of the experience of playing in two finals, but he said he believed they were ready for the challenge of taking a bigger challenge in 2014.
"We've done a lot of positive things, and we should be able to, at some point, sit back and be positive about our season with where we've come from," he said.
"But we've got to understand that the competition is brutal.
"The hill gets higher, and you've got to climb quick.
"I know we're going to turn back up, work really hard and give ourselves the best chance to go after whatever the prize is after next year."
