The Power conceded nine straight goals either side of the three-quarter time break to trail by 38 points midway through the final term at Patersons Stadium, before staging a late rally that narrowed the margin to eight points before time ran out.
Hinkley says Saturday's match, as well as Port's record in 2014 that has featured wins against three of the top four sides, shows his players can compete against the best in the competition.
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However, to win, they needed to play at their best through the whole game and not just in patches.
"When you want to win it, at the very end of the year when you need to win it, you've got to go for one hundred per cent of the game," Hinkley said after the match.
"And that's what it will be right through this finals series too."
It should be noted that all of Port's wins against top four opponents came in the first 11 rounds of the season.
Barring any wild results in the North Melbourne-Melbourne match, Port (14-8) will finish fifth and host a home elimination final next weekend against Richmond, after the Tigers stunned the Sydney Swans on Saturday afternoon to claim eighth spot.
While a team that finished outside the top four has yet to claim the premiership under the current final eight system, Hinkley said the approach to the finals was the same regardless of ladder position.
Moreover, the club heads into September with great confidence.
"I would say right now we are playing as good a footy as we have played all year," Hinkley said.
"Today is perfect preparation. We can take a lot away from today and know that there's still moments that we just didn't handle as well as we needed to."
"To win the grand final whatever position you finish, you've still got to play four good weeks of footy and that's where it counts."
Hinkley said Matt White, who suffered a groin injury in July and missed rounds 19 and 20, was substituted at three-quarter time as a precaution, with the club taking a conservative approach with the midfielder.
"There is no secret we’re managing White," Hinkley said.
