PORT Adelaide coach Ken Hinkley has lauded his players for learning from their elimination final heartbreak after holding their nerve to beat Brisbane by five points at Adelaide Oval on Saturday.
Less than seven months earlier on the same ground, West Coast midfielder Luke Shuey kicked a goal from a controversial Jared Polec high tackle after the siren in extra-time to end the Power's season.
WATCH: Gray's sparkling day
Polec played a key role in reversing the Power's fortunes, taking a mark on the goal-line from an Allen Christensen snap that would've given the Lions the lead with just over a minute left in the game.
The ball remained in the Power's defensive 50, and they were able to grind it out to secure their third-straight win to start the season.
"I liked the resilience at the end," Hinkley said.
"If I look back six months ago at a back 50 stoppage and see what happened in a final, I thought we set up really well structurally in the back 50 stoppage.
"I thought the group showed some growth.
"Polec marks the ball on the line and we had to keep going and going, it was about a minute left on the clock.
"We just played scrappy, dirty, tough footy to hang on."
Power hang tough late: Full match coverage and stats
Hinkley admitted he was pretty nervous in the coaches' box as memories of that loss to the Eagles flooded back.
"It felt like (déjà vu) in the box a little bit," he said.
"Sometimes as a coach, you really want to duplicate what happened and you want to get through it, but it's pretty bloody scary sitting there waiting for it to get through.
"I was pleased they got through it."
The Power had no answer for Lions ruckman Stefan Martin, who was the dominant player on the ground with 30 possessions and 48 hit-outs.
He took advantage of the Power going with veteran swingman Justin Westhoff and forward Charlie Dixon in the ruck, as they fill in for the injured Paddy Ryder.
But Hinkley won't be panicked into picking a specialist ruckman for next Sunday's clash with Essendon at Etihad Stadium.
"We'll look through it, but we're pretty comfortable with the people we've got out there and capable of getting it done more often than not," he said.
"Today was a day where the opposition ruckman got on top.
"That can happen whether you have Paddy out there or not."
WATCH: Ebert's roost into the Torrens
Hinkley said the fact his side played a third-straight game in hot conditions and they were coming off a six-day break after a big win against Sydney weren't factors in the Power going goalless in the last quarter.
"Our third quarter was so strong, so maybe we thought we nearly had enough and we couldn't quite get going when we needed to, but Brisbane kept coming at us," he said.
Vice-captain Ollie Wines should be right to go for next week after rolling his ankle in the second quarter.
