'Why it got to that point': Hinkley's 'disrespect' swipe in player sledge ...

Port Adelaide coach Ken Hinkley admits he regrets his verbal post-match altercation with Hawthorn players on Friday night, conceding that emotions got the better of him after “disrespectful” comments from Jack Ginnivan earlier in the week.

The Power booked a spot in next week’s preliminary final against Sydney after holding on for a thrilling three-point win over the Hawks.

Cameras captured Hinkley putting his arms out – as if to mimic an aeroplane – then shouting and smiling at Hawthorn players.

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“There was an incident after the game where I had some words with a Hawthorn player that I wish I hadn’t had in a moment that I shouldn’t have had,“ Hinkley said.

“It was an emotional game, a big result, and there was stuff said during last week that I certainly didn’t enjoy, but I shouldn’t have let that moment get to me.

“I’ve now made it known to them through this that I shouldn’t have approached the moment that I did, but what was done during the week was done and I responded to it in an emotional state, which shouldn’t be the case.”

Hinkley said he used Ginnivan’s comments as motivation for his side during the week.

“A fair bit. A fait bit. And that’s probably why it got to the point it did. We as a footy club found it a little bit disrespectful and that’s why it gets to where it gets.”

Hinkley hailed the resilience of his players after they bounced back from an embarrassing finals defeat against Geelong to book a preliminary final berth.

“We’ve been through a lot, but for the boys to be able to bounce back like they did in a high-pressure game, it was really good,” Hinkley said.

“Hawthorn has certainly been hard work for everyone to try and beat, and to do what we were able to do was a great performance.

“We were able to stop some parts of their game that they’ve thrived on this year.”

The result was a circuit-breaker for the pressure on Hinkley’s position as senior coach, but he denied the focus on his job had been a factor.

“I think we’re a mature enough club that we know it’s part of the territory,” he said of the media commentary around his job security.

“I understand the language around it because I have been around a long time.

“(It was a big win) not for me, but for us as a footy club.”

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Hinkley will quickly turn his mind to finding the right combination to topple the Swans and he has plenty to consider after Jason Horne-Francis hobbled off late, Todd Marshall was subbed out at three-quarter time and Charlie Dixon withdrew before the game with illness.

“It was just a cramp for Jase, he’d run himself into the ground, you use some extra energy when you play in a final and you need to be mindful of that in your preparation,” Hinkley reported.

“But it was a pretty big cramp.

“I think Jase was more around fatigue than anything else.

“He snapped a goal in the last quarter, which we would’ve found out if there was any issues, he probably wouldn’t have been able to do that (if he did).

“I think he’ll be ok, but we’ll wait and see like we do with every game.”

Dixon has been battling a virus that kept him out of the last game of the home-and-away season against Fremantle.

“He tried to do some stuff out on the ground earlier, but he just wasn’t physically well enough, he was ill, so he just couldn’t get through the game,” the coach said.

“We pulled him out of Freo because he was sick then he came back in and was ok, but as with anyone who’s had a virus in the last few years they can come back and they can get you again.

“We’re hopeful that he will be more than ok next week.”

Marshall suffered a head knock and while he passed a concussion test, he was ultimately subbed out of the game, but Hinkley confirmed he had not entered AFL concussion protocols.

“He was feeling a little bit off and because of his history we took a conservative approach,” Hinkley said.

“We were sure that the game was going to be a little bit more around, not necessarily aerial dominance, it was going to be about contest dominance.

“He’ll be monitored closely because there’s no chance that we take any risks with Todd because he’s got a bit of a history.”

Zak Butters started on the bench and finished the game with 17 possessions, with Hinkley confident his star onballer’s much-discussed rib issue will be “better again” having got through the match unscathed.