PORT ADELAIDE Coach Ken Hinkley has conceded his side is off its game while lamenting its inability to hit the scoreboard in its loss to Geelong.

The Cats ran out 34-point winners in a hotly contested ANZAC Round match at Adelaide Oval.

The Power hit the lead in the third quarter after dominating at the contest and in the clearances but faded to concede six of the last seven goals, including five unanswered majors in the last term.

“I thought our pressure was up tonight, I thought we were a bit better in that space but our finish was really poor and their finish was really strong,” Hinkley said after the game.

“When the game got biggest, they got best.

“We thought we had them under real pressure in the third quarter and they just found a way when we dominated a patch of play but couldn’t score and that was pretty much the whole night.

“We got to the lead, we needed to kick the next couple of goals probably to put them in some doubt but to their credit they kept fighting.”

Hinkley said the most disappointing statistic was that his side managed just four marks inside 50 after 52 forward entries.

He said better efficiency when delivering inside 50 was something his side had focussed on in the off-season.

“Geelong hold really good shape behind the ball, they’ve always been good at that and we’ve been aware of that, but we were unable to execute in a way that could hurt them and that’s credit to them,” he said.

“You’re never going that good, you’re never going that bad but at the moment it feels like we’re going pretty bad.

“We know when we’re doing it well and when we’re doing it bad.”

After making slow starts against Sydney, Brisbane and Essendon in recent weeks, Hinkley was pleased with the pressure his side applied but said again it failed to make the most of it on the scoreboard.

Cats skipper Joel Selwood won the Major Peter Badcoe Medal, awarded to the player whose conduct and play best demonstrated the qualities of skill, courage in adversity, self-sacrifice, teamwork and fair play, and Hinkley said he was a worthy recipient.

Todd Marshall was a late withdrawal for the Power and Hinkley said he hoped the young forward would be available next week along with Tom Rockliff and Jasper Pittard. 

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