The Power have lost six of their past eight games, a slump that has put in doubt a place in the top four.
They sit a win behind fourth-placed Fremantle with three games remaining.
Hinkley said his side was still some way off playing at the level it did earlier in the year, but the signs were positive.
Despite the team's loss to the Sydney Swans by 26 points last weekend, the coach was pleased with the 160-145 contested possession advantage.
"Results would say we're a little bit away from that (top-of-the-ladder form) still … we know that when we bring the right levels to all parts of our game that we can get back to that type of form pretty quickly," Hinkley said.
"I just don't think we're playing exactly the way we want to play.
"People purely want to look at ball movement and say 'You're not doing what you should be doing' or 'You're not playing the way you were playing' – there's other areas that affect that.
"We've been working towards getting that back on track over the last three to four weeks.
"We acknowledge some of the opposition are doing some stuff that are making it harder, but we also acknowledge that we're not doing what we need to do to make that a bit easier."
Hinkley confirmed Matt White would return to the line up for Gold Coast on Saturday after missing two games with a groin injury.
Aaron Young (foot) will also return to football this weekend, but will play in the SANFL on Sunday.
White will add an element of explosive pace and another goal-scoring option to the side.
"You always miss someone who brings that type of run to the team; he's pretty important for us," he said.
"He's had a really good year for us in his first year at the club."
Although important defender Steven May and skipper Gary Ablett will miss Saturday afternoon's encounter, Hinkley said the Suns' record at home was proof they were not to be taken lightly.
"I think seven out of nine at Metricon they've won - we're playing them at Metricon, we're playing them on their turf," he said.
"Gary's a significant loss but we've dealt with significant losses through the year … you play what's there.
"I'm sure they won't be thinking for one moment that they're not right in this game to win it, and I'm not thinking for one moment that it's not going to need our best effort."
