LEADERSHIP is more powerful in actions rather than words - and Port Adelaide's young leadership pairing of Connor Rozee and Zak Butters is acting with maturity beyond a partnership in just its second season.
This was highlighted at the weekend during the three quarter-time break when Rozee and Butters sought to refocus midfielder Jason Horne-Francis amid the taunting from his former North Melbourne team-mates at Adelaide Oval.
"I was really proud of that situation," said Port Adelaide coach Ken Hinkley on Wednesday. "Of how our two leaders took control.
"I speak to the leaders at all the breaks. It was their decision to bring Jason into the conversation. It was such a mature response.
"We all know Jason is learning. There is not a young player in the game who will not have moments of frustration that boil over. Our young captain and vice-captain did an outstanding job of calming him down.
"And Jason to his credit acknowledged that - and we move forward with optimism that he is getting better every day."
The next test comes in a true football context with Horne-Francis, Butters and Willem Drew to deal with the major challenge presented by the Western Bulldogs midfield at Ballarat on Saturday.
MORE PRIDE: Sam Powell-Pepper reaches his 150th game milestone with all at Alberton admiring the triumph against adversity theme in his journey in life and football.
"I am just proud of Sam," said Hinkley. "He is a great person and the way he has gone about it, with the challenges he has overcome with challenges from a very young Sam to now a very mature dad ... he has had to come back from a serious knee injury last year ... Sam creates enormous spirit for our footy club. He is a spirit leader.
"We are all proud of him."
SINNERS: Port Adelaide is not to be lost in the debate on the AFL's challenge to preserve the fabric of the game while also being acutely aware of the responsibility to provide safety for players. It has lost Josh Sinn with the concussion protocols while the AFL judiciary has banned Paul Curtis from North Melbourne's next three games for his tackle on Sinn.
"My personal view," says Hinkley, "is this is an unfortunate suspension that I would normally think is not a suspension. But my educated view would say I am not at all surprised it is a suspension in today's world.
"It is a change in landscape around concussion, injury and all that goes with it. This is very unfortunate because Curtis did not do too much wrong. But I understand the consequence of concussion these days.
"It makes it a real challenge if you make that tackle. You know - and every player would know - if the tackle goes wrong, you could be in some trouble.
"You are allowed to tackle - but you need to tackle with care. You have to make sure your tackle does not cause injury."
SELECTION: Sinn out - and many options are on the whiteboard as his replacement.
Logan Evans. Ryan Burton. Or perhaps Jase Burgoyne.
"We have some really good options," said Hinkley. "We are pretty lucky in that area of the ground. It will be interesting where we go (at selection).
"Logan Evans has had a really great start to his career. We put a circuit breaker in that last week (with a return to the SANFL) to lessen the pressure applied by himself more than anyone. Sometimes that is the right thing to do. You can bring them back confident he can play well."
OPPO WATCH: Port Adelaide has won its past four games against the Western Bulldogs to extend the win-loss ledger further in Port Adelaide's favour at 22-16. The 39th match-up of the "western suburbs" clubs does become a big pointer to top-eight chances.
"The Bulldogs are in really good form," acknowledges Hinkley. "And they are quite different. They have been a bit like us by dealing with key forwards out. Both sides have had to find their way to 4-3. It is an interesting game and it is one both teams will be desperate to win.
"It is a great battle when you come up against such quality."
BUSH TRIP: Port Adelaide returns to Ballarat where it has a perfect record with two wins (against the Western Bulldogs by 17 and 44 points in 2017 and 2018).
Avoiding the Western Bulldogs' home deck at the Melbourne Docklands could work to Port Adelaide's favour.
"We are undefeated at Ballarat," underlined Hinkley. "We have some understanding of the ground. We know what it presents. But once the game starts we don't look at the scenery too much. We just play."
FORM LINE: Port Adelaide is rated as a "contender" for finals action again - and Hinkley still sees much growth to emerge on the path to September.
"We are still building," Hinkley said. "Our game is not in perfect shape. We know that. But there are not many in the competition that would say they are in perfect shape yet.
"None of us have eyes on anything other than this week. We know how good we are going to need to be to beat the Bulldogs."
INJURY UPDATE: Former captain Travis Boak remains confident of resuming soon as he deals with a back injury.
"Travis is quite bullish," Hinkley said. "Hopefully, that continues on and he is not too far away."
Defender Brandon Zerk-Thatcher has resumed in the SANFL after his long layoff with a back injury.
"He is building," Hinkley said. "He has come off 12 weeks (on the injury list) so he will need a couple of weeks to get some conditioning. He needs to get some good form. He will play again this week in the SANFL."
