PORT ADELAIDE coach Ken Hinkley says he is pleased that his side was able to conjure another win despite not playing “perfect” footy.

Hinkley’s side beat Sydney at Adelaide Oval on Saturday by 26 points with Charlie Dixon booting four goals.

Port had a dominant first half and took a 32-point lead into half time, only to give Sydney a sniff in the third term.

Hinkley had a simple way to sum up the game.

“It was a good first half. Poor second half,” he said in his post-match press conference.

“It was pretty simple, Sydney were able to get back into the contest in the second half whereas in the first half, while the numbers were really flattering to us, we perhaps didn’t clean it up as well as we could have and the second half it went the other way.

“They got time in their half, time in possession – all the key things that you’d like not to give up, they were able to get hold of for a number of reasons.

“To their credit, they were after it a bit and were led well by Kennedy and a few others.”

After consecutive games where his side lacked energy, Hinkley saw improvement, particularly in the second quarter when Port booted four goals to nothing to break the game open.

“You have to win some games – and we’ve been doing that the last two or three weeks - where you haven’t been quite perfect but we’ve managed to find wins and that’s been really pleasing,” he said.

“It’s on the move towards the right stuff and when you start like that, it gives you a chance.”

A key to the first half display was the work of Robbie Gray, who had 19 disposals, four tackles, three clearances and two goals by the main break.

The enigmatic forward also spent time on the ball, finishing with a team-high 27 disposals, six tackles and five clearances.

“Rob’s been building his form,” Hinkley said.

“He had a quiet start to the year, there’s no doubt about that but he had 19 and two at half time today and we were in a pretty strong position and it was a fair bit to do with Robbie’s stuff.

“He’s just kept at it. He’s kept consistent with the way he goes about things, we’ve helped him a little, we’ve certainly supported him a little when he’s needed support from the coaching but to his credit he’s the one who has still got to go do it and if we can look forward to Robbie playing like that more and more as the season goes on, that’ll be a worry for some others.

“You allow him opportunities that can help him find the form that he needs to find. That can be a little around positioning, that can be a little about giving him the ball more sometimes.”

Port largely escaped injury free, although Hinkley admitted he thought Zak Butters might have suffered a serious injury when stumbled at full pace while winding up for a shot in the first quarter.

The Port coach said the teenager “got his legs mixed up” and fell over like “a child when they first learn to run” but was pleased the young gun was able to play out the remainder of the game. Although he admitted the moment was likely to come up when reviewing the game much to Butters' dismay and the amusement of his teammates.

The experienced Brad Ebert suffered a head knock in the third term but was cleared under the concussion protocols and returned to the field to see out the game with a nasty egg on his right cheekbone.

“He got the whack on the cheekbone that we’ll have to check,” Hinkley said of the injury.

“But I think the real critical point was that he’s symptom free of concussion.

“The good part is that he copped a decent whack and he was able to do his tests, come back on the ground and play his part.”

Port now enjoys a bye from mid-week action and will next travel to the Gold Coast to tackle North Melbourne next Saturday night.