Jason Horne-Francis has likely avoided serious injury after leaving the field during the Power’s loss to Collingwood
JASON Horne-Francis has likely avoided major injury after the former No.1 pick left the ground late in Port Adelaide’s loss to Collingwood on Saturday.
The 20-year-old had been among the Power’s best in their eventual 42-point loss against the Pies, but coach Ken Hinkley downplayed the extent of the injury.
“Yeah he’s OK, he came off with a bit of cramp at the end, but he should be OK,” he said.
“I’m always nervous about predicting this sort of stuff at the end of the day.
“I think he’s fine, I think Lachie Jones had a bit of a hamstring issue he’ll get scanned on. He’s got a history around that so he couldn’t quite get to the power he needed to get back on so we didn’t take that unnecessary risk. I think Bergman rolled his ankle late in the game but I would hope that’s pretty reasonable.”
Hinkley said the loss was troubling for the Power, who were blown away by the reigning premier after a red-hot start.
“As much as we were on in the first quarter, we were switched off by Collingwood at their best today with the way they’d play,” he said.
“It’s reasonable to say we were lacking a little bit of energy, or maybe it was the reverse, the opposition was playing with incredible energy.
“We take a lot of learning, and that’s what we need to do.”
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Hinkley refuted suggestions the loss was similar to the Power’s only other loss this season, a seven-point defeat at the hands of Melbourne in round three.
“[They were] different losses. Really clearly different losses. This one was super, super concerning,” he said.
“I thought against Melbourne, we played with some strength in our game and this time, after quarter time, for three quarters we didn’t appear to be that side I know we are.
“I’d look a bit foolish if I sat up here and said we were a really good side when we displayed that against the reigning premier.”
Collingwood coach Craig McRae said the playing group was refreshed coming off a bye.
“We looked way more connected now than we have in previous weeks,” he said.
“Right now, to have a couple of extra days to get mind and body ready, we felt that on Monday when they bounced into work.
“Then we can train a bit more and express ourselves in that regard.”
Another facet of Collingwood’s impressive win was small forward Bobby Hill dishing off several goals to teammates.
“Players talked about that post-game, how important that is for energy,” McRae said.
“Individuals kick goals, but they’re ours. So when we share it around, it’s just another level of us … huge.”
