SHAKING last year's "flat-track bully" tag is a focus for Port Adelaide this season, but Power coach Ken Hinkley won't be using the sting of their heart-breaking elimination final defeat as motivation.

In fact, Hinkley says going back over the two-point, extra-time, goal-after-the-siren loss to West Coast won't help the Power's 2018 campaign "one iota". 

Instead, capitalising on their targeted recruiting that focused on players that can help improve their "finishing" power, as well as encouraging the development of existing Power players, is part of how they'll try and bin the term that clung to them last year. 

"Flat-track bullies … it's right, because the numbers would suggest we were far better against the lower teams and weren't as strong against the better teams," Hinkley told AFL.com.au this week. 

"We won a few games, but we lost a lot of close ones, and that's where our finish was important. 

"[The term] does annoy you because you think your team is pretty competitive. 

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"We managed to beat Sydney in Sydney (in round one) and went down to Geelong (round 10) and lost by two points in a nail-biter - they're the two hardest games you can probably play in AFL football when you're away from home, and we beat West Coast in Perth (round 16). 

"But we lost to West Coast at Adelaide Oval (round seven and the elimination final), we lost to Richmond at Adelaide Oval by two or three goals (round 15) and had dominant entries, we just didn't score as well as we should (have)." 

The Power's record against bottom-nine sides in 2017 saw them register 12 wins from as many starts. 

And they won each game convincingly, with a percentage over 200 and six of seven matches against bottom-five sides by over 70 points. 

It was a different story against teams in the top nine. Port won just two games from 11 starts, with Champion Data explaining "they simply couldn't maintain possession against strong sides". 

They often lacked the ability to finish with five of those losing margins under three goals. 

This pre-season, Hinkley has demanded a strong focus on defence as he assembles a new-look line up that even now has a degree of the unknown about it after a massive 11 list changes. 

"We need to make sure we're putting pressure on the ball as quick as we can," he said. 

"It's what we expect of each other at Port Adelaide. If someone else has the ball, we want to be getting at them as quick as we can without opening ourselves up." 

To outsiders, it looks like it all came together for the Power in the 2017 off-season when they brought in all the experienced players they wanted. 

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Hinkley said the list build, which has left them with the sixth-oldest and second-most experienced group, is more complex than just what happened since that September loss to the Eagles.

It includes bringing in first-round picks Todd Marshall and Sam Powell-Pepper in 2016; the former playing three games and the latter 22 last season, with both picked for the final.   

The coach also conceded that recruiting the likes of Tom Rockliff, Jack Watts, Steven Motlop, Jack Trengove, Dom Barry, Lindsay Thomas and Trent McKenzie meant that even he wasn't entirely sure what his best team looked like yet.

He believes "front-half finishers" Rockliff, Watts and Motlop will also allow established Power players like Robbie Gray, Chad Wingard and Travis Boak more flexibility to play where they're needed.

But one thing is for sure; that loss, the one where West Coast's Luke Shuey kicked a goal after the siren signaled the end of extra time, won't form the nucleus of their motivation. 

"We've hurt from it. We're lucky enough that time does heal, and in a sporting sense, you heal quicker than in life sometimes," Hinkley said.

"It's certainly a moment we'll remember, but we'll equally remember a moment of Ryder to Gray in another game and a fantastic goal (to defeat St Kilda). 

"You remember the good, you have to deal with the bad, and hopefully it makes you stronger for next time.

"But it's not going to help [focusing on it]. It won't help this year coming, not one iota."