Port Adelaide coach Ken Hinkley blasted the AFL’s limit on interchanges as unfair after suffering a two-point loss to Melbourne on Sunday.
The Demons, with James Sellar booting five goals, withstood a late Power surge to win 0.12.6 (78) to 1.10.7 (76) at Renmark in South Australia’s Riverland region.
The pre-season cup game was among the first to trial limiting interchanges to 80 for each side and Hinkley bluntly said it was “unfair on players”.
“Clearly it’s not something we’d like to work with every week,” he said.
“We understand they’re trialling it but common sense I’m sure will prevail and it can’t operate like that any more.”
Hinkley said the interchange limit forced Port and Melbourne to field inexperienced line-ups in Renmark, fearful of the impact on established stars.
Melbourne rested arguably their top dozen players and Port similarly opted against playing top-liners including captain Travis Boak and prime midfielder Brad Ebert.
But the Demons made light of their absences and, with a dominant forward in Sellar, seemingly had Port’s measure for much of the game.
Sellar’s haul was supported by three goals from Melbourne veteran Aaron Davey and two from Dean Kent, while James Magner (24 disposals) and Neville Jetta (20 touches) controlled the midfield.
With Port unable to find an attacking winner except for Daniel Stewart (three goals), the Demons held a 25-point lead midway through the final term.
But just as the 3765-strong crowd sensed the contest was over, Port stormed home with three goals, including a super goal to Hamish Hartlett, to almost steal victory.
The late Port fightback took some gloss off a largely polished Melbourne performance, Demons assistant coach Jade Rawlings said.
“It was pleasing to win but we were 25 points up in the last quarter and then Port Adelaide had all the momentum,” he said.
“So it was pleasing to hang on but game time and how we actually go about our footy was the main thing we’re trying to achieve in games at this stage.
“We had a very inexperienced side and we were pleased to give more exposure to some of those players and learn a bit more about them.”
