First, came belief. Then, came the lessons. And Port Adelaide coach Ken Hinkley puts them all down as an experience.
Port ended a demanding AFL month with a 45-point loss to flag favourites Hawthorn on Saturday.
Their tough stretch featured wins against Sydney and Collingwood, before losing to Essendon and the Hawks.
“We got great experience – that is the number one thing,” Hinkley said of Port’s past month.
“We got some great results and some great belief in the first couple of weeks.
“And we got some really strong lessons, I reckon, in the last two weeks against top-four sides.”
The main lesson?
“When you think you’re sound defensively, you’ll get shown up if you don’t keep at it,” Hinkley said.
“Last week as 118 points, today was 120-odd points we conceded – they are not scores that we want to concede.
“But they showed us that if you’re not quite right all over the ground, you will leak those goals.”
Port cling to eighth spot but have easier fixtures ahead: Brisbane, St Kilda and then Adelaide.
“Our supporters … they’d be thinking ‘we’re okay, but we still have got plenty more to do’,” Hinkley said.
“And I have said that every week … we have got plenty more to do and plenty more to learn.”