A delighted Ken Hinkley has praised Port Adelaide's effort to secure a nine-point wet weather AFL win over Gold Coast.
The Power outlasted an undermanned Suns outfit on Saturday in torrential rain at Metricon Stadium to secure a 7.14 (56) to 7.5 (47) win.
The victory is just the fifth-placed Power's second in seven matches and keeps their hopes of a top-four finish alive.
By contrast, the Suns' third loss in four matches since captain Gary Ablett suffered a season-ending shoulder injury has almost certainly iced their hopes of a maiden finals berth.
The Power were dominant in most of the game's key stats, recording 72 inside-50s to 39 and a whopping 64 hitouts to 37.
Despite that, it took until the third quarter for the visitors to get in front on the scoreboard and, when the win seemed certain, two late Suns' goals made for a nervy finish.
Hinkley said he couldn't have been prouder of how his team came through.
"There's only two teams who've beaten them up here on the Gold Coast and that's Hawthorn and Sydney," Hinkley said.
"It's a pretty big win for us."
Port's gameplan was nearly undone before the opening bounce with Angus Monfries ruled out in the pre-game warm-up with a hip flexor injury, forcing the taxi carrying emergency Aaron Young to the airport to make a swift U-turn.
In the end, it was Gold Coast struggling for bodies with Greg Broughton (elbow) ruled out before the game and Charlie Dixon (quad), Jack Martin (ankle) and Danny Stanley (shoulder) all being hurt during the match.
Harley Bennell, with two goals and 27 disposals, did his best to make up for the lack of bodies but Power ruckman Matthew Lobbe (56 hitouts) and Robbie Gray (26 disposals, one goal) were too good for the hosts.
Despite the defeat, Suns coach Guy McKenna is refusing to give up on the club's hopes of a top-eight finish.
"It's a bit tougher after losing today, I'm not disputing that," McKenna said.
"We're certainly not conceding the year ... we've got nothing left in the tank but the boys are continuing to fight and push and drive ourselves to the last game of the season, whenever that's going to be."
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