Hawthorn coach Alastair Clarkson has tackled Port Adelaide’s recent ascendancy over the league’s premier team head on and called into question the Power’s ability to play “tough” football.
Port Adelaide has beaten the Hawks in three of their past four games, and Clarko’s comments are sure to add some extra spice when the club’s clash again on Thursday.
“They’re probably smarting a bit from a preliminary final loss two years ago that’s probably fuelled a lot of their motivation to play the last couple of times we’ve played them,” Clarkson told media on Wednesday.
“But it’s very hard to do that on a sustainable basis and we like to think we’ve proved ourselves over a long period of time, from week to week, playing tough, hard footy and Port Adelaide are yet to prove that they can do that on a week-to-week basis.
“Even those comments themselves will fuel a bit of spite and so righto, well it’s game on, and it is game on.
“We’re ready to come and play.
“This has been coming at us for three or four years, it’s not just this year. We can endure and we can withstand whatever’s thrown at us and there’s no greater environment, more hostile environment than Port Adelaide at Adelaide Oval tomorrow night.
“They’ve played some good footy but we’ve been particularly disappointing in those games too,” Clarkson said.
“They’ve ambushed us a little bit with their physicality and their starts to the games and we need to be ready for that.”
But Clarko’s crack didn’t ruffle Power coach Ken Hinkley who said the Hawthorn coach was correct.
“It’s real, it’s actual… I’m not going to be able to sit here and tell Alastair Clarkson what to and what not to say. It is Clarko’s choice,” Hinkley said.
“We are what we are — a bit up and down.
“But we are looking at it and mindful of the fact in this game to get credibility you have to do it consistently,” he said.
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