Power beat Bulldogs in London exhibition

Updated November 04, 2012 09:03:32

New coach Ken Hinkley has made a winning start to his time in charge of Port Adelaide with a one-point win in an AFL exhibition match against the Western Bulldogs in London.

Hinkley, who was only appointed to the top job last month, was at the helm as the Power edged out the Bulldogs 14.4 (88) to 13.9 (87) at The Oval cricket ground.

After trailing by six goals in the third quarter, the Power kicked nine majors on the trot before the 'Dogs reclaimed the lead in a see-sawing encounter.

To top off an entertaining evening in south London, Port Adelaide's Brad Ebert kicked the winning goal from the boundary line with only 40 seconds remaining.

Former Essendon forward Angus Monfries made an impact in his first outing for the Power by booting three goals although both teams were far from full strength.

Hinkley was happy for his young players to be on the right side of a scoreline following a forgettable season.

"I said to the players before hand 'you always want to win' it does not matter if it is an exhibition match or anything for us," he said.

"We are a club that needs to learn to win a bit."

Hinkley was an assistant coach at Geelong and the Gold Coast before finally being handed the reins at a club for the first time last month.

"I don't like losing and that is what most of us are about if we are in this game, we like to play to win and we were lucky enough to end up just in front tonight," he said.

"I am not sure whether we knew what we were doing, we have been together for three seconds but the coaching staff told me all along there was some talent here to work with and it is nice to see that."

AAP

Tags: australian-football-league, sport, england, port-adelaide-5015, sa, footscray-3011, vic

First posted November 04, 2012 08:45:24

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AFL returns to London

Updated July 23, 2012 10:01:26

Australian rules football will return to London after a six-year break, with the announcement that Port Adelaide and the Western Bulldogs will play a game in November.

The AFL announced the matchup for the game, which will be the first of its type in London since Port Adelaide played Geelong in 2006.

Matches between AFL sides have been played in various countries overseas since the 1980s, the most recent being held in Shanghai, China as part of the 2010 World Expo.

AFL general manager national and international development, Andrew Dillon, said the aim of the match was to help to build the profile of the code outside Australia.

"The staging of a match between two AFL clubs continues to promote our game internationally and enables us to continue to build the returns from overseas broadcast rights that flow into both game development here in Australia and overseas," Dillon said.

Port Adelaide chief executive Keith Thomas said the club would take advantage of the trip by scheduling visits to leading international sports organisations, including a camp at the Australian Sports Commission European training centre in Italy.

The game will be played at The Oval in London on Saturday, November 3.

Tags: sport, australian-football-league, australia, england, port-adelaide-5015, adelaide-5000, sa, united-kingdom

First posted July 20, 2012 14:39:28

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