Usually when the Power triumph, they're led to victory by a vaunted midfield.
But their 25-point home win against Melbourne on Sunday was powered by two key position players.
Forward Mitch Georgiades kicked 7.4 and key defender Esava Ratugolea took 13 marks - career-best returns for both.
"It's not typically we talk about bookends of the ground, a full forward and a full back, being as dominant as they were," Hinkley said after Port's 14.9 (93) to 9.14 (68) win.
"We have typically survived around the midfield group - everyone talks around them."
Port's on-ball brigade was still good: Skipper Connor Rozee, in defence and spurts in the midfield, collected a match-high 32 disposals; Jason Horne-Francis had 29 touches; vice-captain Zak Butters gathered 27.
But it was Georgiades, who demolished dual All Australian backman Steven May, and Ratugolea who were the difference.
"Mitch kicked 7.4 and might not have been best on ground," Hinkley said,
"It was really pleasing for Esava, particularly, to play that way.
"He has played a really strong year. You can see him grow with confidence.
"And then for Mitch to do what he did on a high quality opponent ... that's a big number in the AFL; 7.4 is a really big number now.
"It was a different way for us to win when we were strong at both ends of the ground."
Hinkley described Ratugolea, who arrived at Port at the end of 2023 after six years at Geelong, as "a little bit of a doubter".
"He's the bloke who wants to do everything right by the team, he's such a carer," Hinkley said.
"You can see when he occasionally makes a mistake, that he feels that a bit too much - he's just got to let them go.
"He's learning to do that much better. So I was just really pleased for him to be that dominant."
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