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AAP
AAP
Sport
Justin Chadwick and Murray Wenzel

Port wary but not worried by looming Hinkley raid

Josh Carr is not worried about the looming player raid by new Tasmania coach Ken Hinkley (right). (Michael Errey/AAP PHOTOS)

Port Adelaide coach Josh Carr isn't worried about a looming raid from Ken Hinkley despite the new Tasmania Devils coach gearing up to lure a Power star his way.

Hinkley was announced as the inaugural coach of the AFL's newest expansion club this week, and he is already thinking ahead on the recruitment front.

The 59-year-old has intimate knowledge of Port Adelaide players, having coached the club from 2013 to 2025.

Mitch Georgiades
Mitch Georgiades is tipped to be a target for new Tasmania Devils coach Ken Hinkley. (Matt Turner/AAP PHOTOS)

As part of Tasmania's many generous concessions ahead of their AFL entry in 2028, the club is allowed to nab a maximum of one uncontracted player from each of their 18 rivals.

Star Power forward Mitch Georgiades and wingman Miles Bergman come out of contract at the end of next year and either would be an enticing prospect for Hinkley.

Carr isn't fazed by Hinkley being vocal in who he would like to target for the Devils.

"He's the same as every other opposition coach," Carr said on Saturday when quizzed about Hinkley's vocal wish list.

"You're going to be exploring all options and trying to bring people into your football club, so I wouldn't be expecting anything less."

Port's biggest contract saga this year involves injured star Zak Butters, who is attracting huge interest from around the country as he weighs up his future beyond this season.

But for the moment Carr is solely focused on Sunday's clash with Brisbane at the Gabba.

Port (6-12) need to win to have any hope of staying in the race for a wildcard berth, but they face a tough task against a Brisbane outfit who have moved to 12-6 following six wins in a row.

The Power have been boosted by the returns of Georgiades and Jason Horne-Francis, while Brisbane have named an unchanged side meaning fit-again forward Oscar Allen misses out for a second straight week.

Although Port sit a lowly 15th, their percentage of 99.3 shows just how competitive they've been this season with tight losses to Sydney (three points), West Coast (two points), Adelaide (one point) and Hawthorn (three points) proving costly to their finals hopes.

Last week, Port Adelaide led flag favourites Fremantle at half-time before losing by 28 points.

"If you look at expected score, which we all do these days, Port should have won 11 games and lost seven," Brisbane coach Chris Fagan said.

"They've lost a lot of games by not much against very good teams."

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