- Jason Horne-Francis has been warned by his coach
- The young player delivered a disappointing performance against the Suns
- Ken Hinkley said he expects more from the former No. 1 draft pick
Jason Horne-Francis still has a lot to learn, says his Port Adelaide coach, after the 21-year-old was defeated in a narrow defeat by Gold Coast.
The Power prospect scored two goals in Sunday’s 14-point defeat to the Suns but also gave away four free kicks and touched the ball just nine times despite playing 10 centres.
He had not yet given the ball away when he gave away a 50-yard penalty in the second quarter after pushing Suns midfielder Sam Flanders, whom he had just tackled high, to the ground.
Horne-Francis again got into a fight with Nick Holman in the final, throwing the Suns player onto the court.
Six possessions in the third quarter put him up by a goal after touching the ball just twice before halftime and once in the final period.
Ports coach Ken Hinkley made no apologies for his youth when discussing the former No. 1 pick’s difficult day.
“He has to be better at times than he was today … and we don’t accept that as okay,” he said.
‘He has learned a lot, but he still has a lot more to learn.
Jason Horne-Francis has been given a hard slap from his Port Adelaide coach
The former No. 1 draft pick struggled to make an impact in Port’s loss to the Suns
Power coach Ken Hinkley said he expects more from the young midfielder
‘He is an aggressive player who likes to seek physical contact. As soon as you give the opponent the chance to see it, they often come at you even more.
‘Jason has to learn to deal with this and he has to get better.’
The loss cost Port, who had won two in a row, fourth place, with 12 teams battling for second through 13th, separated by just two wins.
A concussion to Lachie Jones and a bizarre hip injury to striker Todd Marshall compounded Port’s woes.
Jones was lifted high by Alex Davies, while Marshall’s legs took the weight of his falling team-mate Charlie Dixon. The forward had to undergo scans to determine the extent of the damage.
“I’ve been around for a while and I’ve seen a lot of strange things happen on the football field. This is another one to add to my collection,” Hinkley said of the nature of Marshall’s injury.
‘In the end, we paid a high price.’