Announcing a coaching succession plan has taken the pressure off Ken Hinkley as he prepares for his last shot at an elusive AFL premiership with Port Adelaide, says captain Connor Rozee.
Earlier this month, it was confirmed Hinkley would lead the Power for a 13th and final season before passing the baton to senior assistant Josh Carr.
"For us, it doesn't change a hell of a lot for this year, we're pretty focused on what we have to do," Rozee told AAP.
"It's still a whole year away, but takes a bit of pressure off Kenny.
"Especially with the Adelaide media, they're pretty full-on sometimes.
"He's a pretty stern character, but I'm sure it does get to him after a while.
"He'll probably be better for it with a little bit of the pressure off this year."
Carr coached Rozee at SANFL club North Adelaide, then was his midfield coach at Port.
Rozee is now skipper and - amid preparations for the Power's season-opener against Collingwood at the MCG on March 15 - said he was adamant the club was "in good hands going forward".
"His relationships with players is probably his main strength," Rozee explained.
"He's a lot younger than Ken and he's served his time as assistant coach. He's been a senior coach at SANFL level and he's done the right things, and he's ready to take an AFL team."
Rozee admits last season's preliminary final exit was frustrating, but feels Port are "very close" and can contend again.
He has also learned from his first season as captain.
That included playing in the Showdown days after tweaking his hamstring - then further injuring the muscle during the game.
"Just realising that I need to put my own performance first sometimes, and focus on getting my own thing right before I can help others a bit more," Rozee said.
"So that was my learning curve midway through the season, when I had that small injury and then going into finals."
Rozee, 25, is confident Port can cover the loss of Dan Houston, citing Kane Farrell and Logan Evans as half-back options ahead of facing Collingwood in round one.
He expected Hinkley to "throw the magnets around" to cover the early-season absences of key defenders Esava Ratugolea and Brandon Zerk-Thatcher.
Rozee has delighted in great mate and ex-Gold Coast forward Jack Lukosius returning to form a mobile attacking partnership with Mitch Georgiades.
"It's great to have him home. We always jokingly talked about it early days and fortunately, we were in a position to get him," Rozee said.
"He's been terrific and him and Mitch have been probably the two standouts down forward over the course of pre-season.
"We're gonna have to change how we play slightly. We don't have Charlie Dixon down there anymore, so it'll be interesting to see how it goes.
"But I can't wait to play with him."
