Port Adelaide coach Ken Hinkley has taken on the responsibility for playing captain Connor Rozee six days after a minor hamstring injury, with the Power star re-injuring himself in Thursday night's Showdown loss to the Crows.
Rozee was subbed out of the five-goal defeat during three-quarter time of the match after pulling up from a contest midway through the third term, with the midfielder undergoing tests on the sidelines for a majority of the remaining minutes before the final break.
The Power made the call to sub Rozee out of the match, with Hinkley confirming it was his decision to have the 24-year-old suit up for the Showdown less than a week on from the ailment.
The club had confirmed Rozee had passed the needed tests throughout the week, however, Hinkley took on the blame following his side's third defeat of 2024.
"I made a mistake playing Connor Rozee tonight. That was clear, it was obvious," Hinkley admitted.
"All the testing that we'd done, all the medical support we could get, all the information I could get was Connor was able [to play].
"But once fatigue set in tonight, it was clear. I can try and hide behind it, but I'm not. I'm not a coward when it comes to owning a mistake, and that's what it was. A mistake."
Had Port Adelaide managed their skipper for Round 8, it's likely Rozee would be available for the club's upcoming clash against Geelong next Friday.
The two-time All-Australian is now expected to miss that match, and potentially further, however, Hinkley revealed the injury is no worse than the one he sustained against St Kilda last week.
"It's no worse, but it's the same issue, which suggests to me that if he had the week off, he would be better the next week," the Power coach said.
"I let Connor down by letting him play. That would impact anyone. He thought he was absolutely right to play.
"He was flat out, two days in a row no problems at all. Kicked the ball from 60 metres, had shots at goal.
"I'd seen all the things you needed to see. I should've known that perhaps that was going to happen, and I set Connor up to fail as a player by the way he had to perform out there.
"They're really frustrating injuries to make decisions on... there's always risks. Connor's was a first-time hamstring."
Hinkley confirmed Rozee is set to miss the club's trip to Geelong next week.
The Power also came away from the loss to state rivals Adelaide with three more concerns, with Todd Marshall (ankle), Mitch Georgiades (knee) and Liam Jones (leg) each limited from separate incidents.
Hinkley said he hopes both Georgiades and Marshall are okay, but further testing will come before learning the extent of their pair's potential setbacks.
The Power are likely to have defender Aliir Aliir back for Round 9 should he exit concussion protocols, while forward Jeremy Finlayson will come into the selection mix after a promising performance at the SANFL level on Thursday, having served his three-game ban for a homophobic slur.
