THE FORMLINE of 2013 and 2014 combined with the recruiting of last October pointed to this year's Grand Final.That Port Adelaide has dismally failed to get near the massive, fully justified expectations on it for the 2015 AFL season has left this proud club shell-shocked and in several minds as to how best to tackle the immediate future.While it took until last weekend's loss to Western Bulldogs to make us all realise that the Power were spent and not going to even make the finals this year, the signs have actually been worrying for a long time, certainly to coach Ken Hinkley."We've been tough on our terms a bit too often, and not when it's going against us," he said after the weekend's lamentable surrender against the Bulldogs, who are doing this year what Port did last year with a ruthless brand of hassle-free football.In Hinkley's two completed seasons at Port, the club won a final in 2013 and won two finals last year, missing a Grand Final appearance when it fell just three points short, after an epic comeback, of eventual premier Hawthorn in a preliminary final.The pain was nearly forgotten just three weeks later when the future loomed as Times Square-style bright on the back of the recruitment of Paddy Ryder from Essendon.It was hailed as the most significant addition to Port since Gavin Wanganeen departed from the same club in order to be the Power's inaugural AFL captain in 1997.But from round seven this year when Port lost to Brisbane Lions, it has been obvious that the expectations were not going to be met.The Ryder acquisition has caused as many problems for Hinkley as it has solved, particularly with the negative impact it has had on fellow big man Matthew Lobbe.The gut-running of all players, and wave-running of all small defenders and midfielders in 2014 has been largely absent in 2015.The much-lauded fitness staff have not been able to conjure a way to cover up all the shortcomings.Jared Polec's injury problems proved crucial, and perhaps we should have read even more than we actually did into Kane Cornes' premature retirement early in the season.And maybe, despite the wins in a 2015 elimination final (against Richmond) and semi-final (Fremantle) before the heroics of the preliminary final, we needed to have taken a closer look at what happened after round 12 last year.As exciting as the memories of Port playing in the finals were, the fact was the club won only six of its final 14 matches for the year.Add this year's 8-10 scoreline to that formline, and the Power have won just 14 of their past 32 matches.This year's ladder is not lying. Not only is Port not worthy of making finals, it seems a long way off. It has dramatically failed the expectation test of 2015.The slide in 2015 has come despite captain Travis Boak and fellow All Australians Chad Wingard and Robbie Gray compiling excellent seasons. Ollie Wines had been solid when injury allowed him to be, and Jack Hombsch has continued his significant progress.The dilemma for Hinkley now is how best to approach the future. Talk of significant interest in Gold Coast's Charlie Dixon is real, but at what cost? And while Port's salary cap is already at bursting point, we're not asking merely about the dollars.Ryder came with risks. Dixon would come with more. Meanwhile, the risk-free, solid servant full-forward Jay Schulz remains uncontracted to Port beyond this year, and would, according to his manager Liam Pickering, view it as "poor form" if he was to be forced out for Dixon.Yet taking risks with its game style got Port to within a kick of a Grand Final last year.It will be intriguing to follow the Power's movements in the next trade period. Hinkley, David Koch and Keith Thomas do not give the impression of being men who retreat after one failed launch.