Hinkley conceded the Power were "miles off the pace" and beaten in all facets of the game in their 21.10 (136) to 6.9 (45) loss at the MCG on Saturday night.
It was the heaviest losing margin of Hinkley's 275-game tenure.
But the long-time Port coach, who will hand the reins to Josh Carr at the end of this season, isn't about to throw the baby out with the bath water ahead of a round-two clash with Richmond at Adelaide Oval.
"We've got to remember it's round one and maintain our belief in what we do and how we do things," Hinkley said.
"You don't always get the start you want but the reality is you can only sink quickly into a bad place if you go into too much negative stuff.
"You've got to reflect on what's been pretty positive in the build-up to the season.
"Tonight was nowhere near a level of acceptance for us as a footy team. We know that.
"But the reality is we've got to maintain our belief in the way we're going to play our football and attack our football this year.
"We'll be a better team and a different team next week."
Hinkley felt Collingwood, who were thrashed by GWS in opening round, gained some advantage over his side by starting their season a week earlier.
But he refused to use it as an excuse for his players, lashing their lack of effort and inability to match the Pies around the contest.
"They beat us physically and they beat us on the run as well. They didn't just beat us one way," Hinkley said.
"Clearly, when you win by that much, you dominate the game in all phases.
"It's hard to be anything positive around the way we played other than that we're in transition, we're in a space of playing a slightly different game style, and clearly we've got a lot to learn."
Pressed for positives, Hinkley reluctantly offered up the club debuts of Jack Lukosius, Joe Richards and Joe Berry, as well as skipper Connor Rozee's fight against the tide.
But there was no escaping the brutal reality of the club's heaviest defeat since 2011.
"We did our best to stick at it tonight but the reality is we were at different levels," Hinkley said.
"That's honest. They were miles above us and we were miles off where we should've been."
Hinkley is hopeful tall defender Esava Ratugolea will be cleared to return from a knee injury against Richmond on Saturday.
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