After conquering the consistency challenge, Port Adelaide wants to avoid being bitten by bottom-10 teams

PORT Adelaide has answered the “flat-track bully” critics, but now the Power has to return to beating up bottom-10 teams as it chases a place in the top-four.

Port Adelaide key defender Dougal Howard is not taking his eye off the ball as the Power starts a six-week stretch against bottom-10 teams. Picture: Quinn Rooney (Getty Images)

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PORT Adelaide has answered the consistency challenge with three consecutive wins.

Now the Power has to prove it is not getting cocky in the race to the AFL top four.

Fifth-placed Port Adelaide (9-4) has the AFL fixture “open up” with six consecutive games against also-ran teams - starting with Carlton at the MCG on Saturday.

But after dismissing the “flat-track bully” tag from last season - when the Power regularly beat up on bottom-10 teams - Port Adelaide senses hubris could sting against the last-ranked Blues.

Power key defender Dougal Howard told The Advertiser on Tuesday the approach to Carlton must mirror that of dealing with a top-eight rival.

“We have to keep playing the same way,” Howard said. “After three weeks at home, we hit the road again - and we can’t complain about that trip being to the MCG (for the first time this season).

“We’re going to play it exactly like we did for the past three weeks: Keep our game simple.

“And after seeing what Carlton did to give Collingwood a really good run on Sunday, we see again that you cannot take any team lightly.”

Port Adelaide plays Carlton, St Kilda, Fremantle, GWS, the Western Bulldogs and Adelaide in the next six games with all these teams in the bottom nine today - and expected to stay there.

“You can’t think (the challenge) eases off because of the draw (opening up),” Howard said.

“We saw that with Brisbane at the start of the year giving us a run for our money (with a five-point game in round three at Adelaide Oval),” added Howard, who was last bitten by a bottom-10 club in round 11 when the Power lost to Hawthorn in Launceston.

“Any team on its day can win. That is said a lot in the AFL, but you can’t ignore that it is a very close competition - and you can’t take any team lightly.”

Port Adelaide is chasing four consecutive wins for the first time since the last four rounds of the 2015 home-and-away season.

Howard expects the “consistency question” to linger even if the Power dismisses Carlton at the weekend.

“There is still a question there - we have to prove something,” Howard said.

“Last year, it was we could not beat top-eight sides.

“We’ve done that this year, particularly in the past three weeks (by beating AFL premiers Richmond and fellow top-four contender Melbourne).

“But consistency is built over a season, not three weeks.

“We’ve learned (in those three weeks) to keep it pretty simple - and we have gone back to basics a bit.

“Our midfield contest work has been excellent - and we’ve gelled as a group.

“If we stay injury free, that core group will come together stronger.”