Port Adelaide captain Travis Boak puts Richmond performance as the non-negotiable standard as his team searches for consistency

PORT Adelaide has once again shown - by beating AFL premiers Richmond - that is can stand up to the league’s pacesetters. But the challenge remains to show this standard again and again

Jared Polec and Travis Boak of the Power walk from the field after the win over Richmond at Adelaide Oval on Friday. Picture: Daniel Kalisz/Getty Images

PORT Adelaide finally has its standard - and captain Travis Boak has made the pressure-dripping, contested style delivered against AFL premiers Richmond on Friday night as the non-negotiable mark that must not slip in the second half of the home-and-away season.

“That is something we have been trying to get to all year - and now we have to make sure we don’t slip away from it,” Boak told the Sunday Mail after the Power’s 14-point win at Adelaide Oval.

“That has to be consistent now. We’ve set a standard - and we have to demand that is delivered consistently.

“We’ve had a taste ... now we have to live up to that (standard) by remaining hungry for that pressure football.”

Boak defines Port Adelaide’s standard-bearing game as: “To play four quarters like that - against the premiers - with such outstanding pressure on the opposition all night is just what we have to do to win games.

“We’ve been really good at it for a one or two weeks, but never three,” Boak added. “We have to continue to build on that ... and bring that pressure again and again.”

Port Adelaide has advanced to a 7-4 win-loss count after half of its 22 home-and-away matches - a campaign marked with inconsistency.

Power coach Ken Hinkley notes: “We are not as consistent as we would like to be. We’re still trying to get better.”

Hinkley has no doubt on the cornerstone to his team’s best football – a strong appetite for the contest.

“We’ve got our contested ball in pretty good shape in the last month - that is pretty important,” Hinkley said.

“We are winning inside ball - and that is important to our success. We were led unbelievably in that area by (vice-captain) Ollie Wines (with a game-high 16 contested possessions that drove Port Adelaide’s 187-154 advantage against the premiers).”

Boak underlined the importance of the contested game for the Power.

“And forward-half pressure,’ Boak said. “Getting at the opposition is the type of footy we want to play. That is the style we want to be known for. That will win big games of footy - and we have to continue to bring that to every game.”

Port Adelaide lifted its inside-50 count to 68 against Richmond, but denied itself an advantage on the scoreboard with just 1.7 in the second half after breaking open the game with a seven-goal second term.

“It is work in progress,” Hinkley said. “And we missed some easy ones. We are working really hard to get better, but I will take 68 entries most weeks because it is going to be hard for the opposition to score.”

Significant in the Power’s storyline was the response of Chad Wingard after a week of external criticism.

“He was outstanding,” Boak said of Wingard’s game-high 31 disposals after being taken from attack to start in the midfield. “He has copped it - and I am so proud of him.”

After giving away eight 50-metre penalties in the three-point loss to Hawthorn in Launceston six days earlier, there was none in the match against Richmond. Hinkley accepted his team had made the correction - and not the umpires - as he acknowledged the undisciplined work of his players against the Hawks.

Port Adelaide reported no injury of concern in the lead-up to Thursday night’s home clash with the Western Bulldogs - the second of three consecutive stand-alone night games for the Power at Adelaide Oval, finishing with top-four contender Melbourne on Friday week.