Port Adelaide Power’s first goal must be to fix set shots after AFL loss to Richmond at Adelaide Oval

ANALYSIS: Port Adelaide needs to bring in some quality mentors — such as Ben Perkins and Mark Williams — to end the goalkicking yips that have become a nightmare, says Jesper Fjeldstad.

The pain shows for Port Adelaide’s Ollie Wines, Matt White and Robbie Gray after the Power’s loss to Richmond. Better goalkicking could have led to a very different result. Picture: Sarah Reed

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THERE are two obvious people the powerbrokers at Port Adelaide should consider phoning to see if they could be tempted for some remedial consultancy work: Ben Perkins and Mark Williams.

The pair have a bit in common. Both have strong links to Port Adelaide.

Perkins used to work with — and was of considerable help to — premiership captain Warren Tredrea and a string of his teammates.

His expertise is goalkicking, and he has been called in by several clubs over the years.

Williams, the 2004 Power premiership coach, is a schoolteacher by profession and one who has always been a stickler for good kicking technique.

Port Adelaide’s kicking for goal at the minute is one of its greatest concerns.

Whoever is working with the players at the club on this issue may not be at fault — he may not have enough time with the players — but something needs to change because now it has come back to bite them.

Jarman Impey attempts to tackle Richmond’s Alex Rance. Impey was one of the Port players guilty of missing kicks for goal he should have nailed. Picture: e Sarah Reed

It wasn’t the first time they had flirted with fate. Last weekend, when the Power beat Collingwood, it played a fine game but one thing that was a concern after the match was that the Power was wasteful in front of goals.

It is the set shots in particular that stand out as a weakness; kicks that ought to be nailed more often than not.

Players such as the otherwise outstanding Robbie Gray, Sam Gray, Matt White and Jarman Impey were all culprits against Richmond but there’s no real need to single the aforementioned out because there is nobody in particular at the club that stands out as a sharp shooter.

It is in matches such as the one against Richmond that taking one’s chances are at a premium because goals did not come easy.

Port Adelaide is ranked top in the competition in defence, Richmond second and the clubs managed just one goal each in the first quarter.

Poor set shots for goals weren’t the only thing that cost Port Adelaide the match; Richmond had patches of dominance through the last quarter.

But it went a long way towards keeping it close rather than creating a buffer over the first three terms.