Port Adelaide to scrutinise close losses as it chases a win against tormentor West Coast

The Power is doing a lot right — now it just has to figure out how to win the close ones and how to handle itself in the dying minutes as it prepares for a Good Friday grudge match against recent tormentor West Coast.

Zak Butters of Port Adelaide after their loss in the Round 4 against an undermanned Richmond. Picture: AAP Image/Sam Wundke

• Moment on Monday: Why Port will grin and wear it
• Ugly numbers: Crows and Power player ratings
• Body fine, but skipper Wines still finding his way
• Wounded Tigers hold on against Power
• Richmond’s controversial double goal

Port Adelaide will closely scrutinise how a perfect start to the season has been dented by consecutive dying-minutes losses to Brisbane and Richmond.

Defender Dan Houston — who looked like he would be a match winner against Richmond at Adelaide Oval on Saturday night — said one key was to keep the players’ spirits up.

Houston intercepted a Dylan Grimes kick from defence late in the last quarter and sent it back over his head to put Port Adelaide back in front only for the Power to be overrun — again.

Dan Houston celebrates a goal in the club’s loss to Richmond on Saturday night: Picture: Sam Wundke/AAP

He said the mood was dark in the Power rooms as they sauntered down from the loss but this needed to be put into perspective; the club opened the season with two wins and has since had two losses against teams that are expected to be finals contenders.

The 50 per cent win-loss rate brings the club back to the pack but Houston was confident there were more positives than negatives as Port Adelaide now looks ahead to a Friday night match against West Coast.

“It was a pretty sour mood (after the match) — it felt like it was the one that got away for us,” Houston told The Advertiser. “We had our chances in front of goal and we gave them too many chances and ultimately they took their chances.

“So it’s something we’ll look at during the week.

“We’ve got a six-day break and on Friday night we’ll get another crack at it.

“The boys move on pretty quickly and it’s a good opportunity on Friday night to prove ourselves again.”

Houston predicted there would be more study of what happened late in the game during the club’s review.

But he tipped it would be tweaks rather than wholesale changes that were required for the club to start snagging some close ones.

“Losing close games is not what we want as a team,” Houston said. “Last year we lost some close ones and we’ve tried to train (that) over summer … those close games, it’d be good if we could pull one off.

“But we are right in the mix with teams like Brisbane and Richmond so that’s a positive we can take out of it.”

There have been a couple of eye-catching changes about Port Adelaide this year.

They seek to move the ball more quickly, bang on bigger scores and two of the club’s most credentialed players, former captain Travis Boak and former Brisbane skip Tom Rockliff, are back in form.

Travis Boak and Tom Rockliff are in strong form for Port Adelaide. Picture: AAP Image/Sam Wundke

Houston believed their leadership and return to playing at close to their best would rub off on the rest of the team.

“Rocky and Boaky have been superstars in the midfield for years,” Houston said. “They probably had a quiet year last year but they’ve shown us four rounds in that they’re back up there at the elite level.

“It’s good to have them up and firing and I think at the start of the game and throughout parts of the game we didn’t have our whole team firing.

“People went in and out of the game.

“I think it will be good to have Rocky and Trav help other play four quarters.”