Port Adelaide’s ambitious game still needs better finishing says superstar Robbie Gray

PORT Adelaide midfielder-forward Robbie Gray laments opportunities that continue to vanish by the Power’s mistakes, highlighted in the Power’s loss to Geelong.

Port Adelaide midfielder-forward Robbie Gray won a game-high 32 touches against Geelong, but watched so many opportunities fail to reach the scoreboard in the 34-point loss to the Cats at Adelaide Oval. Picture: Sarah Reed

ROBBIE Gray can define Port Adelaide’s home loss to Geelong in only one way - more about waste than missed opportunities.

More disposals (388-348). More clearances (50-43), more centre clearances (11-8) - to losing rucks. Heaps of chances.

“We had enough of the footy ...,” said Gray, who had a game-high 32 possessions in the 34-point loss to the Cats at Adelaide Oval.

“But we couldn’t finish off ... we couldn’t get on the scoreboard.

“We were able to break even at stoppage, but it what we do with the footy when we do win it - and being able to stand up under pressure.

Port Adelaide’s Robbie Gray celebrates his goal. Picture: SARAH REED

“We’ve had the opposition put us under enormous heat - and we’ve not handled it as well as we would have liked. That has hurt us a bit.”

The Power’s 7.8 (from 51 inside-50s and tellingly very few marks in that forward arc) was Port Adelaide’s lowest score at the Oval against a visiting team since round 8, 2015 - with that wasteful 5.13 (43) against Richmond in Kane Cornes’ 300th AFL game.

This is not the Port Adelaide expected after a summer of intense review on the lack of efficiency inside-50 - and the major buys in the market with Jack Watts, Steven Motlop and Lindsay Thomas.

“We haven’t helped them out with the way we have moved the ball with our kicking in there,” Gray said. “New guys will take a bit of time to learn how each other plays ... but we started the year well with those guys, so that’s not an excuse.

“We need to get better with our use of the ball and give our forwards better opportunities.”

Port Adelaide’s emphasis on kicking - and holding the ball - in the first half against the Cats was a fascinating element to the Power’s tactics. But when the pressure was on, the need to pinpoint passes through the Geelong wall failed.

“We wanted to use the ball - and at times we could have quickened up a bit in the first half,” Gray said. “There were short kicks and we were not as fast as we would have liked to give our forwards opportunities. It is something to look at ...”

Port Adelaide’s 3-2 win-loss count puts the Power square with its record in the first five weeks of last season.

“But we’re not playing great footy,” noted Gray. “Our last three weeks (against Brisbane, Essendon and Geelong) have been pretty poor. So we have to bounce back (against North Melbourne at Etihad Stadium on Saturday).

“The work starts on the training track - working on our craft and transferring it to the games.”