Tom Rockliff says Port Adelaide needs to bottle the last-quarter fight from Showdown 46 and bring the same intent against Gold Coast on Sunday

Tom Rockliff says Port Adelaide will need to bottle its final-quarter Showdown effort and spirit and turn it into a full-game effort against Gold Coast to put its season back on track.

Ken Hinkley with his players after the loss. Picture SARAH REED

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Port Adelaide midfielder Tom Rockliff says his side will use every minute of its eight-day break to recover and regroup ahead of taking on Gold Coast at home on Sunday.

Rockliff, arguably the Power’s best player in the Showdown 46 loss, said while the intent was there, there was an urgent need for Port to get its season back on track after consecutive losses.

Port Adelaide midfielder Tom Rockliff gets ready to handball during his side’s 20-point Showdown 46 loss at Adelaide Oval. Picture: AAP Image/David Mariuz

After Port looked down and out when it found itself in a 44-point hole early in the last quarter against the Crows, Rockliff had a huge final term — picking up 13 of his 41 disposals — to help his side fight its way back to within two goals.

Rockliff said it was important his side took that final-quarter momentum and spirit and translated it into a full-game effort against Gold Coast.

“(The Suns) are in really good form … it’s important that we bring the same intent and go after what we want around the contest,” he said.

“It’s important we continue to play the Port Adelaide way and we felt like we did that (on Saturday night). We just weren’t quite good enough to get the four points.”

Rockliff, who muscled his way to a huge game-high 23 contested possessions, was resurgent on Saturday night after being mid-range against Collingwood the week before.

“It was nice to find a little bit more touch than last week and I felt like we had some really good balance around the stoppage. Our midfield unit worked really well together throughout the night,” he said.

“We just missed opportunities when they went forward and we didn’t take ours.

“They were just more accurate going inside 50 and also in front of goal.”

Port Adelaide’s Tom Rockliff gets a kick away despite pressure from Crow Jake Kelly during Showdown 46. PHOTO: AAP Image/David Mariuz

The game’s numbers back this up: Port beat the Crows in the inside-50 count (69 to 62), in clearances (52 to 36) and hit-outs (50 to 38), and the sides had the same number of scoring shots.

But, still, there was a 20-point buffer between them by game’s end.

Until three-quarter time, Port had only three goals to its tally, until it clicked in the fourth stanza and tripled its tally. Rockliff said the Crows adapted more quickly to the slippery conditions at the Adelaide Oval.

“It was really wet, probably wetter than we expected … and it was really slippery and greasy and they probably adapted to the conditions a bit better early,” he said.

“(But) once we adapted, I thought we started to play really well and when we got our hands on it, we were winning clearances.

“They fought back in the second half, but we just rue our missed opportunities, really, when we had (the Crows) on the ropes. Inside 50 we just needed to take more chances in front of goal.”

While Crows coach Don Pyke spent plenty of time coaching from the bench at ground level, Rockliff said Port coach Ken Hinkley wasn’t doing the same.

“We’ve got a few coaches down there, (senior assistant) Vossy (Michael Voss) in the ear piece to Kenny, and he’s all we really need down there,” he said.

“Kenny sees it probably better up there. When you’re at ground level, you probably can’t see it as well, but we’re blessed with having a number of good coaches within our system.

“So it’s just a matter of making sure we implement the plans for longer, so Kenny doesn’t find the need to come down.”