A 17-point loss to Glenelg at Gliderol Stadium, was not the start to the season Port Adelaide was looking for, but Chad Cornes can see where the Magpies can make quick improvements.
The Magpies struggled to gain momentum in the first three quarters of Friday’s game and Glenelg’s midfield punished poor skills.
“Their [Glenelg] midfield was on top always getting the first look at it, we didn’t use the ball as well as we had all through the summer,” Cornes said.
“Up till tonight I couldn’t have asked for any more from them, I went into tonight confident and maybe that was the problem, I was too confident.
“I think we will see some vision of defensive running the backline can definitely improve, there will be a general tidy up of a few things.
“There were a few guys back after not playing for a while, so we will be better next week.”
Cornes highlighted Port’s forward pressure as a key asset going into the season, and while it wasn’t as strong on Friday, Cornes says winning the inside-50 count was an encouraging sign.
“I have spoken about claiming territory and getting it into our forward line and locking it in, over the last couple of week that’s been a real strength our forward line pressure, but it wasn’t quite up to where it needed to be tonight,” Cornes said.
“Generally, if we get it up there we have strong enough marking power and our small forwards are quite dangerous as well so we want to get it up there as much as we did tonight we just need to clean it up going forward.
“I thought Ah Chee was outstanding and Aidyn Johnson, I had a bit of a chat with him after the first quarter because I thought his effort wasn’t where it needed to be and after that he came back on and really tried to turn the game around for us.”
The Magpies will look to claim their first win of the year on Thursday when they take on Norwood who are sitting pretty after their first-round win over North Adelaide.
Port Adelaide plays Norwood at Coopers Stadium on Thursday 13 April at 7.20pm.
