PORT Adelaide coach Mark Williams is hopeful inside information from last year's top three clubs will help propel his side back into finals contention.
Williams said the Power – who finished 13th in 2008 – had deliberately sought advice from people once linked with Hawthorn, Geelong and the Western Bulldogs in an effort to bridge the gap between them.
"We spent three or four hours looking at the Hawthorn model and Nick Russell, who worked with us before (coach) Alastair Clarkson stole him to Hawthorn, we’ve actually got him back," Williams told Adelaide radio station 5aa.
"Nick’s been in the box for the last few years at Hawthorn doing their video review and stats analysis. He’s now working with us and looking at how they (the Hawks) set things up and the way they plan.
"It’s just been enlightening for us. Obviously we do a lot of things similar, but some things are different and we can pick up on some good points there so will pick the eyes out of that."
Williams has also asked former Cat Jason Davenport, thrown a lifeline by the Power in November's NAB AFL Draft, to spill the beans on his old club.
"Next week Jason Davenport is going to be reporting on what Geelong is up to, what they’ve been doing and what they do in certain situations," Williams said.
"So to have that [insight] into the best two teams and also our fitness coach Cam Falloon, who has come from the Western Bulldogs, we’ve got some terrific information coming into the club."
Williams revealed it was the recent performances of Geelong and Hawthorn that prompted the increased emphasis on strength and power at Alberton.
Nearly all of the players have bulked up, with forward Daniel Motlop adding eight kilograms before Christmas.
"When we looked at the grand final loss a couple of years ago, there was no doubt Geelong had much bigger bodies through the centre square," Williams said.
"Even looking at Hawthorn last year with Jordan Lewis, Sam Mitchell, Campbell Brown every now and again ... they had bigger players, so we thought we’d spend a bit of time and effort [in that area]."
Williams added that Josh Carr, who returned to the Power from Fremantle via the NAB AFL Pre-Season Draft, would provide extra grunt and that strength and conditioning coach Andrew Lulham's earlier work with rugby players had been useful.
"Just to look at the players, they’re so much bigger and stronger, so it’s fantastic for us," he said.
Williams has spent pre-season time with Adelaide United coach Aurelio Vidmar and basketball icon Phil Smyth with the latter, a close friend, joining the squad on its recent trip to the Flinders Ranges.
Recruiting manager Blair Hartley also used his European vacation to gain information from some of the world’s best soccer teams.
And Williams said that securing former Collingwood captain Scott Burns, now an assistant coach with West Coast, would have bolstered the Power's preparations.
"Probably the last three years we’ve been on his radar," Williams said.
"We’ve spent hours and hours in his house trying to get him across the line, but we couldn’t quite get him.
"If you get quality people coming in from different areas and organisations, it really adds to ours and builds great information."
