BUILD the culture right and the team will stand up to anything. Lauren Arnell's AFLW "Inaugurals" are putting down a solid foundation at Port Adelaide - and it was there for everyone to see just before half-time of Saturday's 25-point loss to the finals-chasing North Melbourne at Alberton Oval.
The all-in team response to 18-year-old Lily Johnson scoring her first AFLW goal in her first national league game says the all-critical care Arnell wants among her players off the field is on a sound footing to translate to a connection on the field.
"If you saw the team bench, we were up for Lily Johnson's goal," Arnell said. "And we stayed up longer watching them all bowl each other over like 10-pin bowling balls. And it was in front of all our family and friends ...
"These are the nice parts of footy that W brings - that rawness and the celebration is based on genuine care and connection from our players when a debutant like Lily Johnson kicks a goal like that in a crucial part of the game.
"It is a really special moment and one Lily and her team-mates will never forget."
Arnell again is left to admire her players' effort, but not the scoreboard where Port Adelaide went without a goal during the second half.
"We were able to really take it up to North Melbourne for a half of footy - I am proud of that," Arnell said. "We will continue to learn.
"We faced a North Melbourne team that has had a number of years longer together; more than us. But we were able to show what we are capable of for a bigger chunk of the game today."
Port Adelaide's extremes in scoring big or not scoring goals remains a major challenge for a team that is sound in defence and industrious in the midfield.
"We need to continue to work on how we become more efficient inside-50," Arnell said. "We still generated 28 inside-50s. We have to get better at it.
"This is the big part of connection; the connection I have been talking about for a long time. That on-field connection is still a part of our team build that we can't rush."
Port Adelaide regained All-Australian go-to forward Gemma Houghton after a six-week absence from ankle surgery. But the lack of goalscoring during the second half - after a four-goal opening half - highlights it is more than personnel at the core of Port Adelaide's scoring fade-outs.
"There are things we can do to adjust (the play patterns to attack) - and you would have seen that in the first half," Arnell said. "Gemma comes back into the side and offers more spark forward, but there is still the need for continuity. Gemma has not been in that forward line for five weeks, so finding that ability to gel and that continuity has been a challenge for us.
"It is bits of both (play patterns and personnel in attack). But you have to give a young team the chance to develop. We have now played eight games together - and we will keep working at it. We will keep plugging away. We are seeing some reward for effort ... but not in the wins column."
Arnell has less concerns in defence where Ebony O'Dea continues to build her reputation as a ruthless and uncompromising defender.
"Hamish Hartlett has done a great job coaching our back line and Ebony O'Dea is that Port Adelaide cult hero," Arnell said. "She is everything all the traditional and older Port Adelaide supporters want to see when they turn up to Alberton. I am really proud of Ebony - and her fellow defenders for how they have executed when at times it is a challenging season."
Houghton's return to AFLW did release captain Erin Phillips to more midfield minutes.
"Erin has been playing midfield when required in each game (that Houghton has missed); in patches. But even in the past few weeks you are seeing Erin still performing at a really high level," Arnell said. "She did that again for us today."
Port Adelaide's style of football - and intense work ethic - is being noted far and wide.
At Alberton, North Melbourne coach Darren Crocker was admiring not only how Arnell's side have embraced Port Adelaide traditions, but also how the Port Adelaide fans have added their touch to the AFLW.
"I was not aware of the hostility there is here at Alberton," Crocker said. "This is a hostile environment. The crowd was right behind their team. That is good for our players, in particular our younger players, to be exposed to this environment and still find a way to win."
Crocker joined Carlton coach Daniel Harford in praising how Port Adelaide plays.
"When the game goes as they want it to, the pressure Port Adelaide brings is really high," Crocker said. "They brought that today. And their contest work is really strong.
"If you go back to all of Port Adelaide's stronger performances this season, that is where they have been really, really strong - pressure and contest. We knew what to expect.
"We had to reset at half-time (after losing the inside-50 count 20-15). They had 20 inside-50s. Against what I consider one of the best teams in the competition - Brisbane - we kept them to only 23 for a whole game last week. We were leaking badly early in the first half ..."
Arnell will lead Port Adelaide to its season-closing games against St Kilda at Moorabbin and Essendon at Alberton on consecutive Sundays with more building blocks to be reinforced before planning takes hold for AFLW Season 8.
"Anyone who watched today would have seen that we are continuing to demand that connection," Arnell said. "I know I can see that. How long can you do that as a new team?"
