PORT ADELAIDE senior assistant coach Michael Voss believes the Power’s inconsistent performances across the season aren’t a reflection of the side’s training habits.
Port has been unable to win consecutive matches since round six, and most recently followed an impressive win over Adelaide with a disappointing loss to Brisbane.
Voss says the training standards have been very good for the entire season, but admits small periods of games are costing the Power.
“From the evidence we have during the week, you would say we are very well prepared,” Michael Voss said at a press conference on Monday afternoon.
“Training has been exceptional. There are some really consistent elements that we’ve got going, but in the smaller parts of the game at the moment, we just haven’t been able to execute for long enough.
“In this particular game (against Brisbane), it was at the start.”
The Brownlow Medallist said the coaching group was always looking to improve training and playing methods in an attempt to find a greater consistency in performance, and he believed it was not as simple as just putting everything in the same basket and labelling it inconsistent.
“The thing you can sometimes do in these situations is you can throw consistency across everything. It’s not everything,” Voss said.
“We will deal with the individuals that go up and down. We will look at our method and how we play, and what’s going up and down in that area.
“We look across our training method to see whether we are training right.”
Port Adelaide has been in strong form in the SANFL - with the Magpies winning their last five games - and Voss said given the performance at AFL level, the coaching group won’t be afraid to make changes.
“We may (make some changes), we are continually looking at those things” he said.
“The great thing about what the Magpies have been able to do all year, and I think we’ve shown it at the match committee table, is we’ve been prepared to play people when they are in form.
“No one has been off the table, and certainly if their form has warranted selection, we’ve been prepared to go there.
“I think if you went back over our selections over the year, you will see we are not afraid to make changes if it’s needed.”
The Power has the chance to respond this weekend, with a trip to the MCG on Saturday afternoon to face Richmond in Round 18.
