- Help us reach 60,000 for the third year in a row - join the club today
- Get your tickets to Port Adelaide v Hawthorn
A RUTHLESS opening term sealed the deal for a strong Magpies outfit against reigning premiers Sturt at the weekend, much to the delight of senior coach Chad Cornes.
Dominating the play from the very first bounce, Port seized complete control, booting a whopping 7.4 and keeping the Double Blues goalless in the first quarter.
Slow starts have punctuated Port Adelaide’s 2017 campaign so far, but it’s an area the group was determined to improve ahead of skipper Steven Summerton’s milestone 200th game.
“We spoke a lot about the starts and how we could fix them, because they have been an issue going in,” Cornes told portadelaidefc.com.au.
“I thought the boys brought the right energy to start with - they had a real defensive mindset early and played tough footy exactly how we spoke about during the week.”
The firing start could have come from a special pre-game pump up from 200-game club legends including Tim Ginever, Geof Motley and Brian Cunningham, to commemorate Summo’s milestone.
Playing a hard and aggressive brand of football with the club front of mind was the focus their pre-game address – a message Cornes said resonated with the group.
“That was good for some of these young boys to hear,” Cornes said.
“It was a privilege to have them down in the rooms and I’m really happy the boys played well to honour them.”
Cornes said the team prepared well for Sunday’s game and never underestimated Sturt’s capabilities; they knew the importance of starting strong and keeping that momentum.
Though there are always of improvement – particularly a third term lull which saw the Magpies concede four consecutive majors to their opponent.
“Sturt got us twice last year, they were the reigning premiers and are still good on paper, so this was always going to be a danger game for us,” Cornes said.
“I thought we got a little too cute with the footy in the third quarter in particular…it happens sometimes, you do get a bit ahead of yourself, but we addressed that at three quarter time.
“We’re 4 and 1 going into a week off, so it puts us into a good position to attack the rest of the year.”
