On Thursday, Blues coach Brett Ratten took exception to comments made by Chad Cornes, in which the Power star said he was “looking forward” to getting past Port Adelaide’s tough start to the season.
Ratten construed Cornes’ off-the-cuff remark as a sign of contempt towards Carlton and responded by saying, "If Chad thinks we are a team that they [the Power] can go downhill skiing on, they might have a bit of a challenge on their hands”.
Carlton spearhead Brendan Fevola added further fuel to the flame on Thursday night when he reiterated claims that Cornes didn’t put his head over the ball in a contest between the two sides last season, which sparked an on-field scuffle at the time.
Williams said he wasn’t surprised by Fevola's comments and moved quickly to hose down the escalating situation.
“I didn’t see what Brendan said on Thursday night, but I know that Carlton is going to be pretty hard to beat, so we're looking forward to the contest. We play Geelong next week, but that’s what happens when you let a player talk,” Williams said of Cornes’ comments about the Power’s draw getting easier.
“Every week is difficult in the AFL. I think he’s (Cornes) drawn a long bow [to say that the hardest part of the draw is over]. We know we’re playing Carlton this week and there are no easy games. Every team finds that out sooner or later.”
Williams said he didn’t expect the midweek talk to advantage either side at AAMI Stadium on Sunday afternoon.
“When the results go that way people tend to draw [outside comments] as a significant factor, but it’s all about coming to play,” he said.
“We thought we were brilliantly prepared for this game, having played Sydney two weeks ago, and we need to deliver that sort of attack on the ball, tackling and hardness again and we’ll get the right result. If we don’t, Carlton will win.”
Ratten also suggested Port Adelaide was an ‘outside’ team, in reference to the open, free running style the Power like to play, in comparison to his ‘inside’ Blues, who like to win the contested footy.
“Brett did say that [we’re an outside team]. It’s really on our players now and it’s a tag you can wear or disprove,” Williams said.
“You’re more of one or more of the other. You’re not completely 100 per cent one or the other and it’s all about getting the mix right.
“If you want to be side that scores well, you think about your opportunities. If you want to be a side that reduces the opposition, then you think about their opportunities.
“It is an interesting mix and when you lose some close games, you certainly look at the other side.
“Brett’s probably tagged us pretty well and maybe we do try to do that [go downhill skiing] too often. It will be interesting to see how our players react to it.”
