GARRY Hocking has challenged the Magpies to produce four-quarter football for the rest of the year.
Port Adelaide’s eight-point win over Glenelg in the SANFL on Sunday was off the back of a hungry, hard running and skilful first-half performance that reaped a 43-point lead at the main break.
Port’s early defensive pressure allowed its forwards to capitalise and heap on six unanswered majors, keeping the Tigers' score sheet bare until midway through the second quarter.
But the Magpies couldn’t maintain their dominance, scoring only three goals to the Tigers' seven in the second half.
Four-quarter efforts have been an issue for the Magpies, after producing slow starts last year and now in 2015, only to come home strongly.
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It is something Hocking has vowed to continue working with the group to overcome.
"It wasn't the way we planned it in the second half," Hocking said.
"We were 43 points up and to just fall over the line is not great.
"Maybe the boys felt like the job was already done, we kept them scoreless in the first quarter and it was a young group.
"We started well today, whereas we didn't start well against Adelaide but we came home really well in the second half, this week we obviously started really well, got ahead in the game and then fell away a little bit.
"It's hard to put it down to anything, it's probably just a young group who are still a bit inconsistent with performance and can't kill off a game."
Injuries and a retirement within Port Adelaide’s AFL ranks did force Hocking to make a raft of changes to the side that demolished the Adelaide Crows SANFL team two weeks ago, when several players were elevated to play Melbourne in Alice Springs.
The Magpies had six contracted players against Glenelg including skipper Steve Summerton, Louis Sharrad, Anthony Biemans, Sid Masters, Robbie Young and Jonathon Ross.
Hocking refused to make excuses for the Magpies surrender of the huge advantage and demanded the ruthlessness produced in the first half against the Tigers be present for a full game next week.
"There's an expectation for the guys to come in and play their role and we roll out with who we've got," Hocking said.
"Whoever does come in has to make sure they play their role and do it for four quarters.
"We have to get to that point where we make sure we do what we do in the first or second half for four quarters and that is the rainbow we are chasing, to be ruthless with this team."
Hocking did however praise the likes of Mitch Harvey who starred up forward with three goals, and Andrew Moore and Kane Mitchell who racked up 15 clearances between them.
"Mitch really dominated the inside 50 stuff for us and looked like a real forward," Hocking said.
"Moore, Mitchell and Young were all good and Wagner again who I think is showing some real good stuff in and around the forward 50."
Port Adelaide will take on Central District at Elizabeth on Saturday 6 June at 2.10pm.
