Last year the Power were criticised for being ‘downhill skiers’, capable of kicking big scores when things went their way but seemingly reluctant to put in the hard yards when momentum shifted against them.
This theory was emphasised in round 21 when Mark Williams’ men conceded 13 goals and victory to the Brisbane Lions, after leading by 40 points at quarter time.
New assistant coach Dean Laidley was entrusted with the job of giving the Power a greater defensive edge over the summer and his teachings appear to have been embraced by the players.
Port Adelaide was ranked 14th in the AFL for tackles last season but laid more tackles than its opponents, Adelaide and West Coast, in the opening two rounds of the pre-season competition while dominating possession in both games.
Last weekend, the Power narrowly lost the tackle count against the Western Bulldogs but still managed to lay 70 tackles - a feat the team only achieved three times in 2009.
Laidley’s former club North Melbourne ranked second in the AFL for tackles last season and Cassisi said the revered coach had already made a huge impact at Alberton.
“Opposition teams will be looking at us closely and trying to work out ways to beat our pressure,” Cassisi said on Tuesday.
“We caused a fair few turnovers against the Bulldogs and we’ll be pushing to do that right throughout the season. I heard [Bulldogs’ assistant coach] Peter Dean’s after-match press conference and he said they were a little bit surprised by the amount of heat and pressure we brought to their players.
“If opposition coaches are saying that about us then we think we’re moving in the right direction.”
The new-look Power exceeded expectations by winning through to the semi-final of the NAB Cup.
Cassisi declared the club’s pre-season campaign a success, but said the real test would come against the Kangaroos at AAMI Stadium in round one.
“It was disappointing that we lost on the weekend but looking back on the three games no one really expected us to beat the Crows and we did that and then we went to Perth,” Cassisi said.
“We’ve got a lot of new players out there and we tended to gel together quite quickly, so to win in Perth was good and then to push a great team like the Western Bulldogs on the weekend is another step in the right direction.
“We’re really looking forward to round one and that’s when we can start building some respect and winning home and away games.”
Port Adelaide is likely to field a near full-strength line-up in its final pre-season hit-out against Collingwood in Mount Gambier on Saturday.
Forward Daniel Motlop is expected to return from a glute strain, leaving just two first-choice players David Rodan (knee) and Hamish Hartlett (hamstring) on the sidelines.
