PORT Adelaide coach Mark Williams says his side lacked direction throughout Saturday’s 47-point loss to Richmond at AAMI Stadium.

PTV: Williams Post Match

The Power trailed by seven points at quarter time, but managed only one goal thereafter to record their lowest score in AFL ranks.

Vice-captain Dean Brogan (back spasms) was a late withdrawal before the game and Williams said other senior players had failed to step up.

“It was a bit of a lack of direction. We actually have to have people there to help the younger players. They have to take the load, direct and lead,” Williams said after the game.

“Broges coming out late before the game was disappointing for us, but he had some sort of back spasm that given the injuries we got during the game it was probably significant that we didn’t take the chance with him.”

Port Adelaide lost Brett Ebert (concussion), Cameron Hitchcock (shoulder) and Steven Salopek (shoulder) for significant periods of the game.

Ebert and Salopek were able to return to the field, but Hitchcock’s injury meant the home side was one man down from early on in the second term.

In recent times the Power have struggled to back up after playing in the sapping conditions of Darwin, but Williams said there were no excuses for his side’s lacklustre performance.

“We thought we had a pretty light week on the track and should’ve played better than we did. If it was a dry day and we got run over in the last quarter we might’ve been able to grab that as some sort of excuse, but we won’t be doing that,” he said.

“If you think of our small forwards from the last few weeks with Daniel Motlop (club suspension) and Jason Davenport (AFL suspension) out and then we lost Hitchcock and Ebert … it made it much more difficult.

“Their small forwards kicked six or seven goals, so it would’ve been nice to have had ours there the whole time, but that’s the way it is and you get on with it.”

Richmond’s dominance started in the centre square, with the visitors winning the clearances 53-36.

Williams said the lop-sided clearance ledger was significant in the wet and windy conditions.

“Richmond beat us at wet-weather football without any doubt and their clearance work was the obvious difference in the stats. Tuck and Martin were outstanding. They had 20 clearances between them and backed it up with hard-ball gets and tackles as well,” he said.

“They got in there in front of us and before us. Tom Logan, Dom Cassisi, David Rodan and Travis Boak had one clearance between the four of them.”