But despite emerging from the match a Port Adelaide hero, Schulz admitted that he nearly turned himself into the Power’s villain of the game - narrowly avoiding a collision with match winner Paul Stewart.

“I almost cleaned him [Stewart] up!” said Schulz of the final moments of the game.

“I couldn’t see for the sun - I sort of saw him at the last minute and pulled out and luckily enough he got a clean run and put it through.”

[ Related: Schulz's lucky seven ]

Speaking after the 2-point victory over the Kangaroos, Schulz said that the effort was a just reward for what he called an “absolute slog” from the 22 players who lined up on Saturday.

“It was just hard work… and it was a credit to our boys,” said Schulz.

“They [the team] had belief in our structures and what Matty [Primus] said to us at three quarter was to take the game on and play on no matter what.

“When they [Kangaroos] came out and kicked the first one in the last quarter you think maybe our boys dropped their heads but we didn’t and we kicked the next one, they kicked one back and then we got a run on.”

“It was just fantastic for our boys - great spirit, great determination - and with what we’ve been working on over the past eight weeks, hopefully this is the start of something good for us.”

Critical to the Power’s early-season revival will be its ability to back the win up against the Gold Coast at Metricon this weekend.

Schulz believes the ability to come back from behind shows the Power is a mentally improved side and refuses to throw in the towel when the game is still in dispute.

[ Related: Power Gets Set For Suns ]

The experience from Saturday will allow Port to build a resilient side capable of playing damaging football.

“We need to learn from that and build from that when we do take risks and have a really good crack at it we can be a good and damaging side,” said Schulz.

“It showed that it was really strong mentally by the boys to hold on and get that run-on in the last quarter.”

“The best time in football is that thirty minutes after you’ve had a win sitting down when you’re absolutely exhausted looking at the boys and know that everyone put in a hard effort.”

For Schulz, the win highlights the gains the Power has main during the off-season and says the team’s journey is beginning to see the results it wants to achieve.

“We’re on a journey, we know where we’re going and believe in what we’ve set up during the pre-season.

“We’re excited for the years to come, and the weeks to come.

“This [win] doesn’t count for a great deal for us if we don’t back it up next week.

“We know that when we play our best footy we’re good enough to challenge most sides.”

Port Adelaide travels to Queensland to play the Gold Coast Suns at Metricon Stadium on Saturday 26 May.