PORT ADELAIDE senior assistant coach Michael Voss says his side has put itself in a great position after taking out the minor premiership but it guarantees nothing when it comes to what counts the most.
Port’s win over Collingwood at the Gabba on Monday night ensured it would take home the McClelland Trophy for the fourth time, and first since 2004.
With 14 wins from 17 games, and five wins in a row heading into finals, Voss says his side deserved some reward after its consistent performance in a challenging year.
“We’ve put ourselves in a great position but it guarantees nothing,” he said at a press conference at Alberton Oval after the side returned from Brisbane on Tuesday.
“We understand that there’s still plenty of work to get done.
“It’s a season that has had plenty of challenges. It’s asked lots of questions, it’s thrown up lots of variables, so many intangibles have gone into this year in terms of performances with short breaks and when you’re playing and when you’re not playing.
“So to be able to get our way through that and still be at the top of the ladder speaks to the resilience of the group.”
Not only did Port finish top, it sat there since March when it beat Gold Coast in Round 1.
Voss said it proved his side was the most consistent, but finals would determine who was the best.
“The level of consistency they’ve had has been really impressive and like everybody, we’ve had our down moments but in those down moments we’ve still found ways to win games of footy where traditionally we would lose them,” he explained.
“When you put all of that together it’s nice to be at the end and sit on top of the ladder from the start of the season to the end and the boys get the reward.”
The players would have a few days rest away from the club then return on Friday with attention firmly fixed on its Qualifying Final against Geelong.
The fixture was confirmed on Tuesday afternoon as the opening game of the finals series, to be played at Adelaide Oval on Thursday 1 October.
Despite its top-place finish, Port is still ranked behind Richmond, the Cats and Brisbane as premiership favourites, and Voss understands why.
“I think when you can go through with the level of consistency that we’ve had, certainly in club land you’d like to think that there’s plenty of attention given to the way that we’re playing,” he said.
“But that’s not for us to determine. In the end respect comes from getting the job done at the right time of the year and this has been one part of the season.
“We’ve probably proven to be the most consistent but we haven’t proven to be the best yet and that’s what the next (part) of the season is, that’s the job we’ve got next and we’re competing with a set of teams who have been involved in finals and quite widely have got the job done on the big occasion.
“We haven’t had that exposure yet and understandably there’s some unknown about that but we lean on the confidence of what we’ve been able to overcome in games – when the pressure’s come we’ve been able to stand up, when the moment’s there we’ve been able to get it done so we’ve got a body of work that we can lean on that will hold us in good stead in the next month.”
Voss said the lack of external recognition of Port’s premiership credentials was not a motivating factor going into the finals and there were internal achievements that would instead drive the side.
And he said rewarding the club’s loyal members by putting in a strong performance at home was also a focus.
“We talk about the people on the inside but the people on the outside – the supporters - are equally important,” Voss said.
“The fact that they’ve actually stuck with us and supported us all the way through has been fantastic so to get a little reward for our members and fans to be able to play the first final on such a big occasion.
“It’s going to be a great game, a real quality opposition and if we can make as much noise as we possibly can it’d be absolutely brilliant.”
Tickets for the Qualifying Final between Port Adelaide and Geelong will go on sale on Friday 25 September.
