Port Adelaide coach Mark Williams admits his coaching staff are as much to blame as the players for the Power's 0-4 start to 2008, culminating in the traumatic loss of a 47-point lead to Brisbane.

Williams took a step outside the usual conventions of the footballing week to address the media at Alberton while his players took part in a training session overseen by team leaders rather than coaches.

Speaking frankly on a range of issues, Williams seemed intent on sharing culpability for poor performances with his players, and also on reiterating his long-term commitment to a group he had handpicked in a re-building process that began at the end of 2005.

But he conceded there was an inherent vulnerability in the way his team played the game, as the attractive, aggressive style he favoured was always risky when turnovers exposed a young defence.

It now appears that Port are missing the wisdom and grit of veteran backmen Michael Wilson (Achilles) and Darryl Wakelin (retired) far more than even Williams cared to admit at the start of the season.

"The two differences from last year were Michael and Darryl Wakelin and probably they've got 400 games between them, so that's significant, you can't do anything about that," Williams said.

"You don't recruit 200 game players to play at the age of 30 so what you do is you believe, you keep educating, you keep working with them.

"We knew right from the start there was going to be some hurt in that development, but Alipate Carlile played on Jon Brown and played pretty well for three quarters and that was a fantastic experience for them.

"We love the high scoring games, there's no doubt about it, but it does make you vulnerable if you're pushing hard forward that if you muck it up they can score against you heavily, and certainly if you have an inexperienced defence it opens them up as well.

"So trying to get that mix right, probably each quarter is a tick or a cross and there's probably been too many crosses as far as getting it exactly right."

On matters of coaching, Williams said the players had told him they felt he was too negative at the last change against the Lions, perhaps sowing seeds of doubt that were to be ruthlessly cultivated by their opponents.

"At three-quarter time I'm putting into the players' minds a plan to play in wet weather, I'm thinking that's pretty sound," he said.

"Getting back to the players, they probably thought I was being too negative, so we discussed that for a while and I'll cop that and listen to that.

"I put it on record now and play it as many times as you like, every time we lose the coaches have had something to do with it, and every time we win they do as well.

"The coaches and the players are in this together and that's how it always is, so there's nothing divisive in our group, we win and lose together, that's it."

At least one change to the Power 22 is inevitable due to the torn foot arch tendon suffered by Matt Thomas, and Williams said Adam Thomson was the most outstanding candidate of the group currently plying their trade in the SANFL.

Brought to you by AAP © 2024 AAP