Port Adelaide coach Mark Williams has denied he had made illegal entreaties to players at other AFL clubs.

League rules stipulate that no deals can be done outside the end of season trade week and national/pre-season draft days, something Williams has come close to flaunting in recent weeks by boasting of how he has been in touch with certain people.

Williams was adamant he had not engaged in the practice of illegally "tapping up" any players.

"I understand that (the rules)," Williams said.

"I'm saying they're talking to me, I'm not talking to them. I'm not ringing them up ... (and) I don't talk to them for very long."

Williams was also sure that the traffic was hardly one way - agreeing many of his players would be on the line to coaches elsewhere.

"I'm sure it happens," he said.

"That's the reality of football, I know for certain some of the players who've left our club in the past have spoken long and hard with coaches at other club.

"(But) I guarantee we're not lying down and we're in the game, and we'll be in the game whether it's recruiting for trading or uncontracted players we'll be in the game."

Adam Thomson has joined Nathan Lonie and Greg Bentley as three of the most likely players to be leaving at year's end, after Williams said he already knew what to expect from each.

Whether Thomson's card is marked or not, Williams appears unlikely to give him another chance to prove himself before the year is out, unless injuries force a recall.

"That's up in the air (whether Thomson plays again), we certainly have a view of where Adam is and similar to Nathan Lonie and Greg Bentley last week, Toby Thurstans, we know what they can provide for the club and we'll continue to look at the others and if we need we'll pick them as well," he said.

"We know where they're at, we need to consider how the others are and then make some choices."

The Power looked a house divided at times during Saturday's meek surrender to Carlton at Telstra dome, so much so that Blues star Andrew Walker contended on radio that Port gave up the fight.

Williams was having none of that on Monday.

"Players argue when we win too and it's only really highlighted when you lose," he said.

"I suppose the tradition of the club here is you demand a lot from each other and I know over the years we won premiership after premiership we'd argue with each other and demand a lot from each other and try to keep the standard up, so I'm sure that's a lot of it and I suppose Carlton aren't used to that.

"If you look at the second half of the game we didn't stop trying, when you lose it's easy to kick a dog when it's down and that's probably what Andrew's doing."

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