JAY SCHULZ believes his one-year contract extension has bought him enough time to push for a premiership.
Schulz's new contract will see him remain at Port Adelaide until at least the end of 2015 and the 28-year-old pointed to his side's remarkable 2013 as proof that anything was possible in the next few years.
The key to ultimate success, he said, was doing everything right.
"Providing they work hard and do the right things … any club's in a position to win a flag," Schulz said.
"You don't win flags by shortcutting anything, there's a lot of preparation and a lot of hard work … we're going the right way.
"I don't see any reason why we can't have a crack at it, we showed this year that you can turn our seasons around pretty quickly."
But after such an eye-opening 2013 season, the Power face a much tougher road next season with complacent opposition sides wary of being burned again.
Schulz said the playing group had already displayed signs its own complacency wouldn't be an issue, adding that coach Ken Hinkley wouldn't allow such laziness.
"I think we're taking the right steps, [and heading] in the right direction to ensure that doesn't happen," he said.
"We know that if we work hard and we do the same things we were doing last year and we do the simple things well and you defend hard … then we'll be in with a good shot again this year.
"Kenny always makes sure you rock up ready to train … he's a really good motivator.
"He won't allow us, in a sense, to get ahead of ourselves in any way, shape, or form."
Schulz was already contracted for next year, but on the back of another outstanding year in which he led the Power's goalkicking for a third time (49 goals), he didn't hesitate to re-sign early.
The revival of his career has been one of the more spectacular in recent history, after he faced a "do or die" situation when he was traded to Alberton from Richmond ahead of the 2010 season.
Having played just 71 games during his seven years at Punt Road, Shulz has already notched 71 with the Power.
His fearsome attack on the ball and accuracy in front of goal has turned him into a cult figure for Power supporters, but he admitted his career could have taken a different route.
"It was a bit of a do or die situation for me when I finished playing at Richmond and Port gave me that second chance," he said.
"I probably started to realise in my last 18 months being at Richmond that something had to change and it was me more so than anything.
"My professionalism probably wasn’t there as a young kid and just growing up a bit and realising that it was do or die."
Although he'll embark on his 12th AFL season in 2014, Schulz said he had more to offer both in terms of mentoring capacity and output.
He predicted the goalkicking load would be shared around next year but, after taking a now trademark highflying mark at training on Tuesday, he claimed where was still "springs left in the legs".
