PORT Adelaide coach Mark Williams says the Adelaide Crows are a spent force and it is time South Australians dumped them and jumped on the Power bandwagon.
Following his team's come-from-behind win against Adelaide, Williams said South Australian children should follow a team that was heading in the right direction, and that was not Adelaide.
“We've won seven Showdowns in a row against the Crows but I still look around and see too many kids wearing Crows jumpers for my liking,” he said.
“It's time [for the kids] to start to look around and decide which team is going up and which team is going down."
Williams credits inner belief and mental strength for his club’s improvement and says the players' new steely resolve was due to the work of leadership coaches Jan Stirling and Jenny Williams.
“Jan and Jenny have been outstanding with the players psyche, making them feel comfortable and making them understand,” he said.
He said the change in the players' psyche was the reason they were able to blow the Crows away in the final term
“It’s a real credit to our players the way they ran out the game,” he said
“We were hanging on by the skin of our teeth there for a long time. Having not been in front most of the day, I thought a six-goal last quarter was a great effort.”
Robbie Gray was also instrumental in the Power’s win with five goals.
Williams revealed Gray almost missed the game and had to pass a fitness test on Friday to secure his spot in Showdown XXVIII.
“He was complaining of soreness after training on Wednesday, so we had a fitness test,” Williams said
“I’m really pleased we were smart enough to let him play,” he said. “He had a major influence”.
The Power coach was also pleased with the work of Kane Cornes [29 disposals] who limited Andrew McLeod and Bernie Vince’s impact on the game. And he was effusive about captain Domenic Cassisi’s stunning last quarter.
“I thought in the last quarter our captain really stood up,” he said.
