AS THE Port Adelaide players trudged off AAMI Stadium after becoming the first team to suffer the indignity of losing to newcomer Gold Coast in round five, it was obvious Matthew Primus's honeymoon as coach was over.

Primus had made a promising start to his AFL coaching career following the departure of long-serving premiership coach Mark Williams last July.

The one-time Power skipper and revered Alberton figure steered the club to five wins in his seven games in charge last season, and eventually prevailed ahead of Chris Scott to secure the full-time position (with Scott getting the nod at Geelong).

Not only did Primus impress in the coach's box, his popularity among the Port Adelaide faithful and marketability also made him the ideal 'face' of the club, which had identified a need to re-engage its disillusioned supporter base and attract new sponsors.

He was the perfect fit, and the mood at Alberton was one of renewed optimism.
Twelve months—and a club-worst season—later, critics are questioning whether the Power made the right decision to appoint one of their favourite sons, who is one year into a three-year deal.

"It's a ruthless industry," Primus said.

"We've probably seen that more than ever this year, with Neil Craig (Adelaide), Rodney Eade (Western Bulldogs) and Dean Bailey (Melbourne) all going, but I understand that.

"Ultimately, I'm responsible for our performances and I'm happy to cop the criticism.

"You just have to maintain faith that what you're doing is right, and that you're going down the right path.

"In saying that, I know if we have another year like this one next year, I'll probably be out of the job."

The 'path' Primus is referring to is very much about rebuilding.

At the start of last pre-season, the rookie coach sat down with ex-teammate and good friend Chad Cornes and told the decorated 31-year-old he would struggle to get a game this season.

It was a difficult conversation for both men, but it was necessary if Primus was going to fully commit to his plan of developing the much-talked about "core group of young players" that would lead the club to its next premiership.

The process, which has also led to Daniel Motlop, 29, and Kane Cornes, 28, being left out of the team at different stages, has been dramatic.

This might not have been the case if Port Adelaide had started turning over its list at the end of a dominant era (at the end of 2006, when it missed the finals for the first time since 2000), but the club concedes an unexpected Grand Final berth in 2007 seduced everyone, including the hierarchy at Alberton, into thinking the team was closer to a second premiership than it was.

Primus expected his "big-picture" approach to selection would cause some short-term pain, but never envisaged it would relegate the club to the bottom of the ladder.

"I thought we would've been capable of having more than two or three wins, that's for sure," he said.

"We've had difficult weeks and times because of the approach we've taken.

"There have been calls for us to play more senior players, but, in the end, we have to go down this path.

"There's light at the end of the tunnel, as much as it might not seem like it at the moment."

Despite being unpleasantly surprised by his team's dismal win-loss record this season (two wins and 19 losses), which will replace 2000 and 2008 (seven wins both years) as the worst in the club's history, Primus hasn't wavered from his approach.

And, although he declines to add to the pressure on he and the club by publicly revealing a timeframe for the turnaround, he doesn't believe the plan he pitched to Port Adelaide to secure the coaching role last year will take longer to execute than initially expected.

"We know we're not as bad as what the ladder suggests, but in the end, what goes in the history books is your win-loss record," he said.

"I don't see that we're any further away than I thought we were at the start of the year and I'd expect us to improve next year.

"We've got to make sure there's continual improvement not only in the wins and losses, but how we go about our footy, how we prepare and how we conduct ourselves every weekend we play.

"If we can do that, the pain we're going through at the moment will be well worth it next year, the year after that and the year after that."

Port Adelaide's on-field performances have been compounded by speculation over several off-field issues, ranging from the club's financial state and long-term viability, to conjecture several players—young and old— wanting out of Alberton. The leaders of the club are having none of it.

Reliable skipper Domenic Cassisi, who replaced champion Warren Tredrea in 2009, has had the unenviable task of defending his club against these claims.

"Some of the speculation is easy to block out because it's just crap," Cassisi said.

"We know where we're at, so it doesn't really get to us.

"When you're down the bottom of the ladder, people are going to come out of the woodwork to slam us, but that's the way it is.

"When we do get some more wins on the board and become a more consistent side, the stories will write themselves, but full credit to Matty and the way he's handled himself.

"He's been consistent with his message. He's very confident in the path he's taking us down and the playing group has full faith in him."

One rationale for Port Adelaide's disastrous season, which hit rock bottom after consecutive record losses to Collingwood and Hawthorn in rounds 20-21, has been a perceived lack of support around Primus.

Frugal football department spending and a lack of resources compared to the 'rich' clubs is not a new concept at Alberton.

Williams consistently overcame these challenges to take the Power to the finals in seven of his 11 years in charge, including two Grand Final appearances, but the relationship between football department spend and success across the competition is becoming more relevant as clubs gradually figure out the best way to maximise a financial advantage.

Primus is the only coach this season with two part-time assistant coaches (Dean Laidley and Ryan McMillan) in his box, so it came as no surprise that when the League announced it would invest $9 million in Port Adelaide over the next three years, it required a significant portion of the money be used to bolster the club's football program.

"It's great to be able to sit down now and plan what we need to do for the next three years and not just get to the start of the year thinking, 'we've got to get through this year and then find where we can get the money to do this'," Primus said of the AFL funding.

"We want to make sure we have at least three full-time assistant coaches, maybe four, and we also want to beef up our development, recruiting and fitness staff.

"We're not going to leave any stone unturned, so we can say we've given ourselves the best chance to develop and we can look at the players in the eyes and say we've given them the best chance to be the best players they can be."

Despite calls for a mass cull of players at Alberton this season, Primus is happy with the talent at his disposal.

A month ago, this seemed like almost an irrational thought, but, over the past few weeks, the football world has got a glimpse of Primus's vision for the Power.

Bookends John Butcher and Jackson Trengove are potential long-term 10-year players around whom Primus can build his team.

Significantly, Trengove (one of the players feared to be leaving the club) last week extended his contract, and another key backman, Alipate Carlile, did the same this week.

Ruckman Matthew Lobbe has seized his opportunity in the absence of the retiring Dean Brogan, and Hamish Hartlett, Robbie Gray and likely best and fairest Travis Boak are midfield stars in the making.

Inexperienced players Jasper Pittard, Ben Jacobs, Cam O'Shea, Mitch Banner and Jarrad Irons have also shown enough to suggest they have a future at the elite level, and the club is excited by the potential of untried midfielders Aaron Young and Ben Newton.

By the end of this year's draft period, Port Adelaide will have six top-10 draft picks on its list—the same number as Grand Final fancies Hawthorn and only two fewer than Collingwood (eight).

Both the Hawks and the Magpies have experienced the challenges of having to rebuild before achieving success, both emerging from the bottom-four to win premierships within the space of a few years.

That's not to say Port Adelaide will achieve the same, but rather there is a proven method behind what some supporters have interpreted as madness from Primus this season.

The Power will look to support the development of their young players, whose lightly-built frames will benefit from another pre-season, by recruiting a few experienced players in this year's draft/exchange period.

"Whether it's through the SANFL, VFL or by trading, I'm not sure yet," Primus said.

"I think key position-wise we've got some great players who can develop, but we need to add to our half-forward, half-back and midfield areas.

"We probably also need another ruckman to support 'Lobbes', whether that's a really experienced ruckman, one coming into his best stage of his career or one just starting out.

"I know we've got a lot of work to do, but I'm happy with the talent we've got here and what they're capable of doing.

"We've been through a fair bit this year together, but we'll announce a few more signings in the next couple of weeks, hopefully.

"With the AFL's help, the club will be in good shape to actually plan and envisage ourselves going up the ladder and getting back to finals, which I know is where we want to be and our supporters want us to be."

Port Adelaide will this weekend host Melbourne in the first AFL home and away match at Adelaide Oval.

The venue is being redeveloped, with both the Power and Adelaide to play home games there, starting in 2014.

The Power-Demons match was originally scheduled for AAMI Stadium, but plans to switch the game to Adelaide Oval were tabled in June.

The Crows are also in negotiations to play a NAB Cup game at Adelaide Oval before the start of major works at the ground next March.

The SANFL has indicated this weekend's match needs to attract a crowd of about 30,000 to "satisfy" it and Port Adelaide.

The Power have attracted more than 30,000 people to a home game only once this season, the Showdown clash with Adelaide in round four.

Cassisi said the players were "genuinely excited" about playing at the Adelaide Oval.

"We understand the history of our club, and how important this ground is to the club," he said, referring to the Port Adelaide Magpies' SANFL success at the ground.

"For the guys who get to make great history (in round 24) and play the first game of AFL here, it's going to be really exciting."

This article first appeared in the AFL Record