PORT Adelaide is ready to reel in the head start it has given to other sides in this year’s premiership race, says star onballer Kane Cornes.
The Power broke a four-game losing streak by defeating West Coast by 24 points at Subiaco Oval on Sunday.
Cornes said last week’s final-quarter fadeout against the Brisbane Lions had not shaken the players’ confidence, instead proving a turning point.
“Sunday and Monday we were very embarrassed about our performance (against the Lions),” Cornes said.
“But come Wednesday we trained really well and we were positive. While we looked at where we let it slip against Brisbane, we also looked at some of the good stuff we did.
“We actually played some terrific footy last week and we thought if we could bring that same intensity over to Perth we definitely could cause them some trouble.
“The 22 guys’ attitude was unbelievable, the pressure we put on West Coast.”
Cornes backed coach Mark Williams’ assessment that that Port Adelaide side was “the best 0-4 side ever.”
“We haven’t been out of form and despite being 0-4 we’ve played some pretty good footy in patches,” Cornes said.
“We’re confident we can go places this year but obviously we’ve given the other teams a big head start.
“We believe in our game style. We’ve played some terrific footy and if we can just put it together for the majority of the game, we’re going to win more than we lose. We now go back home and play St Kilda and it’s another huge game.”
Small forwards Daniel Motlop and Brett Ebert returned to form with four goals apiece in Sunday’s win, which would have been more comprehensive if not for a seven-goal burst in the final quarter by the Eagles.
“We’ve got a very dangerous forward line and it was a huge strength for us last year,” Cornes said.
“To see Ebert kick four and probably hand off two or three and Motlop doing his stuff and kicking four, we’re just rapt they’re back in some terrific form.”
Cornes played a pivotal role in the Port Adelaide victory with a superb shut-down of Daniel Kerr, restricting Kerr to just 13 possessions while accumulating a game-high 27 himself.
Cornes said he relished the challenge of playing on players of Kerr’s calibre.
“We identified Cox and Kerr as their main two players, their superstars, and if we could limit them it would go a long way to us winning,” Cornes said.
“It’s certainly hard for him when he’s got someone in his back pocket all the time. I always love playing on the best players in the AFL and he’s certainly one of them.”