POWER coach Mark Williams has denied accusations that Port Adelaide gave up in Saturday’s 66-point loss to the Blues at Telstra Dome.

On Melbourne radio after the game, Carlton’s Andrew Walker suggested the Power players were disinterested and had begun fighting with each other out of frustration.

But Williams was far from worried about any verbal infighting, instead, he said it was a sign of strength.

“I haven’t heard Andrew’s comments, but if you look at the second half, we were at least competitive, so I can’t understand that [comment]. In the first half, we played pretty poorly,” Williams said on Monday.

“Players argue when we win too. It’s only usually highlighted when we lose. The tradition of this club here is that you demand a lot from each other.

“Over the years, when we [Port Adelaide Magpies] won premiership after premiership, we’d argue with each other and demand a lot of each other, which helps keep the standard up. I’m sure that has a lot to do with it and Carlton isn’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 is doing.”

The Port Adelaide coach, who has already flagged his interest in recruiting out-of-contract players at season’s end, also denied he was breaking any AFL rules by speaking to players from rival clubs at this stage of the year.

“I understand the rules. I’m saying the players are talking to me; I’m not talking to them. I’m not ringing anyone,” he said.

“I’m sure that [poaching] happens. That’s a reality of football. I know for certain that some of the players that have left our club in the past have spoken long and hard with coaches at other clubs [while under contract].

“And I can guarantee we’re not lying down. We’re actually in the game. We’ll be in the game regardless of whether it’s recruiting, trading or uncontracted players; we’ll be in the game.”