The Power responded to their sub-par performance against St Kilda in round five with a strong showing against Adelaide in Showdown XXVI.
They produced a similar spirited performance against Hawthorn, after an equally disappointing loss to West Coast in round three.
Primus said the challenge for his players was to produce a consistently high level of intensity without experiencing the dramatic lows in between.
“The players have created [that intensity] four times this year. It’s an unknown as to why it goes up and down a little bit,” Primus said on Monday.
Primus, who is in charge of the midfield at Port Adelaide, was pleased with what he saw from his charges at AAMI Stadium on Saturday night.
The ruck duo of Showdown Medallist Dean Brogan and Brendon Lade smashed the young Crows’ combination at the hit-outs and the Power midfielders dominated at the stoppages.
“The planning we did for the game worked pretty well and having Peter Burgoyne back certainly helped. A lot of things went our way, so it was very pleasing in that regard especially considering we got touched up at the stoppages (against St Kilda) the week before,” Primus said.
“Adelaide has always been very good defensively and we were able to get a hold of them in that area. It was the first time that our rucks have been clearly dominant and they certainly gave our onballers an armchair ride.”
The only downside of the 26-point win was a hamstring injury to impressive first-year player Hamish Hartlett. The polished 18-year-old picked up 10 possessions before heading to the bench.
Hartlett joined his teammates at Alberton on Monday and didn’t appear too restricted as he walked laps around the boundary line.
However defender Toby Thurstans, who injured his hamstring playing for SANFL side Sturt, emerged from the rooms only briefly.
The Power’s financial situation has been an ongoing issue so far this season.
Primus, a former captain of the club, denied the off-field saga had affected the players and said he would follow in the footsteps of coach Mark Williams, who has indicated he would consider a pay cut to remain at the club beyond this year.
“Everyone working at the club will do whatever they can to help the club survive and we (the assistant coaches) will be involved in that. If that means we can keep the current group of players and coaches here that would be great for us.”
