PORT Adelaide coach Mark Williams has called his side’s second quarter "disgraceful" following Sunday’s 70-point loss to Adelaide in Showdown XXVII at AAMI Stadium.

The Power kicked the first two goals of the game to set-up a seven-point lead at quarter-time, but conceded seven unanswered goals in the second term to trail by 33 points at the main change.

Port Adelaide rallied to match Adelaide in the third quarter, but the damage had already been done. With the sting out of the contest in the final term, the Crows piled on seven goals to one for the final margin.

Williams said he was disappointed with his side’s ability to apply effect defensive pressure and win the 50-50 contests.

“It was a pretty poor game today. We probably looked into it for the first 10 minutes, but apart from that I thought the Crows controlled most of the game,” Williams said.

“We couldn’t create any turnovers in the first half and they were doing it really easy to us, so all credit to them.

“I think the kick in the bum from St Kilda last week really got the Crows going. They certainly learned from last week and finished the game off well today.”

The Power won the clearances 42-36, but failed to translate their dominance into scoring opportunities, finishing with 35 inside-50s to Adelaide’s 60.

Vice-captain Shaun Burgoyne, playing his first game since round three, won five of those clearances.

Burgoyne finished with 11 possessions and Williams assessed his star onballer’s return as “pretty good”.

“After being out for 13 weeks, we were hoping Shaun could be the icing on the cake rather than having to do too much more. Unfortunately, not enough others did anything.”

The Power struggled for intensity in the absence of feisty ruckman Dean Brogan. Brogan’s late withdrawal from the game with a corked calf also put the club’s ruck stocks back under the spotlight.

Brendon Lade, 33, is in the twilight of his career, while emerging big man Jonathan Giles has spent the past couple of weeks in the SANFL reserves. Matthew Lobbe and Jarrad Redden are too raw to be seriously considered.

Williams said the club might look to trade for a more seasoned ruckman at season’s end.

“We thought pretty seriously about what to do with the ruck situation. Our younger rucks either aren’t playing particularly well or aren’t ready to play yet,” Williams said.

“Toby (Thurstans) can pinch-hit and Lade’s a great ruckman, but we’re looking seriously at our ruck stocks and who might be available [in draft/trade week].

“If there’s a ruckman out there that’s not playing, we’re thinking we need to look at them.”

The Power face an uphill challenge to make the eight, with games against a resurgent Hawthorn, Fremantle, Carlton, the Brisbane Lions and North Melbourne in the final five weeks.

Their task could be made more difficult with injuries to key players Chad Cornes and Troy Chaplin.

Cornes experienced more soreness in his troublesome knee during Sunday’s game, while Chaplin copped a kick to the shin. Travis Boak suffered a corked thigh and Jacob Surjan ended the match with a corked calf.

Williams said it was important his side maintained belief heading into the final five rounds.

“The Hawks will come over here keen to get a win, but our crowd will be back here, and a week’s a long time in football," he said.

"You can rebound, and we have quite a few games left at home. We hope to be able to get on a roll. You’re only one week away from doing it.”

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