PORT Adelaide coach Mark Williams says a revamped playing list, injuries to key players and a tough recent draw have been major reasons behind his team’s recent poor form.

Williams said the list was "skinny" due to cuts made after the 2007 grand final loss, but could not anticipate the loss of so many key players through the mid-season.

Daniel Motlop, Chad Cornes, Shaun Burgoyne, Steven Salopek, Travis Boak, Matt Thomas and Hamish Hartlett were all unavailable in the Power’s 34-point loss to Geelong on Sunday.

"We knew at the start of the year that it was going to be [a tough period]," he said after the match.

"We've traveled three or four times in the last four or five weeks, so it's been a difficult period of time, so we knew that was going to happen.

"It's nice to think we can get back on the bus and the plane and get back to Adelaide … from when we played up in Darwin and we came back with our tail between our legs … at least this time we can come back with a little bit of knowledge that we fought the game out."

Although Williams said his side was competitive for two and a half quarters, he conceded that a disappointing start – when Geelong kicked 7.5 to 1.1 – proved costly.

"It seemed like there must've been a gale going one way – there were so many goals scored in the first quarter at the Geelong end. With 12 shots on goal, it was pretty nice to think that we might be able to start a building block for the next few weeks," he said.

"We've got nine games left and six of them are at home and hopefully we can start putting some wins together and still look forward to making the finals."

Williams also couldn't sing the undefeated Geelong's praises enough.

"What it showed is Geelong is that strong, that bloody hard to tackle and that convinced that they can walk through tackles and they're bodies are very mature and they've done a lot of work in the gym," he added.