WHEN former Fremantle teammates Josh Carr and Luke Webster set about transforming Port Adelaide's defensive system this season, one of their guiding questions was 'how can we be powerful together?'

After ranking 14th in the AFL for both points conceded and opposition inside 50s in 2025, Carr wanted to use his first season in charge to lay new defensive foundations and called on Webster as his new backline coach to help implement a modern team defence. 

The transformation has been remarkable as Carr prepares to coach against his former club for the first time, with Port rising to No.3 in the AFL for points conceded and equal No.1 with the Dockers for opposition inside 50s. 

Those defensive foundations will get their biggest test yet against the ladder leaders at Adelaide Oval on Saturday, but it should be clear now that Port is on the right track under its new coach.  

"When he took over, he wanted to have a real foundational part of his gameplan around defence, and me coming on board was part of that and being able to support his methodology," Webster told AFL.com.au this week. 

"From where we started in pre-season, it was far different to where we are now with how the players adapted to it and started thinking their way through.

"We went down a real focus on how as a group can we be powerful together? How can we work together? How can we defend together, attack together, and compete together?

"That's probably the whole basis around some of the defensive stuff we've been doing.

"Some sides are one-on-one, some sides are zonal, and some sides are a little bit in between. We're sort of a hybrid of all of it."

Webster and Carr spent four seasons as teammates at Fremantle, between 2005 and 2008, with the backline coach's career cut short after 33 games due to four serious knee injuries.

His move into coaching saw him spend time with Carlton as a development coach and VFL coach of the Northern Blues before joining West Coast for 10 years where he led the forward line, backline and coached the club's WAFL team. 

Another former teammate, Justin Longmuir, has been aware of the defensive transformation taking place at Port this season, pointing out this week that the Power had conceded 100 points only once in 2026, way back in round one. 

"In terms of their defensive profile and the way they've been limiting inside 50s, I've been really impressed with it," Longmuir said.

"The way they set the ground up, both offensive and defensively, they're doing a lot right. 

"They've only conceded 100 points once this season, which is one of the best records in the comp. We've done it three times … so they've got an elite defensive profile that we're going to have to be at our best to be able to conquer."

Carr spent three seasons as an assistant at Fremantle between 2020-22 at a time when the Dockers laid their own defensive foundations under Longmuir, with Carr helping develop a young midfield and shaping the team's contested game. 

Contest and team defence have since become pillars of his coaching at Port after returning to the club for a second stint as an assistant and then taking charge after a transition year in 2025 under Hinkley. 

Webster said applying pressure, forcing turnovers in their front half, and preventing teams from moving the ball from their defensive 50 to inside 50 were key metrics the Power tracked under their defensive system. 

They rank No.8 in the AFL on that last measure and rise to No.4 when it comes to conceding opposition scores from rebound 50s. Their contest game, however, remains a work in progress.

While Carr returned to Port in 2023, his coaching team this season is almost entirely new, with director of coaching Andy Collins, senior assistant Stuart Dew, forwards coach Darren Reeves, and Webster all in their first season together. 

Webster said the group had spent a lot of time over the summer sharing ideas, and Carr had given his coaches plenty of autonomy to shape elements of the gameplan. 

On the senior coach's first year in the top job, Webster said Carr had found a good balance between staying level regardless of match results and then "pushing the button" when a statement was needed. 

"When you think about 'Carry' as a player, the white line fever kicked in and he was very competitive. He did whatever he needed to do to win a game of football," Webster said. 

"He's still got an element of that to his demeanour and his coaching, but the one thing that I've really enjoyed and really loved is that he's been really level. 

"It doesn't matter whether we win, lose, or draw. There's always method and thought around, 'OK, what do we need to continue to keep going after?' 

"He's also had moments where it's like, 'I need to push the button here', so he's had some great moments around having a balance with his coaching, and that's been the value of him this year.

"The rest of the coaches have been able to bounce off that as well, where he can be calm and measured at times and we can come over the top and be a little bit pointier at times."

Port's focus on being "powerful together" will be crucial on Saturday, with star trio Zak Butters (ankle), Mitch Georgiades (concussion) and Jason Horne-Francis (suspension) all unavailable, alongside skipper Connor Rozee (hamstring). 

It robs Port of its four best players against the best team in the competition, but Webster said the Power could take lessons from Fremantle's ability under Longmuir to build a role-based game style.  

"We are going to be slightly undermanned with some of the guys we've got out this week, but we've always tried to push the squad mentality, and Fremantle are a prime example of that," he said.  

"They've built their system and their method over a long period of time and 'Longy' has done a great job with their club around a role-based system. 

"If one guy goes out, the next guy comes in and replaces them, and we're building towards that. It's going to be a great opportunity for our group this week."