Power to build on playoffs blueprint

PORT Adelaide will use the final game of the home-andaway season to fine-tune what it considers most important come finals time.

Defender Hamish Hartlett says the blueprint of how to play — and what helped the Power qualify fo the finals — would not change over the next few weeks.

But starting against the Gold Coast in the club’s final home-and-away season at Adelaide Oval on Saturday night, Hartlett said there would be a sharp focus on the brand of football that would stand up in finals.

“The areas we’ve improved in the last couple of weeks have been our contested ball, our pressure and our tackle numbers,” he said.

“They’re obviously a huge part of finals opportunity and it [this weekend] is another opportunity for us to work on that particular area.

“I won’t divulge too much, but our game plan as a whole doesn’t change at all. We just look at improving and tidying up little bits and pieces.

“We feel like generally, over the last part of the season, we’ve played some pretty consistent footy — minus a couple of performances that have been less than ideal. But the last couple of weeks we’ve probably improved in a couple of fundamental areas which we feel you have spot on this time of year, going into the finals.

“That’s been a real positive for us, but having said that, we know that again, there are areas of our game that need improvement.”

There were also other areas that could do with a lift.

Most of them had to do with being more efficient and making better use of opportunities.

“A bit of our polish going inside 50, our percentage of scores per inside 50 has been down a bit in the last couple of years and generally our connection and our ball use in offence,” Hartlett said.