That's the appraisal of Port Adelaide's senior coach after his side's narrow nine-point win over St Kilda at Alberton Oval on Saturday afternoon.
Ken Hinkley was pleased with the Power's ability to come back from a four-goal deficit at quarter time to kick 15 goals-to-9 in the remaining three quarters.
But he said slow starts would be punished by opponents in the season proper.
"We were quite dominant in the last three quarters - that's the positive [to come out of the game]," Hinkley said after the game.
"The negative is [that] we stated too slow."
He attributed that slow start - which saw the Power trail by 50 in the disposal count and concede 16 clearances from stoppage by quarter time - to the mindset of his playing group.
It's something that needs to be fixed in time for the club's first game against Carlton at Etihad Stadium next Sunday night.
"The other part of the clearances was that we had the advantage in the hit outs, but I think it's just about the boys' mindset as much as anything," Hinkley said.
"[St Kilda] were desperate to smack in and win their own ball, and [they] handled the pressure a bit better than we did in today's game, especially early.
"We need to make sure we understand the risk you take when you put yourself in that position."
Aside from the slow starts, Hinkley was nonetheless pleased with the fight displayed by his players, saying all 25 players to feature in the game were in the mix for selection against the Blues this week.
The Power will undergo a recovery session tomorrow and return to training all week before flying to Melbourne for AFL Opening Round on Saturday.
