PORT ADELAIDE defensive coach Nathan Bassett was particularly pleased with his side’s opening round performance against Brisbane, with the win generating confidence heading into Round 2.

The Power defeated the Lions in convincing fashion at Adelaide Oval on Saturday afternoon, with Jason Horne-Francis and Junior Rioli truly delivering on club debut.

Bassett spoke to the Adelaide media on Monday following the win, touching on the team’s overall performance, the pride he had in his defensive unit and planning for the team’s next test – Collingwood at the MCG.

Bassett on Round 1
“Clearly there’s some positivity around the performance. It was one of those games that you go into and you’re not completely sure about what you’re going to get. You’ve seen a lot of positives at training, maybe you haven’t seen that transfer in games but the way we were able to play across the four quarters and certainly the finish helped in the second half. The way we played across four quarters was a strong performance.

“I think the midfield particularly did a great job. There are five guys in there that are 23 and under that haven’t played a great deal of AFL footy. There's clearly some talent in there so what they put together was a really strong performance.”

Bassett on defeating Brisbane
“I think when you haven’t beaten a team since 2018 and you come out and well and truly win the game and win it well, it does catch you a little bit off guard. You don’t get too many games like that in the AFL these days against strong opposition. We've got a lot of respect for Brisbane. They've been a very good side over that duration of the last four-and-a-bit seasons so probably the overall total performance came as a really positive and pleasant surprise.”

Bassett on club debutants Junior Rioli and Jason Horne-Francis
“I think it was a great start from both of them. Junior hadn’t played heaps during preseason, so we weren’t exactly sure what we'd get from him, but we knew he was a quality footballer. He kept telling us he'll be right when Round 1 starts and he was right, so that's a win.

“It was a great start for Jason as well. I think Jason’s form has been pretty good in the trial games so you can see he’s been building towards a strong performance, and he certainly gave us that. He adds a different dimension to our midfield in what he does and how he plays and hopefully he can keep growing his game to become the player we think he can be.”

Bassett on his defensive unit
“I thought we supported each other really well in contests. I thought Aliir was excellent, I thought Trent McKenzie did a great job, Ryan Burton and Dan Houston were outstanding. As a seven, those guys did a great job.

“During the pre-season, we leaked too many soft goals but the way they’ve worked together to support each other and not be tied up (has been great). I’m not there counting goals on their direct opponent, I’m more interested in the scoreboard and how we concede and also how many goals we can generate with our ball use.”

“I’ve really liked what I’ve seen (from Aliir) during pre-season. It's around the consistency for him and putting those performances together. I loved his physicality on the taller guys for Brisbane and his impact in one-on-ones but also to clear the area was great. Brisbane can be playing straight line footy and winning those contests then surging off that, but we were able to kill it at the contest.”

Bassett on Travis Boak
“Trav's a chance, (to play Round 2). He's clearly got to prove that he's fit enough to play but if Travis Boak's fit and ready, I’ll be surprised if he doesn’t play.”

Bassett on Jeremy Finlayson coming back from injury
“Jeremy played Saturday (in a SANFL trial match) and it was his first game back so he’s still working towards AFL level fitness, but probably not quite there just yet. The great thing is he’s back playing and he’s another person that we can pick if we need. As a forward, second ruck, he’s someone that adds great value to our team because he can take marks, kick goals but he’s also a particularly good centre bounce player.”

Bassett on taking on Collingwood in Round 2
“Footy can change quickly in three days. Three days ago, you’re looking for where that first win will come from and then (you win and) the world looks a brighter place on a Monday. We have done it once and the hardest part about footy is doing it week in, week out. We've got a core of younger people that are still working out how to do that week in, week out and we've got to keep driving high standards because there’s no bigger test in footy than trying to beat Collingwood at the ‘G.”

“Their team defence is really interesting in terms of the way they defend. I think you can get scoring opportunities against them but it’s more about how you can reduce their score. They’re so aggressive, they’ll play through the corridor, they'll handball chain and they’ve got some really good talent in their side so they’re a really interesting opposition. They’re a great team to watch as an outside supporter so I’d expect an entertaining game this week.”