Port Adelaide senior coach Lauren Arnell says there is a strong sense of disappointment following her side’s Round 6 loss to Geelong, acknowledging the team’s slow start and lack of consistency across four quarters.  

Speaking to the media following the final siren, Arnell touched on how the group will look to respond against St Kilda in Round 7, the performance of promising debutant Lauren Young, and Janelle Cuthbertson’s heartbreaking knee injury.  

Arnell on the loss to Geelong 
“I have another really strong feeling of disappointment. I think the way we showed up early in the game, and that whole first quarter, really isn't what we work towards. Coming back from that - despite the scoreboard not being too high at quarter time—I think we just let them get too much of a look early and weren't able to show up in the contest well enough.” 

“Geelong’s mids were obviously dominant, and their work rate was higher than ours. I think they've got a couple of really strong weapons in their forward line that played well too. For us, it's important to focus on what we can control, and I don't think we showed up at our best, particularly early in the game.” 

“Geelong played some good footy today, and as coaches for Port Adelaide, it's important for us to focus on what we can do better. I really don't think we showed up in the way that we wanted to today, so there's a general sense of real disappointment.” 

Arnell on looking ahead to Round 7 
“There's absolutely no doubt we understand what we're capable of, and what we're seeing is an inconsistency in how we show up. The roller coaster that we're riding this year is real, and it's also very much in our control. We've earned the right to have a tougher fixture, and we’ve worked so hard in a handful of off seasons now where I think we are better than the consistency that we've shown this year. We've played some good teams, and then it's just a test of maturity in how we respond. We saw a fantastic response a week ago against the Demons and beat them here at Alberton. Now we go to Melbourne next week and play St Kilda at their home ground. Certainly, right now we're disappointed, and in no time, we’ll need to look ahead and build towards being more consistent next week.” 

Arnell on Lauren Young’s debut performance 
“It was great to see Lauren Young make her debut, and I’m proud of some of the steps forward she took today. It’s been such a long time since she played a game of footy, and I know that she'll be better and better each game that she plays. She had some good moments today, and I’m certainly really proud of her. She’s another player that's just worked the backside off for such a long period of time.” 

Arnell on Janelle Cuthbertson’s season-ending knee injury 
“It’s pretty fresh for JC (Janelle Cuthbertson) and the group. We’re really, really disappointed. There's probably not much more I can say. She’s just worked so hard, and for most of her career in footy there have been many setbacks. As someone who's led the way for others and put others ahead of herself - certainly when she was captain - she has just worked her backside off. I couldn't be more disappointed for her.”