Port Adelaide forwards coach Darren Reeves said the group had a clear focus on team defence on the weekend, but lacked some method with its ball movement. 

In a reasonably close affair, the Power lost to the Giants on Saturday night, and faces another big test at the SCG this weekend. 

Reeves spoke to the Adelaide media on Monday about the team review, the opportunities for young players and how the group continues to stay motivated.  

Reeves on the game review 
“We had a real clear focus from a team defence standpoint going into the game, so the review was really based around that. Some positive outcomes, some growth from the last couple of weeks where we've been challenged defensively. So it's a bit of a tick for our team defence on the night. We understand we were a little bit clunky around contest and then offence. So we touched on that a little bit, but it was pretty positive again, and some growth in our team defence. 

“We understand where we're at as a group, and we've obviously got a large injury list. We've got a number of young guys that are just making their way at AFL level. The experience for them to be playing is enormous, and the time that they're getting out on field is huge for us moving forward. Within that, though, there's some guys that are a little bit fearful of making mistakes at different times. So the encouragement for us is we're okay to make mistakes if we’re playing our way, and we'll keep showing them vision of that. We'll keep showing them clips. We'll keep encouraging. We'll keep putting them in those positions in training, and we understand that there are times when a young player gets ball in hand and is fearful of doing that, but we'll keep encouraging and make mistakes.” 

Reeves on keeping the motivation going 
“Josh (Carr) has been great in reinforcing the message that we're accelerating into the end of the year, and that's player driven. The energy amongst the group and the want to keep getting better and to find ways to keep getting better is existing there. So it's not hard to drive that. The players are really driving that.” 

Reeves on Zak Butters’ rehab 
“Yeah, it was great (to see him running again), and he's determined. We understand that it was a significant injury, but he's making solid progress, and we'll see how that plays out. I'm not the medical expert. I know that he's doing everything he possibly can, but we'll just see how that plays out in the couple weeks (as to whether he plays again this season). 

“Ever since he came back into the building after the surgery, his energy amongst the group is infectious, and you can hear where he is, no matter where you are in the building. So that's always a positive for the group, and I'm sure it was great for the guys to go to see him out there running around today. I know that he loves the footy club, and he goes about things in that manner every week. So we'll see how (his future) plays out.” 

Reeves on Sydney at the SCG 
“Our guys have been great all year in taking on the challenge of the really good footy teams, and we've had that over the last couple of weeks. We played Fremantle and Brisbane over the last couple of weeks. GWS is a high-quality footy team, so it doesn't get any easier. And Sydney in Sydney is one of the bigger challenges in the game. And what a great opportunity for our young group to go and get after them and see where that lands us. 

“What it does create is an opportunity to get after them and force some turnovers. And we were able to do that last time we played them. What we've seen with them over the last little period, though, is they've been able to change their game within game and go to a different mode. So they provide different challenges for us, and what a great challenge for us from a defensive standpoint.” 

Reeves on the SANFL side’s performances this year 
“We understand that we've got a large injury list at the moment, which makes it difficult down there. We understand there's (list) rules in place as well for our SANFL team, but it was only two weeks ago that with a similar team, we were able to beat a top five team. So it wasn't a great performance yesterday. We recognise that, but we've also got a very young group out there playing. 

“There's opportunities for guys to play in different positions. We've been able to throw guys around in different positions throughout the year. There's certainly a lack of experience because of our injury list at the moment, and even the guys that are on our (AFL) list that are playing our SANFL team are really inexperienced. So that's a challenge as well, and we understand us what it looks like. But we just keep getting to work each week on making sure our development through the week stays the same.” 

Reeves on injuries presenting AFL opportunities 
“From a forward line perspective, we've got a number of guys…Mitch Zadow, came in at start of the year. Xavier Bamert comes in mid-year, and they've got games of footy under their belt now, which is going to hold them in great stead moving forward. And we've seen that right across our group. We've got a number of guys that at the start of the year, we probably didn't think they were going to play AFL footy, but now they've had some experience and they get to a taste of what it looks like and what they need to do to improve and be ready to go next year. And it's going to hold our whole squad in a great place.” 

Reeves on the improvement in the depth of the list 
“Absolutely, we have, and we get to see evidence of that week in, week out, and we understand they're going to make some mistakes. We understand that it's going to be a challenge against the really good footy teams at different times. But we're really pleased with how they've developed and the ground we're making in that space.” 

Reeves on Todd Marshall 
“We've been really clear with Todd. We've had some real clear focuses week in, week out, and he doesn't end up with a lot of possessions on the weekend, but I liked his defensive actions. I thought he was really influential in that space, particularly in the first half. He was able to hit the scoreboard. We probably missed him a couple of times when he had really good space on his opponent, but he's making good progress. He's in a good headspace, and he understands what he needs to keep doing to keep getting better, which is great.” 

Reeves on Joe Richards’ recovery  
“I think probably unlikely (this week). I think there's still a bit of healing still happening there (with his finger), but we'll see. You never know, these guys are pretty competitive, and they want to get back playing pretty quickly.”