PORT Adelaide coach Mark Williams says preparation was the key to his side’s 48-point win over fifth-placed Brisbane Lions.

The Power dominated the final quarter of the match, kicking six goals to nil to beat the Lions at AAMI Stadium on Saturday afternoon, and will now jump into the top eight.

Williams said the next month was real opportunity for Port Adelaide to show just what it was capable of, and that his players had a real sense of looking forward after the win.

“The clouds had parted and they could see the light, it was fantastic for all of them,” he said after the game.

“No one will be perfect every week but it’s about preparation, it’s about mindset and being ready for the opposition, and it’s also a fitness thing.”

Williams explained that he had introduced a new focus at the club, where the players had a larger role and were more involved in the preparation in the lead-up to each game.

“We’ve reduced some of the stuff that we hand feed them with, and now they’ve got to actually do it themselves,” he said.

“We’ve got some creative players on the ground – it’s about time that they actually played that way.”

Williams said that his mid-week signing helped to refocus the club, after weeks of speculation and reports in the media that he was not wanted around the club.

“It could have been today, someone else coaching the side. That’s a fact,” he said.

“So for the players - they didn’t really know what was going on, so now that they are much more confident of the way ahead and they know that I’m in charge.”

Port Adelaide’s defensive effort, which included holding forward Jonathan Brown to just two goals, was a solid team effort, according to Williams.

He explained that within the backline, usually one or two players got recognised for their work, but having Troy Chaplin as a loose defender allowed Port Adelaide to work as a team and prevent a lot of Brisbane’s penetration.

“It was a combination of all of them and there were probably eight or nine players that played the backline today,” he said.

“(Jacob) Surjan did an outstanding job today, (Nathan) Krakouer was much more significant than he’s been… but the amount of times that the ball got kicked to Brown, and (Alipate) Carlile was in front, or Carlile spoilt the ball, that was fantastic for us.”