Port Adelaide assistant coach Chad Cornes said Sydney’s physicality and contest set the tone early on Saturday afternoon, with the Power eventually going down by 19-points at Adelaide Oval. 

The coaches and players reviewed the team’s performance on Monday, with a keen eye already looking ahead to Thursday against Carlton. 

Speaking with the Adelaide media on Monday, Cornes spoke about the loss, the current state of the forward line, and how close prized recruit Jack Lukosius is to making his return. 

Cornes on the review of Saturday’s game 
“We had the team meeting then. It was more a discussion with Kenny leading that, and then we broke into our lines and reviewed that again, just as a discussion. But the vision itself Saturday night, when I got home, was I think they really set a tone early with their physicality and contest, and for whatever reason, we didn't match that, and that continued across the whole night, which is disappointing. 

“It's hard to put your finger on exactly why, because the last couple of weeks we’ve started games the right way. So obviously a big discussion, as the coaches in the review this morning as to why that that might have been and with the players again then, and we just try to ensure that that'll be different Thursday night.” 

Cornes on two rucks 
“I thought it was really good last week (against Melbourne). Probably both of them didn't really have a huge impact when they were forward this week (but) both have been important in the ruck. So I'm sure Josh Carr and Matty Lobbe have been happy with what that provides from a ruck point of view, but probably looking for more output forward.” 

Cornes on the current state of the forward line 
“We just haven't had that second, consistent tall target to help Mitch (Georgiades) out. Mitch has been, all in all, outstanding. By far, he's the most targeted player inside 50, been in the most contests forward of the ball in the AFL and to do that one out for most of the year is hard for him. So we're still searching for what that second tall option looks like if we go that way. That's been one reason, and the inconsistency with our ball movement, has been the main other factor. 

“Yeah, I think it probably is (because of a lack of) personnel from my point of view, we’ve got a couple of guys in the Magpies that could put their hand up, and Jack will play some minutes with the Maggies on Saturday, which will be great, so he shouldn't be too far away. But, yeah, we need something in the short term.” 

Cornes on the performance inside-50 on Saturday 
“Thirty-five inside-50 entries makes it really tough for any key forward. We still marked it 19 times inside 50, so that's a really good number with those amount of entries, but a lot of them were high and wide, low percentage scoring shots. I didn't think Mitch’s (Georgiades) contest was at the level it was the previous week either.” 

Cornes on players’ injury status 
“I think (Miles Bergman) is okay. Yeah, the report came through yesterday that he's recovered. Aliir is a good chance to return, more likely than unlikely. And Ollie (Wines) probably 50/50, at this stage. I thought (Jason Horne-Francis) battled out the game the right way. It did look a little sore early, but I thought the longer the game went, the better he looked in his contest and his output on the game. So again, he'll be fine this week.” 

Cornes on playing Connor Rozee in the midfield on Saturday 
“Connor has rotated (between mid and back) regularly throughout games. He's great in both roles. Think the discussion in the box is we needed some more drive around the stoppage, around the midfield and he can provide that. So whatever role he plays, he's really important. And it does take away from wherever you take him, because he's such a good player.” 

Cornes on Jack Lukosius 
“(We just want to see him) play. But he's had a long time out. His last month has been really positive. So I'm not sure how many minutes he’ll play (in the SANFL). It might just be a half. So whether that's enough to come straight back in off, I'm not sure, but it won't be too far away, I wouldn't think. Like we spoke about before, it's been a real issue for us not having that other tall target forward. You know, we looked at Lordy. He's probably a little down on what he showed in the past. And we've tried the two rucks, that might still continue, but it'd be great to have a another key forward there with Mitch. 

“You would have loved someone to step up in those guys’ absence. But young key forwards can take time. You know, I've said it many times, I love working with Lordy. I love his attitude. He's the first to admit his form wasn't exactly where he wanted to be, but he's working really hard to get it back.” 

Cornes on what to expect from Carlton 
“Yeah, I reckon (Carlton coach Michael Voss) probably reads, and hears less than what I do, so I don't reckon he'd let that influence what he's doing at all. But we do know he would be pushing pretty hard for a strong response, so we’re expecting a pretty competitive opening quarter, I would think.”