Port Adelaide great Kane Cornes says his old side has capitulated in the back half of the year when a finals appearance was within their grasp.
The Power were humbled by Collingwood at the MCG on Saturday afternoon to tune of 51 points, conceding seven last quarter goals after being down by just 13 at the final change.
Cornes believes low clearance numbers and an inability to score has hurt Ken Hinkley’s side in the back-end of the season.
“Capitulation is the way I put it, not only in that game but for the back half of the year,” Cornes told SEN Breakfast.
“At one stage they were sitting second on the ladder and had won seven of their last eight.
“They’ve gone and lost five out of their last six, we think of the Crows showdown and the West Coast game last week.
“They spoke in the off-season about bringing in class that can improve their scoring; they’re one of the worst scoring sides in the competition this year and their clearance numbers are appalling.
“It’s just unacceptable for a midfield that possess as much talent as they’ve got.
“You’ve got an elite ruckman and All-Australian ruckman in Paddy Ryder, you’ve got midfielders who, on the surface, are clearance, contested winning beasts, and they just haven’t been able to get it done.”
Essendon great Tim Watson believes the Power have a soft underbelly and lack the ability to grind out wins when the going gets tough.
“Port Adelaide are disappointing,” Watson said.
“You know what they don’t have? They don’t have that spine that you need to actually be able to grind away and win games of football and compete minute-by-minute through the course of the game.
“They have their moments in games, but when it gets a little bit too hard and it gets a little bit too tough for them, that’s when they don’t want to grind away and do all the things you need to do as a great team.
“There’s a flakiness about them.”
Port Adelaide round out their 2018 campaign when they take on Essendon at the Adelaide Oval on Friday night.
Listen to Kane Cornes' chat on SEN Breakfast with Garry Lyon and Tim Watson in the player below