Port Adelaide can see the gradual improvement, but are growing impatient for victory.

Another honourable AFL loss in a 38-point defeat by premiers Geelong – a margin which didn’t really reflect Port’s performance – didn’t satisfy coach Matthew Primus or his players post-match.

“No one gave us a chance but we felt internally we could take it up to Geelong and I thought we did that for three, three and a half quarters,” Port defender Troy Chaplin said of his side’s 14.15 (99) to 8.13 (61) defeat at Simonds Stadium on Sunday.

“For the young side we had, the effort was really promising. But we still lost. We’re still extremely disappointing.”

Port beat Geelong in the clearances and some other key statistics, but felt they let a possible upset slip with a below-par start to the final quarter.

They trailed by just 19 points at three-quarter-time and had booted three of the last four goals going into the final term.

But they were finished off by three quick Geelong goals to open the quarter – and what Primus believed was a lack of composure in using the ball intelligently when they won stoppages.

“I’m happy with what they did in patches, but not what we did for the whole game,” Primus said.

“What was it in the end? Six goals? To be 18 or 20 points down at three-quarter-time, we thought we had a chance to put some real scoreboard pressure on them early and see what we could make of the game.

“There is an improvement in there, but we have to keep working at it and keep looking for higher standards.”

Port’s next match is the Showdown with high-flying Adelaide at AAMI Stadium next Saturday.

Geelong now head straight to the Gold Coast to spend a week preparing there for the clash with the Suns next Sunday.