Port Adelaide's players have allowed complacency to creep in, backman Tom Jonas says.
"As a group we have let our standards slip a little bit," Jonas told reporters on Tuesday.
"We probably felt like the improvement we had in the last 18 months was just going to continue whereas we need to keep working as hard as what we were.
"That hasn't happened. The rest of the competition is catching up and our improvement hasn't been there."
Port, after finishing fifth in 2013 and third last year, were rated potential premiers but Jonas accused players of allowing "a little bit of complacency in where we got to".
"We have just got to remember that finishing fourth or making the eight or whatever, that is not success," he said.
"The only success in the AFL is winning a flag and we probably went away from that a little bit."
Port expect key defender Alipate Carlile (back) and Ollie Wines (broken wrist) to return from injury for Sunday's home game against Richmond, which marks the end of Kane Cornes' career.
Cornes will play his 300th AFL match then retire.
"It's going to provide us with a reason to be up and about,"Jonas said.
"If you can't get motivated to play for one of the greats of your club then when are you ever going to get up?"
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