Port Adelaide have branded their meek efforts in an AFL pre-season loss as unacceptable, defender Jack Hombsch says.
The Power were beaten on Saturday by Melbourne, who kicked 11 goals to four in the second half to win by 19 points.
"We know that lack of effort is not acceptable and we're going to be held accountable for that," Hombsch told reporters on Monday.
"It came down to effort ... they (Melbourne) wanted it more."
Hombsch said the reasons for Port's second-half slide were hard to pinpoint.
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"It's something that we can't really put our finger on," he said.
"We showed in the first half that our method and our game plan works.
"And then for whatever reason we pulled away from that a little bit and they turned up the heat and we just couldn't quite handle it.
"It's just not acceptable. And we are not shying away from that. There is no excuses."
The Power also lost their opening pre-season game, an away fixture against Sydney, but Hombsch said there was no alarm at the club.
"The beauty about the NAB Challenge is - it's no an excuse - but it's early in the year and it gives you an opportunity to improve," he said.
"That is not us, in that second half on the weekend.
"We have got to almost move on from what has happened."
Port complete their pre-season with an away match against Richmond on March 10.
