In a period of excitement and change, newly appointed Port Adelaide senior coach Josh Carr has opened up on the toughest decision he had to make – and a conversation the 45-year-old believes will remain as the most challenging of his coaching career.
The moment was telling his 2004 premiership teammate and long-time fellow assistant at Port Adelaide, Chad Cornes, that he was no longer required, ending Cornes' decade-long coaching tenure with the club.
"It was going to be the hardest conversation I've had to have in my whole coaching career. He's a really good mate," Carr told SEN.
"To go in there and talk to him and tell him that he's no longer required was a hard thing to do. In the end, he understood."
Carr saw the major changes in philosophy as a reason to bring in fresh voices to the playing group, concerned that a stale coaching panel and cohort of veterans could hinder the desired impact of his vision.
Carr began his days as senior coach at Alberton with immediate explosivity, swinging the axe on five players just days after their Round 24 victory over Gold Coast, including 100-game Power defender Ryan Burton.
The coaching panel wasn't safe either, as another assistant, Tyson Goldsack, departed to join Collingwood, and several staff members undertook new roles.
Ultimately, the Josh Carr era will begin with a 10-strong coaching panel, plus a new football manager, Ben Rutten, and a new fitness boss.
Only two of those coaches and key off-field figures were in the same role at Alberton in 2025.
"I felt like we needed fresh voices. I thought if [Cornes] is not going to coach a line and if it's going to be a different way of playing, I felt like the players needed to hear a different voice," Carr said of Cornes' dismissal.
"Otherwise, I feel like you hear the same thing. Even though you're trying to sell something different, the players hear the same thing. It was a hard conversation, but I like to think we came out the other side better.
"We've got three new line coaches, Andy Collins in as director of coaching. Obviously, a new GM of footy, a new fitness department too. The visual for the players to start off with is new."
Carr looks set to radicalise the Power's ball movement in order to dynamise their way forward, also overhauling Ken Hinkley's defensive system, which he says hadn't been great "for a while".
Port Adelaide ranked 14th in points allowed, 15th in points for and 10th in clearances in 2025, 12 months on from ranking 3rd, 8th and 7th in those respective categories.
"The way we defend as a team [will change]. We've got to be better, as we haven't been great in that area for a while. There's been a lot of work being put into our team defence and how we defend as an 18," Carr said.
"How we move the ball as well... we obviously need to score in more than one way, and if that means to the contest, then you've got to be able to do that. But at the same time, having the players understand when they can play fast football to control the game [is important]."
The Power have endured a largely healthy pre-season block, with Jason Horne-Francis the only star in doubt to play in Round 1. It indicates that Port Adelaide's upcoming pre-season fixtures could demonstrate an accurate representation of what is to come when their season kicks off officially in March.
And while Carr is adamant there will be changes aplenty as he takes the helm for the first time, he hinted that some things may remain the same.
"I think every coach has their own philosophies on the way the game is played," Carr said of his time under Hinkley.
"It doesn't mean you disagree with what happens in the past."
Port Adelaide will play Adelaide (February 20) and West Coast (February 28) ahead of their Round 1 clash with North Melbourne at Marvel Stadium on March 15.
