COLLINGWOOD'S Harry O'Brien entered Saturday's 24-point win over Port Adelaide virtually oblivious to media reports about his form over the first three rounds.

The backman deliberately pays no attention to the mainstream media and said he didn't read or hear the criticism directed at him for his performances against Hawk Cyril Rioli (round one) and Blue Eddie Betts (round three).

Click to read about Alan Toovey's backing of Harry O'Brien during the week.

Former Kangaroo David King's said during the week that O'Brien should be sent back to the VFL to regain confidence. 

"I didn't read anything but I was aware. Family and friends said, 'Are you OK?', so I assumed something was written about me," O'Brien said after the Port win. 

"Journalists … good luck to them. They're putting food on the table for their families and that's what they get paid for.

"I don't know who wrote it or what was said but hopefully I can string a few good performances together and they can write something positive about me."

Watch the highlights from the win on CTV.

Instead of listening to such opinion, O'Brien backed his instincts to turn things around, and did so on Saturday as a loose man in the Pies' back half.

"I think I was beaten by both of them (Rioli and Betts) but for me, I look at it and I'm grateful because I got it out of the way early and it's made me assess and get reacquainted with some of the simple defensive things," O'Brien said.

"As a defender, your job is to beat your man and to be honest, I was really pleased I was able to trust my instincts and stick to the process.

"That hasn't failed me for almost 150 games now so it's a matter of that."

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Coach Nathan Buckley said O'Brien, who had 29 touches and six rebounds, had played a good game in a role that provided a different mental and physical challenge.

Port Adelaide coach Matthew Primus agreed O'Brien played well but said the Power focused on other areas rather than manning him up.

He also said leaving O'Brien free saw them release their own player, which he believed helped them stay in the contest.

O'Brien said he was just pleased to atone for his first few weeks when the Pies needed their senior players to stand up most.

"I've put my hand up to be a leader so I have to lead from the front and I was glad I was able to do that to some regard," he said.

"I'm not a result driven person but when you're looking at the results, I've played on Cyril Rioli and Eddie Betts, and they're two in-form and bloody good players.

"I've played on them before and I've won some and I've lost some.

"For me, I was just really happy to be able to put in a good performance [on Saturday]."

The views in this article are those of the author and not necessarily those of the AFL or its clubs