A LATE flurry in attack has secured Port Adelaide - and first-game senior coach Matthew Nicks - an opening NAB Challenge win at Norwood Oval on Sunday afternoon.
Nicks's first day at the helm of a strong Power line-up devoid of regular starters Matt Broadbent, Jared Polec and Jack Hombsch was book-ended by passages of trademark Port football.
Running out 40-point winners, the Power wasn't without a challenge from a mid-strength West Coast, which pushed hard in the second and third quarters to even the scoreline.
But a convincing final term from the Power ensured the score was pushed beyond the Eagles' reach, with Robbie Gray capping his dominant day-long performance with his third goal.
He also managed 24 effective possessions to lead the way for his teammates.
But he was aided, ably, by fellow midfielders Kane Cornes, Brad Ebert and Travis Boak, with the ever-reliable Paul Stewart and impressive Ollie Wines also providing support around the ground.
The result is an important one for a Port side looking to put the learnings and workload of another hard pre-season into practice.
Regular coach Ken Hinkley, consigned to the back seat for the Power's first two NAB Challenge games this year, would have been pleased by the Power's start; with a four-goal flurry through Matt Lobbe, Justin Westhoff and both Grays - Robbie and Sam - the Power looked solid early.
Its aggressive attack on the game was characterised by play-on football that was difficult to match, but while the Eagles struggled to keep Port Adelaide's early pace, they responded sure enough; upping their pressure with numbers swarming in attack to help Rosa and Lamb convert late first term goals.
A see-saw battle between the two sides made for an entertaining spectacle in the second and third quarters, but the Power was always able to keep a nose in front.
Mark LeCras swung the momentum in West Coast's favour with the first major after quarter time, followed by Josh Kennedy later to level the scores.
John Butcher and a freak leg-break from Aaron Young assured the Power's half-time lead, but not without hard work, and a little luck when heading into attack.
West Coast's high tackle pressure made life difficult for Port's midfield as it tried to run the ball out of defence in the third quarter, too often seeing turnovers and squandered opportunities characterise the Power's forward movement.
The Eagles managed to break the Power's lines on two occasions but missed their chances in front of goals to allow the local side a reprieve.
A strong tackle-and-goal from Kane Mitchell finished a difficult third term on a high note for Port and set-up the side for a four goal (including one supergoal) final term, with Andrew Moore icing the cake with a running textbook 50-metre kick.
Port Adelaide's next NAB Challenge match is against Richmond at Lavington, NSW on Saturday 14 March at 4:40pm (AEDT)
SCOREBOARD
PORT ADELAIDE 0.4.3 0.6.6 0.8.11 1.11.14 (89)
WEST COAST 0.2.2 0.4.4 0.5.7 0.7.7 (49)
BEST
R. Gray, Cornes, Ebert, Boak, Wines, Stewart
SUPERGOALS
Moore
GOALS
R. Gray 3, Lobbe, Westhoff, S. Gray, Butcher, Young, Amon, Mitchell, White
SUBSTITUTES
Karl Amon replaced Hamish Hartlett in the first quarter
Nathan Krakouer replaced Jasper Pittard in the third quarter
INJURIES
TBC
REPORTS
TBC
CROWD
8,865 at Norwood Oval
