LEST we forget.

Port Adelaide on Sunday evening stops to reflect. And then it plays a game of Australian football as a tribute to those who served and made the ultimate sacrifice to protect our home land and our values.

"A game of footy ... but a game like no other," says club legend Russell Ebert of the honour of playing on Anzac Day. He remembers the significance of the game - and the memorial day - heightened by club patriarch, World War II naval serviceman Fos Williams, opening the changerooms to the Diggers.

There have been 130 Port Adelaide footballers who went to war, 13 not returning. All of them brought honour and praise to their name and the Port Adelaide Football Club, in particular Bob Quinn MM. He will be remembered this evening for his bravery at Tobruk with a pre-game screening of the bio-documentary recalling his courage under fire at the battlefront in North Africa in August 1941.

We shall remember them all.

"We highlight Anzac Day. We acknowledge all the people who fought for us and how lucky we are to live in this country because of that. 

"It never will be undersold by our football club. We know what it means to us, so it is an absolute honour to play Anzac Day ... it is just a fantastic day for us as a country and we are honoured to play. Because of the significance of the day we call on what the spirit of the day means."

Port Adelaide coach Ken Hinkley. 

Far from forgotten is the last time Port Adelaide played St Kilda at Adelaide Oval.

St Kilda broke an eight-game losing streak to Port Adelaide - and avenged a 70-point loss in Shanghai - with a five-goal, last-quarter blitz on July 25.

Port Adelaide captain Tom Jonas certainly has a long memory. The 29-point loss still stings nine months later.

"It is at the front of my mind," Jonas said. "We are very aware of St Kilda's threats, particularly with all the flak they have been copping in Victoria. It is a big game for them (on the rebound) - and is equally as big for us.

"We will be well prepared."

By contrast to the erratic St Kilda, Port Adelaide seems well in tune, based on the commanding style of football played at the MCG on Saturday night against Carlton.

"We controlled the game really well, playing with great composure and with some understanding of how we play our best football," said Port Adelaide coach Ken Hinkley. 

Now it needs to translate with consistency - and against an opponent that believes it has the ability to make Port Adelaide unravel as noted by a goal-less last quarter at Adelaide Oval in the last encounter.

"We have done some work on that," said Hinkley who presents a new-look attack to St Kilda with the triple tall tandem of All-Australian Charlie Dixon, Todd Marshall and Mitch Georgiades and Essendon recruit Orazio Fantasia. "We're showing we are able to score more efficiently this year - and hopefully that can challenge (opponents) more."

Ruck dominance - in St Kilda's favour with former Port Adelaide ruckman Patrick Ryder  claiming 29 hit-outs of his team's 40-16 advantage on Peter Ladhams - was critical last time and remains a major pointer to this game.

But the script is reversed this time with Port Adelaide lead ruckman Scott Lycett available to play - after sitting out the 2020 match with injury - and St Kilda scrambling for its ruck battery.

Lycett refuses to under-estimate what could unfold in his ruck duels with New Zealander Rowan Marshall, who resumes after being a late withdrawal to last week's loss to AFL premier Richmond at the MCG.

"I don't go into any game underestimating any player," Lycett said. "There is a reason why (my ruck opponent) is playing AFL - he has some good things going for him. The day I start going in under-rating players is the day I am getting the boot for being flogged.

"We'll definitely be paying (the St Kilda ruck battery) respect, that is for sure."

Port Adelaide defence coach Brett Montgomery is expecting one of biggest tests of his division, both in dealing with St Kilda's potential match winners and in setting up Port Adelaide's now admired transition plays from the back half to the scoreboard.

"We prepare for St Kilda at their best," Montgomery said. "If you watch their game against Richmond last week, their first quarter was quite good. We saw their trademark pressure, which has troubled us in the past, and their high forwards, their smaller forwards can cause us some difficulties. 

"Last year's game was played in very similar fashion ... so, we prepare for St Kilda at their best and note they are getting back at least two of their best players in Marshall and Jones. So it is going to be tough because last year they stretched us for speed and outside run."

While countering these threats, Montgomery's defensive group has to remain a creative unit.

"We have put a lot of time and effort into our offence," said Montgomery of the adjustments Port Adelaide has made to its playbook this season. "We knew our front-half offence, our repeat-entry offence, was a little bit off the mark - mainly off having so many opportunities off our defence.

"We have become quite strong from the back half. But we are monitoring it to make sure we do not become heavily reliant on the back half because it becomes a very difficult game to play in the late stages of the year."

PORT ADELAIDE will again award a medal in honour of Vietnam veteran Peter Badcoe VC, as it has since 2004, to the player on either competing team who reflects the Anzac spirit in skill, courage in adversity, self-sacrifice, teamwork and fair play.

BIRD SEED

(the little stuff that counts most)

Where: Adelaide Oval

When: Sunday, April 25, 2021

Time: 6.10pm (SA time)

Last time: Port Adelaide 6.8 (44) lost to St Kilda 12.1 (73) at Adelaide Oval in Round 8. July 25 2020.

Overall: Port Adelaide 20, St Kilda 11

Past five games (most recent first): L W W W W

Scoring average: Port Adelaide 88, St Kilda 82

Tightest margin - Port Adelaide by two points (63-61) at Adelaide Oval, round 19, July 29, 2017; St Kilda by four points (64-60) at York Park, Launceston, round 16, July 23, 2006.

Biggest margin - Port Adelaide by 83 points (139-56) at the Docklands, Melbourne, round 3, April 14, 2002; St Kilda by 94 points (151-57) at the Docklands, Melbourne, round 19, August 8, 2010.

By venues - Adelaide Oval (Port Adelaide 5-1); Football Park (8-3); Docklands (3-3); Waverley Park (0-3); York Park (3-1); Jiangwan Stadium (1-0).

By States - South Australia (13-4); Victoria (3-6); Tasmania (3-1); China (1-0).

PORT ADELAIDE has moved into outright third on the AFL ladder after a comfortable 54-point win over St Kilda on ANZAC Day evening.

Hosting an ANZAC round game for the 17^th consecutive time – notwithstanding last season’s COVID-19 enforced break – Port embraced the occasion and paid tribute to the 130 past players and officials who had served the nation, coming away with a 14.9 (93) to 5.9 (39) victory.

Saint Jack Higgins silenced a vocal Adelaide Oval crowd with a ridiculous goal from the boundary line inside the first two minutes.

From there Port piled on the next six goals – four in the first quarter including two to Steven Motlop.

While on the scoreboard it appeared that way, Port did not have it all its own way.

The Saints had 19 inside 50s to seven in the first quarter but were wasteful and when Motlop booted his second over the back of the pack, the home side was 15 points up at the first change.

Debutant Martin Frederick looked comfortable at the level and received a cheer from the crowd every time he got near the ball. His first disposal led to a goal to Connor Rozee and he was also involved in the build-up to Motlop’s second.

Port had the game on its terms in the second with Mitch Georgiades – fresh from winning a second Rising Star nomination during the week – booting consecutive goals, both from 50 metre penalties.

Brad Hill stopped the drought for St Kilda when he ran into an open goal for his first major but the release was temporary as Port responded through Motlop for his third and Boak late in the term to open up a 34-point lead at the main break.

Karl Amon, a Saints fan growing up, was the dominant player on the ground with 26 touches, 13 marks and a clearance to half time.

It did not get much better for the visitors in the third term with Port getting the opening three majors through Robbie Gray, Charlie Dixon and Fantasia.

Gray’s goal came after a down field free kick after Ollie Wines was bumped high and Saint Daniel McKenzie was put on report.

Fantasia was unlucky not to have had a long goal with 22 minutes on the clock when Motlop juggled the ball over the line as it was headed through for a major but the former Bomber got his reward within a minute when he roved off the pack for his second goal of the game and push the margin beyond 50 points.

To their credit, the visitors kept plugging away and somewhat fortunately responded through Jake Carlisle after a contentious down-field free kick that was not popular with most of the 33,125 at the venue.

Connor Rozee marked strongly inside 50 to boot his second and Dixon did the same two minutes later to stretch the margin to 60 points.

A late goal to Tim Membrey cut the margin back to nine goals.

Ollie Wines was awarded the Peter Badcoe VC Medal as the player who best demonstrated the ANZAC spirit and qualities of skill, courage in adversity, self-sacrifice, teamwork and fair play during the game.

SCOREBOARD

PORT ADELAIDE            4.1     8.3        11.8     14.9   (93)             

ST KILDA                     1.4      2.5         3.7       5.9  (39)              

Goals

Motlop, Fantasia 3, Georgiades, Dixon, Rozee 2, Boak, Gray

Best

Amon, Wines, Houston, Motlop, Jonas, Lycett