GEMMA Houghton is hopeful of leaving the Port Adelaide injury list in the next week - and the noted AFLW goalscorer would answer all of Lauren Arnell's prayers and clear many of her team-mates' frustrations.

Missing since the round two home clash with the Western Bulldogs by the need to have ankle surgery, the cost of Houghton's absence from the Port Adelaide attack was most notable in the 13-point loss to Hawthorn on Saturday night at Frankston.

Despite repeatedly challenging the in-form Hawthorn - with teenage midfielders Abbey Dowrick and Hannah Ewings repeatedly giving Port Adelaide an edge at stoppages - there was no key forward to finish the hard work with goals on the scoreboard.

Port Adelaide had more scores - 11, compared with Hawthorn's nine.

Port Adelaide had more inside-50s - 32 to 23.

Port Adelaide, even without a key target, had more marks inside the forward 50 arc - 7 to 4. Many of these marks were too far from goal to punish the Hawthorn defence.

Ultimately, the scoreboard tells of how Hawthorn made more of less against a highly productive but most inefficient Port Adelaide in its seventh - and most frustrating - AFLW match.

Port Adelaide now has a 1-1-5 win-draw-loss record that - like the scoreboard at Frankston - tells of a team that is not being rewarded for its endeavour and spirit.

Hawthorn, with a hard-tackling and more-effective kicking game, completed its third consecutive win to become the best-performed of the four latest entries to the national women's league (with Essendon on Sunday holding the chance to also find its third win in seven games).

Port Adelaide senior coach Lauren Arnell described the match as "unusual" - and shook her head at the heavy count of 10 behinds (that includes two hits on the goalposts by Erin Phillips and her vice-captain Ange Foley) against Port Adelaide's name on the Skybus Stadium scoreboards.

Arnell had asked her players to "stick to the task; create as many opportunities as you can".

And they did, particularly Phillips as she took on multiple roles. The game was still within a goal of being levelled until the last minute. But who was going to finish the plays?

Port Adelaide led by four behinds (more so than points) at quarter-time, two at half-time and was sunk after half-time by Hawthorn being sharper while working quickly through the corridor to the goalfront.

Port Adelaide won the clearances (by seven) while novice ruck Olivia Levicki dominated with 23 hit-outs. It won the contested count (103-101) that was supposed to separate these two teams. Arnell's "Inaugurals" repeatedly challenged the Hawthorn defence with 32 inside-50s, they had more shots finish in scores ... and they lost the game.

The critical missing link? A key forward, such as the twice All-Australian Houghton, would have made all the difference. 

The AFLW's top-two tackling teams did put heat into a game played on a narrow ground that offers no space to back off from the pressure. Hawthorn entered the game having - to Arnell's annoyance - the mantle as the AFLW's most-prolific tackling side, a title Bec Goddard's group clearly did not want to concede. Hawthorn won this key performance indicator 70-40, after leading 30-19 at half-time when the game needed two frantic teams to find the answer to their inability to turn repeat opportunities in attack to rewards on the scoreboard.

Hawthorn's frenetic tackling also thwarted Port Adelaide's want to run the ball to the goalfront, forcing Phillips to play more as a high half-forward than around the goalsquare to stop the Port Adelaide forward zone become a dead end, particularly while Hawthorn tactically conceded a midfielder to play as a spare in defence.

Port Adelaide's fast start was critical to clear away any doubts left from the Showdown loss - and to reinforce Hawthorn has more than a trend developing with its slow openings.

Port Adelaide was busy, claiming the territory battle with the first seven inside-50s of the match. But it was not efficient - five scores for 1.4, the goal from Levicki earning a free kick in the goalsquare after being held in a marking contest under Justine Mules' long kick to the goalfront. Phillips (twice) and midfielder Hannah Ewings had their shots fall short into a crowded goalsquare.

Meanwhile, Hawthorn nailed one goal - from a free kick on its second inside-50 sortie - to be dealing with only a four-point deficit at quarter-time. 

And then it was "rinse and repeat" ... with the impression the laundry was mixed up when sent to the huddles. Hawthorn dominated the inside-50s (10-2 after it was in Port Adelaide's favour at quarter-time, 14-5).

"It was just hard getting the ball out," said Port Adelaide midfielder Justine Mules. This put extraordinary pressure on Alex Ballard, Indy Tahau, Hannah Dunn and Amelie Borg while they absorbed repeat Hawthorn attacks without respite.

Hawthorn did not make Port Adelaide pay, putting just two behinds on the scoreboard while not conceding a score.

The second half moved away from one team dominating forward play for a quarter and disappearing for the next. It became a match aimed at cracking defences by different methods - Port Adelaide trying to run the ball to the goalfront while seeking to overcome the lack of a key forward; Hawthorn working the kicking game and making the most of Irish luck with import Aine McDonagh third-quarter goal giving the home team a reassuring nine-point buffer.

HAWTHORN v PORT ADELAIDE

PORT ADELAIDE     1.4    1.4    1.7   1.10 (16)

HAWTHORN          1.0    1.2    3.3   4.5  (29)

BEST - Port Adelaide: Levicki, Phillips, Dowrick, Surman, Foley, Ballard.

GOAL - Port Adelaide: Levicki.

INJURY: Nil.

CROWD: 2029 at Skybus Stadium, Frankston Park, Melbourne

NEXT: North Melbourne at Alberton Oval, Saturday, October 15, 12.40pm start.