The SANFL Showdown was largely a tale of two halves for Port Adelaide, who were lacklustre in the first half but competed well in the second.
Jeremy Finlayson shone upon his return from suspension however, with four goals, 24 disposals and eight marks.
Despite being dominated in the first half, coach Hamish Hartlett said the team remained in a positive frame of mind about certain parts of the game.
“I thought from an offensive point of view we showed some really positive signs with the way we moved the footy, particularly in the second half when we took a bit more risk,” he said.
“But I mean, I spoke to the boys after the game about just understanding that, if we don’t have all three parts of our game where they need to be in terms of defence, contests and offence right from the start, then we’ll get exposed.
“I thought defensively, in the first quarter in particular but in the first half, we weren’t quite up to scratch.”
Hartlett praised the performance of captain Nick Moore who laid a mammoth 20 tackles.
“[Moore] is just unbelievable with how hard he goes,” he said.
“You know, he was pretty sore coming into the game too. It’s just another fantastic performance from our leader.”
The Magpies started slowly, conceding the first five goals before Finlayson broke the drought.
It was one-way traffic again in the second quarter with the Crows dominating the scoreboard while Port Adelaide could not convert its opportunities inside 50.
The second half was far stronger from the Magpies, who were three points better than Adelaide.
Though Port Adelaide could not peg back the margin, its improved defensive effort was positive.
Hartlett said he hoped the Magpies would gain experience next week, with several players set to return from injury.
“I think next week we’ll probably get Ollie Lord,” he said.
“Tommy McCallum might be coming back, hopefully, which is exciting for us, and potentially Trent McKenzie as well, so we get a bit more experience.”
Port Adelaide will play North Adelaide next Saturday at 2:10pm at Alberton Oval.
Port Adelaide 1.4 3.8 5.8 8.14 (62)
Adelaide 6.2 11.4 14.6 16.7 (103)
Port Adelaide
Goals: Finlayson 4, Charleson 2, Scully, Visentini
Best: Finlayson, Sinn, Szust, Moore, Charleson, Clurey
