THE POWER has suffered a 42-point loss at the hands of the Eagles in the club’s first appearance at Optus Stadium.

It was a comprehensive win for the home side, with West Coast dominating all over the field for the majority of the encounter.

A three to nine-goal first half got the visitors off to a poor start, and a third-term charge wasn’t enough to silence the firing Eagles outfit.

Except for a nervy patch either side of three-quarter time, when the largely-disappointing Power booted five unanswered goals, this was the new-look Eagles at their best.

They were ferocious with their tackling, tough at the coalface (plus-42 contested possessions), confident with the footy and destructive inside 50.

West Coast led by 55 points midway through the third quarter, but Port fought back with four consecutive goals to cut the margin to 32 points at the final change.

Another goal early in the final term saw the gap trimmed to 25 points, but the Eagles steadied and won drawing away.

The Power were down in contested ball by 32, 11 in clearances and inside 50s at the major break, not to mention 37 points on the scoreboard.

If Ken Hinkley demanded a lift at half-time, he didn't get it until after the Eagles had motored to a 55-point advantage at the 19-minute mark of the third quarter.

The Power were in danger of being blown away, but finally gave fans the contest anticipated against a fierce rival, getting their hands dirty at the coalface and linking up with running handballs from half-back.

A five-goal burst briefly gave Hinkley's men hope, but Mark Hutchings broke their resistance with a dead-eye goal from the pocket and the Power, who loaded up with recruits in the off-season, slumped to a third loss in four games.

Skipper Travis Boak (28 disposals) and star onballer Robbie Gray (28) tried hard, with support from Dan Houston (24) and recruit Steven Motlop (22, one goal) tried, but returning big man Paddy Ryder was beaten in the ruck and Port had too few contributors.

It was West Coast's first win over Port in Perth since 2011, and their fifth in six games against the Power.

SCOREBOARD

PORT ADELAIDE 2.1 3.2 8.2 9.6 (60)
WEST COAST 4.1 9.3 13.4 16.6 (102)

GOALS
S Gray 2, Johnson 2, Bonner, Watts, Dixon, Polec, Motlop

Portadelaidefc.com.au’s best
R Gray, Byrne-Jones, Polec, Johnson

Official crowd: 50,516 at Optus Stadium

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