This story was originally published on afl.com.au

1. These Eagles aren’t flat trackers
It’s become all the rage to describe the Eagles as "flat-track bullies", who play like millionaires until they cross the WA border. In reality, travelling is not a problem for the Eagles. Their issue is exclusively the MCG, and its wide wings. The Eagles have won their past four road matches away from the MCG. They’ve achieved the remarkable feat of winning five of their six matches at Adelaide Oval, a ground with extremely similar dimensions to Domain Stadium. Adelaide Oval (123m) is one metre wider than Subiaco (122m). The MCG (146m) is 24m wider than Subiaco. Moral of the story? Put the Eagles on a ground narrow enough to execute their press, 'The Web', and they’re hard to beat anywhere. They were sensational in their pressure and suffocated an in-form Port for three-quarters. This win was great but Simpson still needs to develop a gameplan that stands up at the home of football in Melbourne.

Full match coverage and stats

2. The Frenchman fries Port
Mark LeCras hasn’t always performed at his best outside of Perth but his performance against the Power was a treat to watch, and proved pivotal in the Eagles' win. LeCras finished with four goals and was particularly good to three-quarter time, with 14 damaging disposals to the final break. His workrate with and without ball in hand was enormous in the opening half and he proved a vital link-man up the ground, while also willing to work deep into the forward 50 and hit the scoreboard. It was in stark contrast to Port’s small forwards, who were well held and struggled to have an impact on the match.

3. Jonas avoids a repeat of history
A collective sigh went up around Adelaide Oval as uncompromising defender Tom Jonas found himself on a collision course with Eagle Dom Sheed in the second term. Jonas ran off half-back to intercept a ball and was set to arrive a fraction of a second after Sheed. The defender could have been forgiven for going for the ball and man, but if he did Sheed might have been knocked into next week and Jonas might have faced another lengthy stint on the sideline. Perhaps memories of the corresponding clash at the same venue against West Coast last season flashed through Jonas’ head. In that match, collected Andrew Gaff with an elbow and got a six-game ban, one of the longest in the AFL in a decade. This time Jonas pulled up and won the ground ball. He’ll play next weekend in Port's historic clash in Shanghai.

4. Port’s credentials still questionable
As impressive as Port has been in its wins this season, the fact remains the Power have been unable to win against top-class opposition. We thought the Power took a big scalp when they beat the Swans at the SCG in round one but Sydney’s form since has dis-proved this. Port has now come up short against GWS, Adelaide and West Coast to sit 4-3 without a current top-eight scalp. In their wins, the Power have averaged 135 points per match. In each of their losses, they’ve been held to under 100 points. The Power were outworked by the Eagles for three-quarters and struggled against a committed defensive effort. Port’s method going forward seemed lacking and they were wasteful in front of goal.

5. Fitness queries continue over Gray
Robbie Gray’s up and down 2017 continued on Saturday evening when he was stifled by Brad Sheppard. Shepphard’s poise when Gray went forward and they went one-on-one was impressive. But the performance again raised questions about Gray’s fitness. The small forward is likely to have polled nine Brownlow votes this season after brilliant displays against Fremantle, Carlton and Gold Coast. But in between it’s been lean pickings. Gray again looked proppy at times in this clash, especially when he was asked to defend and hold the ball in.

More on portadelaidefc.com.au