THE POWER will return to Adelaide still searching for the consistency that has eluded it in season 2016 after Carlton rushed to a two-point win on Sunday.

Despite leading the Blues for the majority of Sunday's game, the Power coughed up a three-goal advantage to fall behind in the final two minutes.

Port had plenty of opportunity to kick the Blues out of the game at the start of the final quarter, but let itself down by its decision-making inside the forward half.

When the Power worked the ball towards their attacking 50, crucial missed targets saw the ball come straight back out.

And the Blues' strong use of the ball - exemplified through having 79 more uncontested possessions and doubling Port's uncontested marks - helped them take control of the second half. 

But the Power had a chance to seal the game, even though end-to-end goals from the Blues in a dominant third term closed the margin back within a goal at three-quarter time.

Port attacked hard in the early stages of the final term to open an 18-point buffer before late turnovers, from which Carlton scored all four of its final term majors, destroyed the visiting team's chances at clinging to the lead. 

Even with Carlton suffering the loss of Levi Casboult in the opening minutes to a suspected knee injury and forced to manage two rotations as key players were brought off for medical checks, the Power was unable to punish the home team's wounded stocks. 

It was a world away from the opening half where the Power was strong early and had the Blues on the back foot with its own masterclass in the centre of the ground. 

But the signs that Port would struggle inside 50 were evident early; its forwards peppering the scoring area with three early behinds from gettable positions.

The Power had nine scoring shots in the opening quarter and would eventually score 13 behinds for the match.

No injuries were reported for Port Adelaide, which must regroup ahead of a challenging twilight game against last year's grand finallist West Coast at the Adelaide Oval at 4.10pm (local) on Saturday 21 May.

Highlights

 

SCOREBOARD

PORT ADELAIDE    4.5      8.9      10.12      13.13 (91)
CARLTON              3.2      7.4       10.7      14.9  (93)

GOALS
Westhoff, Wingard, Dixon 2, Trengove, Amon, Ebert, Hartlett, Young, Broadbent, Boak

PORTADELAIDEFC.COM.AU’S BEST
Young, Wines, Hartlett, Stewart

DISPOSALS
Wines 29, Hartlett 26, 

INJURIES
nil

REPORTS
nil

CROWD
26,924 at Etihad Stadium