PORT Adelaide's strong start to the season has a hit a hurdle with a 27-point loss to the Brisbane Lions at AAMI Stadium on Saturday afternoon.
The imposing forward-line combination of Jonathan Brown and Brendan Fevola again proved the difference, with the star duo kicking eight goals in the 16.12 (108) to 11.15 (81) win.
However, the news wasn't all good for the Lions with ruckman Mitch Clark reported for striking and veteran midfielder Simon Black suffering a calf injury.
The Power have some concerns of their own, with ruckman Dean Brogan a late omission and Jay Schulz expected to miss at least a week with a knee injury.
Brown continued his emphatic start to the season, booting five goals from 16 possessions opposed to Chad Cornes, while Fevola set up off four and kicked another three of his own.
Justin Sherman had four goals in his 100th game, while Warren Tredrea, Steven Salopek and Schulz each booted two for the Power.
Michael Rischitelli (27 possessions), Jack Redden (18 possessions and five inside 50s), Brent Staker (20 possessions) and Daniel Rich (20 possessions and 10 tackles) were all instrumental in the Lions' big win, while Danyle Pearce (23 possessions and 1.3) and Kane Cornes (30 possessions) were others to battle hard.
The Lions appeared fresh after their nine-day break between games, setting up the victory with an uncharacteristically fast start.
They kicked five goals to the Power's one in the first quarter and added another five in the second term to lead by 39 points at half time.
Coach Michael Voss lauded his team's all-round effort and said the win was important in the context of its season.
"To get that far in front (49 points), to come away from AAMI Stadium and have a win away from home breeds an enormous amount of confidence," Voss said.
"It breeds confidence, not only in the form of the players, but the faith in our structures and in what we're trying to achieve. It's certainly team-building stuff when you can get away and have a win like that."
The Power weren't without their chances in the sometimes spiteful clash but, like Collingwood on Friday night, paid the price for inaccurate kicking in front of goal.
They won the contested possessions but lacked intensity, laying just 44 tackles compared to their average of 86 in the opening two rounds of the season.
"A lot of Brisbane's goals were from our silly mistakes, like people handballing to the wrong people or giving away free kicks," coach Mark Williams said.
"In the second quarter I think we outscored them in terms of the [amount of] shots we had on goal. We felt like we were getting back into it, but we kicked 2.7 … we'd like to get a better return than that."
The Power will prepare to take on Geelong at Skilled Stadium next weekend, while the Lions head home to host the Western Bulldogs.
Port Adelaide 1.4 3.11 6.12 11.15 (81)
Brisbane Lions 5.5 10.8 14.9 16.12 (108)
GOALS
Port Adelaide: Tredrea 3, Salopek 2, Schulz 2, Davenport, Carlile, Pearce, Boak
Brisbane Lions: Brown 5, Sherman 4, Fevola 3, Banfield, Patfull, Rischitelli, Staker
BEST
Port Adelaide: Salopek, K. Cornes, Pearce, Schulz
Brisbane Lions: Brown, Sherman, Rischitelli, Staker, Rockliff, Fevola, Maguire
INJURIES
Port Adelaide: Brogan (shoulder) replaced in selected side by Cloke, Trengove (cut eye), Schulz (knee strain)
Brisbane Lions: Rischitelli (cut head), Black (calf)
Reports: Clark (Brisbane Lions) by field umpire Nicholls for striking Trengove (Port Adelaide) in the first quarter, McGrath (Brisbane Lions) by field umpire Nicholls for engaging in rough conduct against Cloke (Port Adelaide) in the third quarter
Umpires: Kennedy, Nicholls, Keating
Official crowd: 23,306 at AAMI Stadium
The views in this article are those of the author and not necessarily those of the club.
