PORT ADELAIDE will play for pride in the final two games of the home-and-away season after having its remote finals chances snuffed out by a hard-working Melbourne on Saturday night.

Port was remarkably able to kick its way within 22 points of Melbourne after trailing by as many as seven goals midway through the second quarter.

But Melbourne was more effective throughout the night, with only its errant kicking in front of goal keeping the Power within reach. 

Chad Wingard - whose season appears in the balance after suffering a suspected hamstring injury in the second quarter - opened proceedings with the first goal for the game. 

But Melbourne then proceeded to obliterate the Power in every aspect of the game up to half time.

Second to contests and unable to do more than notch eight points for the first quarter, the Power failed to kick a major between Wingard’s opener at the four-minute mark of the opening term and Jared Polec’s goal 20 minutes into the second.

Their goals bookended more than half-an-hour of sustained Melbourne superiority.

After chasing a 37-point deficit at half-time, Port took advantage of Melbourne's poor finishing to kick the first three goals and break within 22 points at the final change, but the Demons were able to keep Port no closer than that for the rest of the night. 

Port Adelaide's next game is its home Showdown against the Adelaide Crows on Saturday 20 August at 7.10pm ACST.

SCOREBOARD

PORT ADELAIDE  1.2        2.4        6.5       8.6 (54)
MELBOURNE       4.3        8.5        9.9       13.16 (94)

Goals
Polec, Young 2, Wingard, Krakouer, S. Gray, Wines

portadelaidefc.com.au’s best
Wines, Pittard, S. Gray, R. Gray

Injuries
Wingard (TBC)

Crowd
33,426 at the Adelaide Oval