The 72-point victory ends a losing streak against the Bulldogs dating back to 2006 and extends its undefeated run at the Adelaide Oval to eight games.
The story of the game, potentially the round, was the record-matching eight-goal performance by full forward Jay Schulz.
His masterclass equalled, for the first time, the eight majors kicked by Warren Tredrea at Princes Park in 1998.
It also saw him jump into fourth place in the club's all-time goalkickers list as well as a six-goal lead in the Coleman Medal race.
And it shadowed a number of other notable stories to come from a Jekyll and Hyde game for the Power.
Port didn't hit its stride until the second half of the match following a flat battle for supremacy with a Bulldogs side buzzing from a big win over Collingwood last week.
After Schulz kicked the game's first goal, the Bulldogs wrest momentum of the game with goals to Tom Liberatore, Koby Stevens and Nathan Hrovat helping the visitors to a narrow four-point lead at the first change.
But a patient Port Adelaide was able to absorb that handful of conceded goals to reclaim the lead through Justin Westhoff four minutes into the second quarter.
It led by two straight kicks at half time and then hit top gear in the second half with a massive six-to-one-goal third term, displaying its trademark run and spread from stoppages s it capitalised on a stricken Bulldogs outfit down to one rotation on the bench.
But a patient Port Adelaide was able to absorb that handful of conceded goals to reclaim the lead through Justin Westhoff four minutes into the second quarter.
It led by two straight kicks at half time and then hit top gear in the second half with a massive six-to-one-goal third term, displaying its trademark run and spread from stoppages s it capitalised on a stricken Bulldogs outfit down to one rotation on the bench.
If not Schulz, then it was 19-year-old Ollie Wines who was best afield with arguably his most significant performance to date.
His 30 touches and whopping 11 clearances saw the Echucan bob up at crucial moments to feed the ball to his teammates as he bullocked his team into the game.
Equally impressive was Justin Westhoff, who was influential with his 24 effective disposals to go with his three goals.
And combined with an equally strong defensive effort from versatile backmen Jackson Trengove, Alipate Carlile, Jack Hombsch and Tom Jonas, the Power played itself back into the winning form that has characterised its season so far.
The result is an important one for a Port Adelaide side that wanted to bounce back from its loss to Sydney last Saturday, while missing three key defensive runners in Hamish Hartlett, Dom Cassisi and Jarman Impey.
Their replacements - particularly in-form SANFL players Tom Logan and Sam Gray - were solid across the afternoon.
Logan particularly was among the Power's best full-game performers.
It bodes well for Port Adelaide ahead of next week's 'away' Showdown against the Crows at the Adelaide Oval next Sunday.
There still remains areas to work on ahead of that match, particularly in light of the Power's seeming inability to win the contested ball early in the game, but the continual ability of Port Adelaide to hit its stride when it needs to remains one of the most important tools in its armory.
Port Adelaide plays the Crows in Showdown 37 at the Adelaide Oval at 3:40pm on Sunday 29 June.
SCOREBOARD
PORT ADELAIDE 3.1 7.5 13.9 19.14 (128)
WESTERN BULLDOGS 3.5 5.5 6.7 8.8 (56)
portadelaidefc.com.au’s best
Wines, Westhoff, Schulz, Carlile, Cornes, Trengove, R. Gray, Hombsch
Goals
Schulz 8, Westhoff 3, Boak 2, S. Gray, Jonas, Cornes, Mitchell, Polec, Ebert
Substitution
Aaron Young replaced Kane Mitchell at three-quarter time
Crowd
34,258 at the Adelaide Oval
Equally impressive was Justin Westhoff, who was influential with his 24 effective disposals to go with his three goals.
And combined with an equally strong defensive effort from versatile backmen Jackson Trengove, Alipate Carlile, Jack Hombsch and Tom Jonas, the Power played itself back into the winning form that has characterised its season so far.
The result is an important one for a Port Adelaide side that wanted to bounce back from its loss to Sydney last Saturday, while missing three key defensive runners in Hamish Hartlett, Dom Cassisi and Jarman Impey.
Their replacements - particularly in-form SANFL players Tom Logan and Sam Gray - were solid across the afternoon.
Logan particularly was among the Power's best full-game performers.
It bodes well for Port Adelaide ahead of next week's 'away' Showdown against the Crows at the Adelaide Oval next Sunday.
There still remains areas to work on ahead of that match, particularly in light of the Power's seeming inability to win the contested ball early in the game, but the continual ability of Port Adelaide to hit its stride when it needs to remains one of the most important tools in its armory.
Port Adelaide plays the Crows in Showdown 37 at the Adelaide Oval at 3:40pm on Sunday 29 June.
SCOREBOARD
PORT ADELAIDE 3.1 7.5 13.9 19.14 (128)
WESTERN BULLDOGS 3.5 5.5 6.7 8.8 (56)
portadelaidefc.com.au’s best
Wines, Westhoff, Schulz, Carlile, Cornes, Trengove, R. Gray, Hombsch
Goals
Schulz 8, Westhoff 3, Boak 2, S. Gray, Jonas, Cornes, Mitchell, Polec, Ebert
Substitution
Aaron Young replaced Kane Mitchell at three-quarter time
Crowd
34,258 at the Adelaide Oval
