THE bye can't come soon enough for a Port Adelaide bereft of confidence following its controversial upset at the hands of Carlton at the MCG.

Controversial, because a late set shot opportunity for Sam Colquhoun was reversed when a No. 2 umpire deemed his mark touched, despite the officiating umpire not making the call.

It took away what would be Port's final realistic chance to win the game, but in reality, the Power found themselves caught on the hop when they needed to reel in a 29-point lead established by the Blues early in the last quarter.

Port Adelaide played a quarter and patches, and was stunned in the third term by a dominant Carlton effort – deserving of a 23-point lead at the final break to cap two quarters of superiority over the visitors.

So when Carlton's Menzel kicked his side into a game-high lead at the start of the fourth quarter, Port's chances had plummeted to the depths.

Carlton wasn't playing like a team at the foot of the ladder and Port couldn't counter effectively, or consistently. 

Running in numbers, the Blues attacked the ball and won contests to work the footy forward and catch the Power off-guard in the third term. 

And Port was back to its old habits - bad habits - with turnovers leading to more than half of Carlton's score at half time. 

Combined with the loss of Robbie Gray with concussion after being floored by a contentious Bryce Gibbs tackle, the Power needed to fire back in the third quarter.

The fire wasn't there; the response took 18 minutes, and only after Carlton's inside-50 dominance reaped three goals for the home side.

The damage could have been far worse for Port Adelaide had Carlton made the most of their forward advantage.

Even when Sam Colquhoun and Chad Wingard broke the Power's goal drought, the Blues responded immediately with two goals back to peg the margin back out to 23 points at the final change.

But the Power kicked into gear in the final term and booted five of the last six goals of the game to come within points of snatching the lead.

Fourth quarter flurry

Rarely if ever can a team win by playing one good quarter, but Port gave it a show.  

Carrying a 23-point lead - and momentum – into the three-quarter time break, Carlton kept pressing the Power in the fourth with Menzel kicking his second to push the Blues to a game-high 29-point advantage.

An important steadier from Monfries and then Wingard’s fifth goal – his best and most important by far from the corner of the 50-metre and boundary lines – took the margin back to 16 points.

Westhoff cut it back to 10 points – twice – the first an aborted start after being penalised after the fact for throwing White out of a marking contest in the goal square, the second (legitimate) off a flying pack mark.

Krakouer then ‘nutmegged’ a goal to chop the margin within a straight kick: 99-103.

Running with numbers and working the ball forward with energy, the Power looked to have all the answers in attack, particularly when Hartlett speared a squaring kick to Jay Schulz. 

But Schulz missed a valuable shot and while Port worked its opportunities back, it wasn't able to find a pair of clean hands as fatigued bodies and a desperate Carlton doused the Power's hopes in the final minutes.

Marks ain't marks

The question that many will ask will be why Sam Colquhoun was denied a mark – and a set shot at the goal – in the final moments of the game.

Had he converted the set shot, the Power would arguably have won the game and miracuously turned around two quarters of mediocrity with a dominant final term.

But it's purely a hypothetical, Colquhoun’s mark – signalled by the controlling umpire – was reversed after the preceding kick from Brad Ebert was deemed touched retrospectively.

You be the judge...

Gray impact

Port Adelaide's best to half time was undoubtedly Robbie Gray - his performance keeping Port in with a sniff when Carlton got on top particularly in the second quarter. 

His exciting goal just prior to his concussion was one of the best of the day, and highlighted his silk when in possession. 

That he still had almost a fifth of the Power's clearance wins - 8 - having played less than half a game is quite remarkable.

By the bye

So where is Port Adelaide left standing? At 5-7 after the first 12 games, the mountain to make the eight is a tall one. 

The mathematics are these: Port will need to win a minimum of eight of its final 10 games to give the top eight a sniff.

It's fixture reads: Sydney (SCG), Collingwood (home), Adelaide (home), Essendon (Etihad), St Kilda (home), Bulldogs (Etihad), GWS (home), Hawthorn (Etihad), Gold Coast (Metricon), Fremantle (home) 

Winning eight of those, on current form, is a task no side would want.

The reality is that Port hasn't played consistent football all year. It's wins have featured quarter-long fade-outs and its losses against Carlton and Brisbane have been most un-Port Adelaide.

A big form reversal in the second half of this season is required if the Power is to have any hope of salvaging a season. 

Port Adelaide plays Sydney at the SCG on Thursday 2 July.

SCOREBOARD

PORT ADELAIDE                4.3         9.5         11.8       16.10     (106)
CARLTON                           4.2         10.3       15.7       17.8       (110)

GOALS
Wingard 5, R. Gray, Westhoff, Boak 2, Wines, Colquhoun, Ebert, Monfries, Krakouer

PORTADELAIDEFC.COM.AU’S BEST
Boak, Wingard, Hartlett, R. Gray, Colquhoun

INJURIES
Gray (concussion)

SUBSTITUTE
Brendon Ah Chee replaced Robbie Gray (concussion) in the third quarter

CROWD
27,693 at the MCG