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First Quarter

Port Adelaide’s Danyle Pearce won the toss and kicked with slight wind to the north.

Drew Petrie put the first goal on the board for the Kangaroos, but Port was able to respond with a neat set play originating from Troy Chaplin to give Brett Ebert a shot from thirty.

North Melbourne converted two easy goals before Port Adelaide went back on the board through two strong set kicks to the returning Jay Schulz.

The Power’s transition from defensive fifty and improved clearance work, allowed it to put goals on the board and its usage of the ball was a marked improvement on last week’s game against Fremantle.

Kane Cornes kicked the Power’s fifth to close the quarter.

Brent Renouf left the ground part way through the term but returned to the field late in the quarter.

Scoreboard

Port Adelaide 5.1 (31)
North Melbourne 4.1 (25)

Goals: Schulz 3, Cornes, Brett Ebert

Stats

Disposals: Brad Ebert 9, Cassisi, Pearce, Cornes, Surjan 6
Marks: Schulz 4, Cornes 3, Cassisi, Chaplin, Brett Ebert 2
Tackles: McCarthy 5, Pfeiffer 3
Hit outs: Renouf 10, Westhoff 3

Second quarter

No goals were scored for the first fifteen minutes of the term as Port and North’s respective defences worked the ball out of both fifties. North Melbourne pegged two back on the Power to take a ten point lead before Brett Ebert and Danyle Pearce combined to give John McCarthy a goal from the square. Port’s defence was broken late in the term to put another goal up for the Roos - North Melbourne leading by 9 points at half time.

Scoreboard

Port Adelaide 6.2 (38)
North Melbourne 7.5 (47)

Goals: Schulz 3, Cornes, Brett Ebert, McCarthy

Stats

Disposals: Pearce 17, Brad Ebert 16, Cassisi, Surjan 12
Marks: Cassisi, Schulz 4
Tackles: Brad Ebert 6, McCarthy 5
Hit outs: Renouf 21, Westhoff 4

Third quarter 

Again battling hard from the outset of the term, Port Adelaide opened its account with a hard fought goal to the Power off the boot of Ben Jacobs.

North Melbourne booted three goals to reopen its lead before the 20 minute mark, before Matthew Broadbent got one back with a clever snap on the run.

Both teams were unable to make the most of opportunities inside 50, but North Melbourne had more of them, and Port will need to find a way to recover the game in the final term.

North Melbourne by 21 points.

Scoreboard

Port Adelaide 8.6 (54)
North Melbourne 7.5 (47)

Goals: Schulz 3, Cornes, Brett Ebert, McCarthy, Broadbent

Stats

Disposals: Pearce 27, Brad Ebert 17, McCarthy, Surjan 16
Marks: Schulz 6, Cassisi, Pfeiffer 5
Tackles: Brad Ebert 7, Thomas 6, Boak, McCarthy, Pfeiffer 5
Hit outs: Renouf 33, Westhoff 5

Fourth quarter

Brent Harvey kicked the first goal for the Roos straight out of the blocks to further open the Kangaroos lead.

Schulz responded four times in the final quarter to put Port within 4 points of the Roos with only minutes on the clock - Port’s response consisting of five consecutive majors to stem the tide of North Melbourne.

Paul Stewart booted a massive goal on the run to put the Power two point in front with only a minute on the scoreboard.

With Matthew Primus pushing all men back into defence, the Power held on to the siren to run out two point winners in a massive confidence-boosting victory for the club.

Danyle Pearce was the best on ground for the Power with a stirring 30 disposal effort in his return to AFL. Jay Schulz was the other standout with seven massive goals to boot.

Port Adelaide’s next game is away against the Gold Coast.


Final Scoreboard

Port Adelaide 14.11 (95) defeated
North Melbourne 14.9 (93)

Goals: Schulz 7, Cornes, Brett Ebert, McCarthy, Broadbent

Stats

Disposals: Pearce 30, Brad Ebert 22, McCarthy, Broadbent 21
Marks: Schulz 9, Pfeiffer 8, Brett Ebert, Surjan 6
Tackles: Brad Ebert 7, Thomas 6, McCarthy, Pfeiffer, Brett Ebert, Boak 5
Hit outs: Renouf 42, Westhoff 6