PORT Adelaide coach Matthew Primus branded his team's 38-point loss to the Western Bulldogs its worst for the 2012 season and said it had almost nothing to do with injuries.

The Power suffered a spate of injuries against the Bulldogs at Etihad Stadium on Sunday, with Jacob Surjan (concussion) substituted out of the game early in the third quarter and Hamish Hartlett (hamstring) and Paul Stewart (corked thigh) both injured in the same term.

Key defender Jackson Trengove also spent time off the ground at stages after dislocating a finger three times.

In a cruel blow for Port, Primus said Hartlett, who had a horror run of soft-tissue injuries in his first two seasons, 2009 and 2010, would likely miss four to five weeks with his hamstring strain.

But Primus said those injuries had only hurt the Power in the last quarter when the Bulldogs effectively already had the match won.

Instead, Primus blamed the loss on the Power's struggles to win contests (the Bulldogs won 29 more contested possessions) and their poor ball use. He also said the magnitude of Port's failings in those areas had been masked by the Bulldogs' inaccurate score of 13.17 (95).

"We had a lot of players down (injured) but it was no issue for us [with] the way we played," Primus said.

"I thought it was our worst effort all year. We've had some poor quarters, one or two, but I've been pretty proud of the way the guys have gone about their footy all year. But today I thought it was just a really poor total game for us.

"[There were] probably three or four quarters for the year [where] I could say they hadn't really had a full-blown effort at the opposition. But apart from that they have been really consistent with their effort and competitiveness.

"Today, I just thought we were a long way off it. And if the Bulldogs had've kicked straight it probably would have really shown up how far we really were off it."

In better news for the Power, Primus said Travis Boak would travel home with his teammates after spending time in Geelong with his family following foot surgery. Primus expects Boak to return for the Power's round 15 Showdown with Adelaide but said he still did not know whether the out-of-contract midfielder would seek a trade back to Victoria at the end of the season.

Primus said the Power's decision to drop full-back Alipate Carlile for failing to meet fitness standards had no bearing on the loss to the Bulldogs, praising the way defenders Troy Chaplin, Trengove and Stewart stood up to the Bulldogs' 59 inside 50 entries.

But Primus noted Carlile's "great response" to his omission that saw him put in a best-on-ground performance for South Adelaide in the SANFL on Saturday. If he performs well at training over the next two weeks and meets Port's fitness standards, Primus said Carlile could return in the Power's next match, against Geelong in round 14.

Primus said key forward Jay Schulz, who wore prominent protective padding around his ribs, was carrying a minor injury from a few rounds ago but was not inhibited "too much".

He also defended key forward Justin Westhoff's work ethic, saying his quiet game had had a lot to do with Port's poor delivery to its forwards.

Nick Bowen is a reporter for AFL Media. Follow him on Twitter @AFL_Nick