PORT ADELAIDE lost its second game of the season on Saturday night, going down by 29-points against St Kilda at Adelaide Oval.

Despite the loss Port has managed to remain at the top of the AFL ladder ahead of Brisbane, thanks to its superior percentage.

Here are some key things we learned from the loss to the Saints.

1) Saints efficiency is record breaking.

Port Adelaide had more scoring shots but finished nearly five goals behind, and it’s mainly due to St Kilda’s accuracy. Where Port kicked 6.8, the Saints went 12.1 and their only behind came from a Dan Butler shot which hit the post.

The 12.1 represents 92.3% accuracy, the most accurate score in VFL/AFL history, beating their previous record set in 1994 of 90% with 18.2 against Essendon. The next best is 88.9% by Essendon against South Melbourne in 1897.

What is more amazing is that St Kilda now holds the most accurate goalkicking record and the least accurate goal kicking records. The Saints kicked 0.18 against Fitzroy back in 1921 to claim the unwanted portion of those records. (although Geelong also kicked 0.18 against, you guessed it, St Kilda, in 1919 to have a share of the least accurate honours) As Twitter user @Chalk_Live pointed out, even more incredible is that its opponents for both of St Kilda’s accuracy records, Port Adelaide and Fitzroy, each kicked 6.8 (44) in those matches.

2) Midfield beaten, Port beaten.

Port Adelaide has lost two games in 2020 and on each occasion, it was beaten convincingly in the midfield and around the ball. It is something coach Ken Hinkley was very aware of. In his post-match press conference, Hinkley said it was something his side needed to address. “They were better than us around the ball tonight. They had dominance in the rucks and were able to get ground level dominance as well and they were physically stronger.” The stats tell the story. The Saints won the hit-outs 40-16, clearances 42-30 and had 130 contested possessions to 118.

3) St Kilda streak ended.

A lot has been said about how St Kilda had not won at Adelaide Oval in ten outings until they beat Adelaide last Monday night. They have now won twice at the venue in less than a week and in doing so ended Port’s eight game winning streak against the Saints. The last time Port lost to St Kilda more than nine years ago on the 10^th of July 2011. On that occasion Nick Reiwoldt and Ryan Gamble booted four goals each as the Saints won by 56 points at Football Park.

For what it’s worth, Port’s record for most consecutive wins against a team is eleven against Gold Coast, which dates back to Round 9, 2012 and remains to this day. It previously beat St Kilda in nine consecutive games between Round 4, 2001 and Round 4, 2006.

4) Darcy Byrne-Jones should be considered in the All-Australian calculations.

He’s not often spoken about but Darcy Byrne-Jones is seriously good. He displayed all of his courage during a couple of plays off half back in the second quarter, repeatedly burrowing his way through to give his side an advantage. The 24-year-old finished with 21 disposals, including eight of them contested, to go with two clearances and 365 metres gained.

This season, despite shortened quarters and much less game time, his numbers are above his career averages for disposals, marks and metres gained and he ranks above average or elite in every category except tackles.

5) Georgiades is showing promise.

He booted two goals on debut in Round 1, way back in March, and had to wait four months to get another look in because of injury and the team’s winning form, but Mitch Georgiades is starting to look at home at AFL level.

The teenager, who was only drafted last November, didn’t see a lot of the ball, which is not surprising given Port did not get the ball to the forward line often enough, but when the ball was near him, he always looked like he could make something happen, particularly in the air.

He took a strong mark running back with the flight in the second term to be part of Port Adelaide’s Mark of the Week, and then later took another mark inside 50 before going back and slotting the goal from directly in front. There is a lot to like from the kid, who will have more work to do with fellow young forward Todd Marshall being sidelined for around six weeks after breaking his thumb on Saturday night.

6) A bonus learning: Port Adelaide has amazing support.

Port members had waited 42 days to see their side play live at Adelaide Oval and they were in good voice on Saturday night, despite the result. COVID-19 restrictions meant no more than 20,000 people were allowed to attend the game but those who did made it feel like there were 50,000 in attendance, especially when the iconic Never Tear Us Apart was playing just before the first bounce.