PORT ADELAIDE beat Richmond by 21 points at Adelaide Oval on Saturday evening.

In a game of momentum swings, Port managed to keep the reigning premiers scoreless in the final quarter and boot three goals of its own to come from behind at the last change and claim victory.

Here are some key things we learned from the win over the Tigers.

1) Two rucks can work:

It’s a small sample size but in the first game Peter Ladhams and Scott Lycett have played together in 2020 the signs were very positive that they could have a future in the same side. While they finished behind in the hit-out statistic 31-36, Port Adelaide dominated the stoppages with 40 clearances to 22 including 20-5 out of the centre. In his 100^th AFL game and on his return from a knee injury, Lycett was solid while playing primarily as a forward, Ladhams showed he had a few extra strings to his bow with 12 disposals, five marks and six tackles to go with his two goals. And wasn’t his first goal special? In just the second minute of the game, Ladhams earned himself portadelaidefc.com.au’s goal of the week with a clever checkside kick from the pocket.

2) Richmond are a good side.

To be fair, we knew that before but given the Tigers had one less day to prepare, had to travel to Adelaide and were missing captain Trent Cotchin among others, they were already up against it. Considering Port Adelaide’s dominance in all of the key stats from clearances (40-22) to contested possessions (155-112) and inside 50s (55-24), it was remarkable that they were even close on the scoreboard. It was remarkable that after Port booted the first four goals of the game and led by 26 points, the Tigers hit back repeatedly. When Port got out to another 21-point lead in the third quarter, the Tigers found a way to respond and even took the lead for the first time for a period.

3) Port likes playing the premiers

Before the game the match was written up by scribe Michelangelo Rucci as the contenders vs the defenders and it was very much billed by coach Ken Hinkley as a test of how his side stacks up against the best team of the last three years. It was a big win for a group building towards a return to finals in 2020 but it isn’t the first time Port has beaten the reigning premier. In fact, Hinkley’s sides have a habit of winning against the premier of the previous season, as pointed out on Twitter by user @DamnDanielYaFly.

4) Wines best in his milestone.

He has had his moments in 2020 but Saturday’s game was Ollie Wines’ best for the season so far. In his 150^th AFL outing he was an absolute beast around the ball. The Port vice-captain had game-highs for tackles (11) and clearances (10) and was the highest ranked player on the ground. Wines had 28 disposals – 23 of them contested – seven inside 50s and six score involvements. A big knock on Wines has been his disposal efficiency but he went at a very good 89.3% on Saturday night. He capped his milestone game with a nice goal, roving off a ball-up in forward 50 and snapping truly. While Travis Boak was right up there for best on ground honours, it is hard to go past Wines’ performance.

5) You can win without good goalkicking.

Well, you can, but it makes for a much more nervous experience for supporters and much harder work for the team. In the first quarter Port had a 25-point lead when Charlie Dixon marked the ball 15 metres out almost directly in front. He missed and the Tigers went down the other end and got the next three goals to close to within seven points at quarter time. It was the start of a few goal kicking yips for Port with Dixon and Kane Farrell among the main culprits. Farrell hit the post from a similar position to Dixon’s first quarter miss and Richmond ended kicking four straight goals to take the lead at the final break. Fortunately, Port booted the only three goals of the last quarter and ended up winning. And while there were a few misses, let’s not overlook the fact that some of the goals were incredible. Dixon’s third quarter effort from the boundary line has to be seen to be believed.