A WEEKEND back home in country Victoria was all Port Adelaide defender Troy Chaplin needed to produce his best game of the season so far.

Chaplin is sure to feature heavily on the highlights reel at Alberton on Monday after laying two desperate, goal saving tackles against North Melbourne on Saturday night.

The first came early in the opening term when Chaplin got a fingernail on North Melbourne superstar Brent Harvey to prevent a certain goal and the second supreme effort received a standing ovation from his teammates on the bench.

Just minutes before half time, the 196cm, 97kg, defender chased down livewire North Melbourne small forward Matthew Campbell, who was running into an open goal.

Chaplin’s courageous acts were emphasised by the playing group at the main break and also received high praise from coach Mark Williams.

“Early on in the year, I wasn’t playing the life or death footy I needed to play. On the weekend off, you tend to go away and think about things and when I came back I thought that at every opportunity, I just had to go at the ball, go at the man and try to make an impact on the game,” Chaplin said.

“I nailed some tackles, which was good, but I think the effort from all the guys was fantastic in that regard. I might have to show Danyle Pearce my tape or something because I am lightning fast, aren’t I?”

Chaplin was pleased with passages of the Power’s quicker and more direct style of play, but the end result was another devastating home loss.

“Our effort was absolutely outstanding and the guys never gave up. We worked hard, but there is nothing worse than a loss and we’ve had too many of them this year. The guys are really hurting and it’s just devastating. It’s another one that got away from us,” he said.

“Mentally, going into the break, everyone was shot and we’ve just got to try and keep the mood up around the club. We’ve got a big game next week against Adelaide who had a loss and got some injuries, so there’s a chance, if we play really good footy, that we might be able to knock them off, so hopefully the crowd stays behind us and knows that we’re trying everything.”

The Power will be without Damon White for Sunday’s Showdown with the unlucky utility set to miss two weeks with a hamstring strain.

“It’s pretty sad because this guy has played awesome footy at North Adelaide as well and been consistent all year then he comes into the side, plays really well and, unfortunately, goes down with a hamstring,” Chaplin said.