PORT ADELAIDE has shown it has what it takes to win finals football with a hard-fought high-pressure Qualifying Final win over Geelong.

After going down by ten goals to the Cats in Round 12, Port out worked and out pressured the visitors to win by 16 points 9.4 (58) to 5.12 (42) in front of a vocal crowd at Adelaide Oval.

It was a low-scoring, high-pressure opening with neither side able to take control in the opening stanza.

The Cats missed two chances before Brad Ebert missed a tricky snap over his shoulder to get Port onto the board.

Having missed a set shot minutes earlier, Rhys Stanley marked about 30 metres out for Geelong and booted the first goal of the encounter.

Playing against his old side, Steven Motlop got the first for the home side after positioning himself a the front of a pack and cleverly dribbling the ball home.

Less than two minutes later Port had a second after Charlie Dixon was given a free kick inside 50.

Todd Marshall left the field with a shoulder injury and would return in the second quarter after his side took a three-point advantage into the first break.

The Cats started to play their possession-heavy game in the second term and it started to pay dividends. By the major break they’d taken eight marks inside 50 to one but would be left to pay for wastefulness, chiefly from Tom Hawkins who managed just three points from four shots.

Zac Tuohy and Joel Selwood put on the majors for the visitors while Motlop found himself ahead in a footrace to kick a second goal off the ground and keep his side in touch.

With just seconds remaining in the half Brad Ebert took a mark of the day contender after slipping to the ground.

He took his shot as the siren sounded to send the passionate Adelaide Oval crowd into raptures and put Port in front by just one point at half time.

The Cats could lay claim to the seven highest possession getters to the break but Ollie Wines with nine and Sam Powell-Pepper with eight, five clearances and five tackles were pushing hard for the home side.

It was all Port in the third quarter and it started out of the middle.

The high-intensity and high-pressure Power came out firing and Connor Rozee capped the opening with his first goal within three minutes of the restart.

Motlop got the crowd going with his third after gathering a bouncing ball and snapping from a near-impossible angle and Port’s momentum was only halted when Xavier Duursma’s night was ended after a brave attempted spoil left him concussed.

It mattered little as Ebert got his second after the manic forward pressure paid dividends.

Wines had eight disposals in the quarter and Tom Rockliff took his game tally to ten tackles, while Hamish Hartlett was proving a rock at half back with seven marks as it appeared the Cats might go scoreless for the quarter.

With a 21-point lead and the Cats struggling to get the ball forward, the visitors got a bit of luck to break their goalless drought when Trent McKenzie spilled a mark at half back and Patrick Dangerfield bounced his way into an open goal to give his side some hope and cut the margin to 14 points at the final change.

Hawkins’ poor night in front of the sticks continued with yet another miss to take his tally to four behinds but Stanley spared his blushes with a snap that bounced fortunately just out of the reach of Hartlett’s outstretched hand.

Port responded through Pete Ladhams with the ruckman collecting a clever tap on by Motlop to snap a calming goal.

The game was all but done when Marshall marked in space about 45 metres and nailed a goal, seeing the whole Power side to run to him and celebrate together.

The night was capped for the Port Adelaide faithful when Hawkins snapped a fifth behind which hit the post in the dying stages.

A Preliminary Final and a week off awaits and the memories of a ten-goal loss to the Cats six weeks ago were erased.

SCOREBOARD

PORT ADELAIDE  2.1    4.2       7.4    9.4      (58)             

GEELONG             1.4   3.7        4.8      5.12  (42)              

Goals

Motlop 3, Ebert 2, Dixon, Rozee, Ladhams, Marshall

Best

Hartlett, Motlop, Wines, Ebert, Rockliff, Boak, Byrne-Jones

Crowd

Approx. 26500 at Adelaide Oval