PORT Adelaide was staring down an intimidating and difficult task heading into a must-win match on Saturday against Woodville West-Torrens.
The Magpies entered as firm underdogs as they faced off against the Eagles, a side sitting atop of the SANFL ladder, and coming off 11 consecutive wins.
But the developing side and senior coach Garry Hocking stuck firmly to their game plan and exposed the Eagles to run out 41-point winners.
The Magpies worked hard all afternoon to overcome a tightly-held first half, and Hocking was proud of his side's ability to bounce back following last week's one-point loss to Norwood.
MAGPIES WIN: 41-point victory over league-leaders
He said a key to the victory was getting the players believing their best was good enough.
"We don't like to lose any game and we just needed to respond after last week, and I am really proud of the way the boys responded," Hocking said.
"We out-tackled them, out-possessed them and we got a bit of run back.
"I think the more you win, the more you are vulnerable to be exposed, you can become a bit softer and complacent unconsciously.
"Winning 11 in-a-row is a tough thing to do at this level… we really respected them, but understood that sometimes they can be a bit vulnerable and at some point you need to lose."
The Magpies' ruck led by Redden and midfield including Moore, Mitchell and Amon built on a 15-point lead at three-quarter time with the Magpies’ forwards capitalised for the eventual 41-point win.
The win propelled the Magpies into fourth spot on the ladder and with a 'catch up' game still to be played against North Adelaide next month, Hocking hoped the side could take confidence out of the win and build on it in the coming weeks.
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"They should take a bit of belief out of this and it's probably a bit of a breakthrough for them in regards to their ability to learn," Hocking said.
"There will be moments when the opposition challenges, but they have to continue to learn to stick at it.
"We can get confidence out of being able to get through that opposition's press and we just needed that at this time of the year."
Port Adelaide's SANFL Round 15 clash with Sturt will be at Unley Oval on Sunday 26 July at 2.10pm.
