PORT ADELAIDE has succumbed to Sturt by 24 points at Unley on Saturday, leaving its SANFL finals hopes clinging to a thread.
The damage was done with a nine goals to three first half that Port struggled to fight back from.
The Double Blues wasted no time in getting on the board, as Lachlan Burrows scored within 17 seconds.
The Magpies were struggling to get the ball out of their defensive half and the Double Blues continued to make them pay as Anzac Lochowiak goaled and was quickly followed by a major to Jack Penfold.
Josh Hone made it four on the trot for the hosts but former Sturt midfielder Jed McEntee would end Port’s drought with a neat quick snap to ensure it trailed by only 19 points at quarter-time.
However, the second quarter started in similar style to the first, as Jared Dakin ended at the back of the pack to mark and convert the set shot for Sturt.
It was one-way traffic, as Lochowiak would add his second and third, the latter with a dribbler from the pocket.
Joel Thiele and Oliver Grivell would add to Port’s pain and the margin extended to 51 points midway through the quarter.
However, Port recovered quickly as Jackson Mead cleared out of the guts to find Joel Garner, who marked and converted from 40 metres out.
After some back and forth play, Garner would get his second after another mark, almost from an identical spot.
The Magpies trailed by 40 points and needed a response after half-time and almost had it with Garner’s set shot which sailed wide.
The Double Blues then responded through Burrows who marked inside 50 and goaled.
Their run out of defensive 50 continued, as Abe Davis got on the receiving end of a kick and goaled to make the margin a game-high 52 points.
Jarrod Lienert received a handball from Martin Frederick to bomb one from 60 metres out as the goal of the day.
Garner again took a neat mark inside 50 before slotting his third of the afternoon to cut the margin to 39 points midway through the third term.
Port’s run of goals was cut by Rory Illman, who goaled from 45 metres out.
The Magpies had chances late, but finished with four further behinds to trail by 40 points at the final break.
Cam Sutcliffe started the final term in style, receiving the ball from a spoil and snapping around for his first.
Steve Slimming cancelled that out with his own major for Sturt, but McEntee would again respond moments later with his second.
Despite Port’s improvement around the contest, the Double Blues still controlled most of the scoring and Lochowiak continued his game with a fourth major.
Sam Powell-Pepper marked in the pocket and ran around to snap to make it six goals halfway through the last.
Boyd Woodcock took an advantage and mirrored Powell-Pepper’s earlier effort, before backing it up with a set shot from a free kick.
Lienert finished with 33 touches, a goal and 11 rebound 50s, while Powell-Pepper had 30 touches, a goal and nine clearances to be among the side’s best.
SCOREBOARD
Port Adelaide 1.2 3.3 5.10 10.12 (72)
Sturt 4.3 9.7 12.8 14.12 (96)
Port Adelaide
Goals: Garner 3, McEntee, Woodcock 2, Powell-Pepper, Sutcliffe, Lienert.
Best: Powell-Pepper, McEntee, Lienert, Westbrook, Garner, Sutcliffe
