The Saints had not won in three games, and they had the contest won before half time, opening up a 50-point lead with 10 of the first 12 goals.
The home side stretched its lead at every change, winning 23.13 (151) to 8.9 (57).
The Power desperately needed to put some scoreboard pressure on early if they were to pull off an upset, but their errant kicking quickly put paid to that notion.
Port opened the match with four straight behinds while the Saints registered five goals to set the tone for the afternoon.
The intensity and accountability of Port Adelaide under Matthew Primus was negated as St Kilda moved the ball inside 50 with apparent ease throughout.
Stephen Milne (four goals) and Adam Schneider (three) were an ever-present danger in attack, while skipper Nick Riewoldt continued his return to peak fitness with four goals on a day when his side had 13 different goalkickers.
A 24-point quarter-time lead was built upon at each change as the Power offered little in the way of resistance.
Lenny Hayes (34 possessions), Leigh Montagna (30) and Clinton Jones (28) provided the midfield grunt with Jones’ efforts all the more impressive when his superb negating role on Danyle Pearce was taken into account.
St Kilda appeared to take the foot off the accelerator when Port kicked back-to-back goals for the first time late in the third quarter, but Ross Lyon was having none of that, with a 64-point three-quarter-time lead blowing out by the final siren.
On a desperately disappointing day that ensured the Power will be spectators come September, the visitors had few, if any, four-quarter contributors. Travis Boak and Kane Cornes finished with 24 and 25 touches respectively, while Troy Chaplin battled for 25 disposals in a besieged back line.
The Power host bottom side West Coast in next Saturday night's clash at AAMI Stadium.
St Kilda 5.4 10.10 16.12 23.13 (151)
Port Adelaide 1.4 3.5 6.8 8.9 (57)
GOALS
St Kilda: Milne 4, Riewoldt 4, Schneider 3, Hayes 2, McEvoy 2, Montagna, Koschitzke, Goddard, Fisher, Ray, Eddy, Gram, Jones
Port Adelaide: Schulz 2, Gray 2, Logan, Westhoff, Hitchcock, D Stewart
BEST
St Kilda: Hayes, Goddard, Jones, Schneider, Fisher, Dal Santo, Riewoldt, Milne
Port Adelaide: Boak, Chaplin, Brogan, Cornes
INJURIES
St Kilda: Gardiner (hamstring)
Port Adelaide: P Stewart (hip) replaced in selected side by Banner
Reports: Nil
Umpires: McLaren, Wenn, Avon
Official crowd: 22,467 at Etihad Stadium
The views in this article are those of the author and not necessarily those of the clubs or the AFL.
