Power midfielder Josh Carr was the inaugural Badcoe Medallist for his 29-disposal best-on-ground performance while Nathan Eagleton was best for the Bulldogs with 27 possessions.
The Power suffered an injury blow at the first bounce with ruckman Dean Brogan landing awkwardly and hobbling straight to the rooms with a sprained right ankle.
Despite the loss of Brogan, the signs were ominous early for the Dogs as Port Adelaide quickly gained control of the midfield and pumped the ball deep into its forward line where Warren Tredrea lurked with intent. The star forward pulled down four marks for the term but let the Doggies off the hook with his poor kicking – finishing the quarter with one goal from four straight-forward opportunities.
The Dogs did well to stem the run of Port Adelaide midway through the term and Jade Rawlings goaled late in the quarter to trim the Power lead back to 16 points at the first break.
The Power quickly had the Dogs on the back foot again as the second quarter got underway. Two goals inside three minutes blew the lead out to 28 points before Patrick Bowden had the opportunity to peg one back for the Bulldogs.
However, the young forward shanked his set shot from close range and was immediately punished by Gavin Wanganeen who coolly converted on the run just seconds later.
When Kane Cornes sharked the pack and bagged his first for the day the margin was out to 43 points but Eagleton sparked a mini-revival by the Dogs with his goal at the sixteen-minute mark.
The run dried up for the Power as the Bullies slowed the game down and held possession while searching for a marking option down the ground. The tactic worked well but they let themselves down with appalling accuracy in front of goal. Eight shots at goal resulted in seven behinds and one out of bounds on the fall – the Dogs failing to capitalise and going into the main break 31 points in arrears.
Adam Cooney gave the Bulldogs some hope with a goal seconds after the restart but the quality of the play deteriorated as the third term progressed with both sides guilty of committing errors and turning the ball over to the opposition.
Shaun Burgoyne kept Port going in the right direction with a goal shortly before three-quarter time that extended the lead to 41 points at the last break.
Brett Ebert continued to show that he shapes as a Power star of the future – capping off a lively game off the half-forward flank with his second goal early in the last – while Kane Cornes finished the scoring for the Power with his second major three minutes before time.
Bulldogs coach Peter Rohde didn’t take much out of the clash. “I thought early in the match we were moving it quickly and getting it in (and) we had Port’s backline under pressure at times but just couldn’t kick a score. (Then) later on in the game I think we played a style of play that was very disappointing.”
Port Adelaide: 5.5, 10.6, 13.10, 17.7 (119)
Western Bulldogs: 3.1, 4.11, 5.17, 7.22 (64)
Goals: Port Adelaide: Tredrea 2, Ebert 2, Lade 2, Thurstans 2, K Cornes 2, S Burgoyne, C Cornes, Wanganeen, Surjan, Dew, Kingsley, Salopek
Western Bulldogs: Eagleton, Darcy, Murphy, Rawlings, Robbins, Cooney, Harrison
Best: Port Adelaide: Carr, C Cornes, Ebert, P Burgoyne, K Cornes, Lade, Wanganeen
Western Bulldogs: Eagleton, West, Darcy, Smith, Harris
Injuries: Port Adelaide: Brogan (right ankle)
Western Bulldogs: Nil
Reports: Nil
Umpires: Rosebury, Head, Rowston
Crowd: 26,839 at AAMI Stadium
