PORT Adelaide has responded to successive losses by overcoming a competitive Fremantle by 24 points at AAMI Stadium on Saturday night.
Trailing by two points at half time, the Power broke Freo's stranglehold to set up the 14.10 (94) to 11.4 (70) victory with a six-goal third term.
David Rodan (three goals) provided a spark and Justin Westhoff, in his return from a foot injury, made the most of his late call-up with two.
Kane Cornes (34 possessions, one goal) had the better of Paul Hasleby (25) while Toby Thurstans (24) and Dom Cassisi (27) were also influential.
Fremantle's ruck giant Aaron Sandilands accumulated 27 hit-outs, six clearances and 20 possessions.
Paul Duffield (29 possessions), Byron Schammer (22) and young defender Greg Broughton (22) were among Fremantle's other main ball-winners.
The Power’s win was soured only by a suspected knee injury to emerging midfielder Travis Boak.
They were expected to respond after a dismal second half against Collingwood last week, but were caught napping yet again in the first quarter.
The undermanned Fremantle, who lost the experience of Antoni Grover, Luke McPharlin, Michael Johnson and Des Headland during the week, kicked four of the opening five goals to open up a handy 20-point lead.
Fielding nine players with 10 games' experience or less, the visitors looked composed and sometimes adventurous at an interstate venue it has had some rare success at.
It started with captain Matthew Pavlich, who justified his one-glove approach when he skilfully gathered the slippery ball and nailed the first goal of the game.
Port Adelaide failed to combat Sandilands’ dominance in the ruck and the Freo onballers capitalised with another goal from a centre clearance, this time to Dean Solomon.
The Power found it tough going, as Fremantle pushed numbers behind the ball, and poor skill execution didn’t help the home side’s cause.
Warren Tredrea, closely guarded by Chris Tarrant all night, finally got Port Adelaide on the board when he kicked truly from a free kick but some loose checking set up quick majors to Scott Thornton and Matt de Boer.
Westhoff celebrated his first game since round two with a goal to cut the margin to 11 points, however, Adam Campbell’s return to AFL wasn’t as memorable: knocked out just 25 minutes into the game after feeling the brunt of teammate Sandilands’ 123kg frame.
Play was halted as the stretcher came, but the delay failed to halt the Power’s surge.
Rodan picked the pocket of a Freo opponent and reduced the margin to just five points at quarter time.
Fremantle got the early break again in a tightly-contested second quarter.
Thornton and Garrick Ibbotson combined to stretch the lead to 16 points, but Port Adelaide managed to wrestle back the ascendancy.
Goals to Boak and Justin Westhoff sliced the deficit to three points and a 50m bomb from Lade on the boundary line put the Power ahead for the first time in the game.
Michael Walters and fellow debutant Clancee Pearce picked opportune times to record their first AFL goals but an unfamiliar conversion from Troy Chaplin – opposed to Pavlich – saw Port Adelaide within two points at half time.
It took teeming rain to bring the best out of the hosts, ramping up their attack in the third.
Lade and Dean Brogan made the most of Sandilands’ move up forward and the Power onballers started to find some space.
Marlon Motlop compensated for his enigmatic cousin’s absence with his first goal of the season and Rodan (two goals) and Danyle Pearce (one) also got involved.
Matthew Westhoff pulled out a party trick of his own with a right-foot snap from 40m out.
Goals to Pavlich and David Mundy kept Freo in the game, but the Power still maintained a 20-point lead at the final change.
Both sides had opportunities in the last quarter, but the sting was out of the game.
Port Adelaide 3.3 7.6 13.6 14.10 (94)
Fremantle 4.2 8.2 10.4 11.4 (70)
GOALS
Port Adelaide: Rodan 3, J. Westhoff 2, Tredrea, Boak, Lade, Chaplin, Motlop, M. Westhoff, Pearce, K. Cornes, Ebert
Fremantle: Thornton 2, Mundy 2, Pavlich 2, Solomon, de Boer, Ibbotson, Walters, Pearce
BEST
Port Adelaide: K. Cornes, Rodan, Lade, Chaplin, Thurstans, Cassisi, J. Westhoff, Surjan
Fremantle: Sandilands, Duffield, Schammer, Foster, Broughton, Mundy
INJURIES
Port Adelaide: Boak (knee), Gray (illness) replaced in selected side by J. Westhoff
Fremantle: Campbell (concussion), Ballantyne (corked thigh) replaced in selected side by Walters
Reports: Nil
Umpires: McBurney, Avon, Mollison
Official crowd: 18,418 at AAMI Stadium
The views in this article are those of the author and not necessarily those of the clubs or the AFL.
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