PORT Adelaide has served up the first boilover of the AFL season, downing flag fancies Melbourne by 26 points at the MCG.
Justin Westhoff kicked five straight goals and Tom Rockliff tallied 44 possessions in the 12.15 (87) to 9.7 (61) win that marks the Power as a team to watch in 2019.
With four debutants and another two playing their first game for the club, there was plenty to like about Ken Hinkley’s side on Saturday afternoon.
After they conceded the first three goals of the game, the Power composed themselves to win their season opener.
Jack Watts put behind an undisciplined opening to play an influential hand and Westhoff was a superb spearhead.
Scott Lycett outworked Max Gawn while Melbourne talls Tom McDonald and Sam Weideman had no impact.
Rockliff, Travis Boak and Sam Powell-Pepper were relentless at the contest but the Power changed the game on the outside.
On a humid day in Melbourne, the Demons couldn’t go with Port’s runners; the as the visitors finished with 93 more uncontested possessions.
The final margin was a fair one but for much of the afternoon, the teams remained within a couple of goals of each other.
First-gamer Zak Butters gave the Power their first lead in the second quarter with back-to-back majors.
Jake Melksham and Christian Salem were terrific for Melbourne as they won the lead back in the third term but Simon Goodwin’s team couldn’t make it stick.
With the match in the balance in the final term, Nathan Jones dropped a sitter on the 50-metre line before ex-Demon Jack Watts denied the hosts a major with a last-gasp mark.
Twenty seconds later the ball was in Westhoff’s hands in the goal square for a momentum-halting goal that allowed Port to run away with the win.
© AAP 2019
PORT ADELAIDE 2.4 6.8 10.9 12.15 (87)
MELBOURNE 4.3 6.5 9.7 9.7 (61)
Goals: Port Adelaide: J Westhoff 5 Z Butters 2 B Ebert R Gray T Boak T Marshall X Duursma. Melbourne: J Melksham 2 A Brayshaw B Fritsch C Petracca N Jones S Weideman T McDonald T Sparrow.
Umpires: Brett Rosebury, Brendan Hosking, Andrew Stephens.
Official Crowd: 38,866 at MCG.
