Power coasts to a big win

PORT Adelaide is no longer West Coast’s bunny.

The Power on Good Friday night put away eight years of torment from the Eagles to score only its fourth win in the past 13 games against the AFL premier at the rain and windswept Perth Stadium, 13.17 (95) to 8.5 (53).

And it was done early to avoid any repeat of those lastkick nightmares West Coast has created in the past two visits to Adelaide Oval.

After losing six of the past seven games to West Coast — five by 10 points or fewer — the hard-tackling Power dismissed the nemesis image created by the Eagles with a 42point win, after leading by more than six goals at halftime.

A 4/1 underdog at the start of the match, Port Adelaide snapped out of a two-game losing streak — and the shadow of being West Coast’s play toy — with a dominant first half. The 49-point lead at halftime was built on all that Power coach Ken Hinkley had promised with his new dynamic playbook.

And the enterprising style of play was more remarkable for how Port Adelaide’s highreward game did not crumble with high risk as the conditions became more testing with rain in the second term.

The Power’s 6.4 blitz against the Eagles in the second quarter also emphasised attack is the best form of defence as it kept West Coast far and wide from its goal front.

The Power stays in the positive — with a 3-2 win-loss count — on the ladder.

And the talk of the new blood in the Port Adelaide line-up — that again carried four first-year players — will be more notable after the Rozee- Drew- Duursma-Butters quartet did not flinch against the Eagles machine.