SANFL pacesetters Port Adelaide stroll to another big win against South Adelaide at Alberton

PORT Adelaide left no doubt it is the power side of the SANFL, demolishing South Adelaide by 60 points at Alberton on Saturday.

Port Adelaide had a comfortable win over South at Alberton. Picture: Dean Martin

PORT Adelaide left no doubt it is the power side of the SANFL, demolishing South Adelaide by 60 points at Alberton on Saturday.

The Magpies blew away second-placed South in the third quarter, booting seven goals to two, before storming to their sixth successive win with another five in the final term.

If this was a first-versus-second battle - a showdown between the outright best side and the pick of the non-AFL teams - the outcome said this: There’s only one spot up for grabs on grand final day.

Andrew Moore was superb for Port, Campbell Heath provided the linking run, Paul Stewart worked into the game with influence and Sam Gray was impressive.

Brendan Ah Chee made the highlights reel with a huge goalsquare pack mark during the third term and Irishman Daniel Flynn showed patches of brilliance, including a bursting four-bounce run through the middle during the first term.

John Butcher had a big presence in attack but, as usual, his goalkicking was another story. When he finally kicked his first goal late in the third quarter, it was an unconvincing wobbler from 30m that put Port 37 points clear. He finished with 3.3 from close range while at least three more shots failed to register or went out on the full.

For South, Keegan Brooksby was a force in the ruck and Joel Cross, Nick Liddle and Jake Veide were good at the stoppages and Brett Eddy looked like a chance of scoring whenever he got near the ball. But the Panthers - and perhaps the competition - were simply a class below Port Adelaide.

“It felt like our biggest test today,’’ Port coach Garry Hocking said.

“Pressure builds every week, it builds on the players to perform and builds on us to do the same thing but also tinker with different ideas to stimulate the group.”

The Magpies turned an 11-point half-time lead into a 44-point break by the last change, and even the final stint kicking to the scoring end wasn’t going to save the Panthers.

Port was all over South in the opening term but the Panthers fought back in the second quarter.

The visitors finally began to reward the dominant ruck work of Brooksby at ground level and Peter Rolfe responded with two goals in five minutes to cut the Port lead to 10 points. Minutes later, Brent Macleod made it a four-point game with a scrambling goal from 50m.

But a Moore goal on time-on signalled a lift from the Maggies and they never looked in danger until the final bell.

“We were quietly confident we’d be a bit more competitive than that but they’re a good side,” South coach Brad Gotch said.

“We didn’t take our chances, went back into our shells a bit which is disappointing, but we’ll learn a lot from it - what you’re up against playing a really good side.”

PORT ADELAIDE 4.4 6.5 13.9 18.14 (122)

SOUTH ADELAIDE 1.0 5.0 7.1 10.2 (62)

Alberton Oval

BEST - Port: Moore, Heath, Summerton, Stewart, Logan, Gray, Amon, Newton. South: Brooksby, Liddle, Cross, Rolfe, Daniel, Veide.

GOALS - Port: Butcher, Neade 3, Ah Chee, Amon, Biemans, Moore, Young 2, Haren, Stewart. South: Rolfe 3, Eddy 2, Cross, Liddle, Macleod, Rankine, Thewlis.

UMPIRES: Sobieraj, Haussen, Crosby.