Port Adelaide has been left to pick up the pieces after a crushing loss to prove it is the real finals deal

PORT Adelaide has taken some serious scalps this season, but after being flattened on Saturday can they stand a chance to match it with the big boys.

PORT Adelaide was smashed in the west on Saturday night and the only real surprise was how easily the Dockers did it.

They made the Power look like rabbits, or kangaroos, caught by high beam and even though Port kept competing, the question now is whether its players can play a meaningful part in the final series.

Because they are in the finals, courtesy of Essendon beating Carlton on the same night, for the first time since they made the grand final in 2007.

It is some achievement in coach Ken Hinkley's first season but the way the Port players performed at Patersons Stadium on Saturday night the question is whether they are just making up the numbers.

Chat LIVE today with Michelangelo Rucci from 12.30pm

The Power has taken some serious scalps this season, among them Sydney and Collingwood in rounds 13 and 14, but the obvious question after Fremantle flattened the Port players at Subiaco on Saturday night is whether they stand a chance to match it with the big boys.

There had been an air of anticipation ahead of the match with people streaming into a packed Subiaco ground with the sense of the match being a meaningful dress rehearsal ahead of the finals.

What transpired was a football lesson from Fremantle that showed up the Power as a side which is still very young and yet to figure out how to deal with the pressure that the big boys dole out.

Dockers coach Ross Lyon, one of the best strategists of the game, was complimentary when he assessed Port Adelaide in the rooms of Patersons Stadium after the match.

Power must prove real finals deal

Here's what he said: "They're a really young group, Port Adelaide.

"I think we'll all acknowledge they've had a wonderful year. (Chad) Wingard ... he's a very special player.

"They've been one of the stories of the year. Ken (Hinkley, senior coach) has been terrific.

"They've been terrific. We're just thrilled to be able to knock them over in a strong fashion tonight. But top-four teams should do that.''

But Lyon's comments are both diplomatic and those of a man not wanting to kick somebody when he's down.

Power's Matthew Broadbent looks on after missing a shot on goal.

The bottom line is that Fremantle smashed Port Adelaide badly and put question marks over whether Port can have any impact at all in September.

Hinkley is the first to acknowledge the challenge.

Fremantle had players such as Nathan Fyfe, Lachie Neale, Hayden Ballantyne and Ryan Crowley show the Power how to be both dangerous in attack and responsible in defence.

The Power guys were as accountable as they could be when defending, but without imagination when they were trying to attack. Much of that, of course, was because of Fremantle's pressure, but that's what Port has to expect from here on. The stakes are higher at this time of year.

Hinkley had a serious face on as he was asked to assess the performance of his mob but was also pragmatic and realistic about what had happened.

Former Port Adelaide player Danyle Pearce looks to pass off to a Fremantle team-mate. Picture: Paul Kane/Getty Images

Two messages were clear. One, this was just another lesson for a young squad. Two, it is unrealistic to expect a huge improvement between now and the finals, but they'll fight like hell.

The other thing Hinkley will tell his players is to remember that they have qualified for the finals, and have as much right as anybody else to bring their gloves and surprise people.

"As a footy club, we've qualified in our own right and that's a really pleasing thing for us,'' Hinkley said.

"It would have been nice to play a bit better tonight but that's not the case.

"But I've said all year, it's a full footy season, you've got to play the whole season and then whatever happens will happen.

Fremantle's Michael Walters was a handful for Port, kicking three goals. Picture: Paul Kane/Getty Images

"And right now, we rightly deserve to be part of the final eight.

"It's a little bit funny that we have been taught a lesson, but we actually know that we've earned the right to be a part of the finals.''

Hinkley's message will be simple this week: Absorb what happened in Perth and make it a valuable lesson.

There will be no magic revelations coming out of the pants-down loss, nor will the Power players have the time to quickly improve their skills in dealing with high-pressure football.

But they can use the review of the game to make sure they don't get stunned again and they can commit to not limping into the finals because of the hurtful loss.

Port's Travis Boak, Andrew Moore and Aaron Young leave the ground after the demoralising loss to Fremantle.

"The mistake we'll make is if we don't take the lesson on board and try to improve. But we won't improve in a week, or in two weeks, or three weeks.

"This is a young team and I've said it before. It's a journey and it's going to take some time for us to achieve the consistency of the top sides.''