Round 16
	V
Port Adelaide 17.12 (114)		West Coast 7.8 (50)

Port Adelaide has cemented its place on top of the premiership ladder with an emphatic 17.12 (114) to 7.8 (50) mauling of the West Coast Eagles at AAMI Stadium on Saturday night.

The Power ruffled the Eagles’ feathers early with some ferocious tackling and maintained that intensity throughout the match to finish 64 points ahead of West Coast and go four points clear of the second-placed Sydney Swans.

Warren Tredrea starred for the Power – booting five goals, pulling down 10 marks and finishing with 20 disposals in a best-on-ground performance.

West Coast was not allowed to generate any drive through its midfield for much of the match with prime-movers Ben Cousins and Chris Judd well-held by Josh Carr and Dominic Cassisi respectively.

Dangerous West Coast forward Phil Matera had no influence on the match – finishing scoreless and with only four disposals – after an outstanding effort from Power champion Gavin Wanganeen.

The Eagles had the first possession of the match with Ben Cousins receiving a free kick before the opening bounce after Josh Carr caught him high but it was all Port after that.

The Power midfielders combined well to dominate through the middle and deliver the ball into their forward 50 where Chad Cornes and Tredrea lurked dangerously. Tredrea, in particular, was in rare form booting three first-quarter goals while Carr made up for his earlier indiscretion by snapping truly to open the scoring for the Power.

Chris Judd scored West Coast’s only goal for the term 26 minutes in but the Power still led by an imposing 29 points at the first break.

The Eagles appeared more settled as the second quarter progressed - Andrew Embley booting his first goal of the night six minutes in and Josh Wooden opening his account with a superb running goal from outside 50 - but were still unable to make any headway into the Power lead.

Goals to Byron Pickett, Che Cockatoo-Collins and Carr were followed by Tredrea’s fourth – the star-forward snapping brilliantly from a congested goal-square to give Port a 36-point lead at half-time.

West Coast needed a good start to the second half if it was to have any chance of reeling in the Power but Shaun Burgoyne ensured that didn’t happen – slotting his second goal inside the first minute of the third quarter.

The chances of a West Coast fight back appeared slim when Michael Gardiner hobbled off the ground after landing awkwardly in a ruck contest and were further diminished when David Wirrpunda went to the bench suffering from back spasms midway through the term.

Tredrea’s fifth major gave Port a 50-point lead at the 22-minute mark before the Eagles scored consecutive goals for the first time late in the quarter to go into the last break 39 points in arrears.

The Eagles’ resistance crumbled in the last term as the Power looked to press home its advantage. Wanganeen celebrated his exceptional job on Matera with a goal and Stuart Dew – still regaining match fitness after a 10-week injury lay-off – showed promising signs to bag his second late in the term.

Having returned to the field after receiving treatment, Wirrpunda contributed the Eagles’ only goal for the term but it wasn’t enough to stem the flow as the margin blew out to 64 points at the final siren.

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