Wingard injury sours Port's return to form
Port Adelaide have emerged from a horror week to post a morale-boosting 33-point win over North Melbourne at Etihad Stadium.
Jared Polec starred with 34 possessions and Sam Gray kicked four goals as the Power bounced back from consecutive losses with a 15.12 (102) to 10.9 (69) win in front of 17,617 fans on Saturday.
Port dealt with more than their fair share of adversity in the lead-up to the clash.
A difficult week included the messy falling out between chairman David Koch and the AFL over Sam Powell-Pepper, the family tragedy of Todd Marshall and a season-ending knee injury to Hamish Hartlett.
North's impressive early-season form saw them in the top four going into the clash but the Power simply had more contributors.
Ken Hinkley's men didn't surrender the lead after Chad Wingard kicked his first goal midway through the first quarter.
But in a blow for Port, Wingard hobbled to the bench in the final term with a hamstring injury after kicking his second goal.
Tom Jonas did a good job on Ben Brown for the most part but the star Kangaroos spearhead still booted four goals.
Both sides were ferocious in their attack on the ball. However, Port were cleaner in possession and deserved their 16-point lead at the first break.
North lifted in the second quarter - Majak Daw inspired with a brilliant chase down tackle on Port skipper Travis Boak - but they couldn't capitalise.
The Power did well to soak up the pressure and increased their advantage to 25 points at halftime after a late goal to Aidyn Johnson.
Jack Watts swooped on a loose ball and kicked a brilliant goal soon after the restart and Port were always going to be hard to beat from there.
Back-to-back goals from Jarrad Waite and Jy Simpkin gave home fans hope but Sam Gray's fourth goal late in the term was followed by Robbie Gray's first to push the Power's lead out to 37-points at three-quarter time.
Brown added his fourth and Waite his third as North fought to the finish line.
Hinkley's men head west to take on the Eagles at Optus Stadium in round seven, while the Roos travel to Sydney to clash with the Swans at the SCG.
AAP