PORT ADELAIDE coach Ken Hinkley says his side got a reality check against the reigning premiers Collingwood at the MCG on Saturday, after giving up a five-goal early lead only to lose by 42 points.

Hinkley’s men booted five of the opening six goals and led by as much as 31 points before momentum swung off the back of some key moments for the Magpies including two big marks by Will Hoskin-Elliott.

He sparked a run of eight straight goals to Collingwood, and with Port’s energy sapped, it was unable to regain momentum, with the final score finishing 17.21 (123) to 12.9 (81).

Speaking after the game, the Power coach said the home side turned up its pressure after quarter time and made his side pay by being more reliable at the contest.

“We couldn't have wished for a better start,” he said. “I mean, we were on with most parts of the game in the first quarter (but) as much as we were on in the first quarter, we were switched off by Collingwood at their best today.

“It was a pretty strong start away from home and you're feeling pretty good about the way the game is going but just towards the end of the first quarter, they got a couple of big plays that made a difference.

“They'd take a fair bit of confidence out of the way they played after quarter time, and we take a lot of learning and that's always what we need to do. We need to take the education that we got, unfortunately.”

Vice-captain Zak Butters started on fire with 15 disposals and a goal to the first break as Port’s midfield appeared on top.

But the game swung as the Pies got their hands on the ball. A run of eight unanswered goals had the 65-thousand strong crowd roaring and the Craig Macrae’s men eventually finished +41 in contested possessions.

“If you look at the numbers, those numbers pretty much work into work rate and contest,” Hinkley said.

“I'm not going to hide from it. Collingwood were much better at turning up more reliably and more consistently. 

“They were playing aggressively, and they continued to play aggressively, but what they did… was continue to turn up and that makes it much easier for them to play their style of football, which is pretty powerful when they're here.”

It was Port Adelaide’s second loss of the season, taking its tally to 4-2 after six rounds with a big Friday night Anzac Round game against St Kilda to come.

While disappointed with the way the Power performed, a forthright Hinkley was confident his side would learn from the result.

“Today in the first quarter you get a glimpse of what we think we're more than capable of doing, if we produce that most of the time this year, but the last three quarters we get a reality check on that,” he said.

“There's a gap that we're chasing still, and we knew that at the start of the year and we're still chasing.”