A LOOK at some of the important stats in our 42-point loss to West Coast at Optus Stadium on Saturday afternoon.

West Coast’s pressure proved too much for Port Adelaide. The Power over possessed the ball, racking up 380 disposals including 193 handballs. The Eagles had 375 possessions and just 145 handballs. Power coach Ken Hinkley said his side’s overuse of the handball was a symptom of the pressure it was under, and it didn’t help that it lost the clearances 45-31.

The Power’s midfield issues ran deep on Saturday, with a concerning trend emerging at the contest. They lost contested ball 120-162 and have now lost the key indicator six weeks in a row, against North Melbourne (-11), Geelong (-14), Essendon (-2), Brisbane (-4) and Sydney (-11). Their ascendency late in the third quarter coincided with their best quarter of contested football, losing the indicator by five, compared to 13 and 19 in the opening two quarters respectively. Sam Powell-Pepper and Tom Rockliff impressed in the SANFL on Friday night and are available to provide hard-bodied reinforcements.  

Paddy Ryder will be better after a run. After five matches on the sidelines with Achilles soreness, Ryder faced a stern test against in-form ruck duo Nic Naitanui and Scott Lycett. While his anticipated return shaped as a boost for the Power, the star ruckman appeared to tire early and struggled on with occasional support from Justin Westhoff. The Power ended up losing the hit-outs 26-56, and the effectiveness of Naitanui and Lycett's taps was a key to the match. The Eagles' pair was also able to win the ball at ground level, combining for 12 clearances, while Ryder finished with four, nine possessions and three marks.

Port Adelaide’s forward 50 efficiency was poor again, especially with its small forwards struggling on a tough day. Jake Neade, Sam Gray and Aidyn Johnson managed a total of just 20 disposals between them, although Johnson and Gray booted two goals each. On a day where Port Adelaide took 10 marks inside 50 from 45 entries and kicked nine goals, the Eagles showed how it should be done, booting 16 goals from 52 entries where they took just nine marks inside 50.

The Power can punish teams when it gets its game going. In a patch either side of three-quarter time, Port Adelaide kicked five unanswered goals to breathe life into the contest. Unfortunately the game was too far gone with the Eagles leading by 55 points at that time, but if the Power can show up and play like that for four quarters, it’ll have rival teams on the ropes.

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