Port Adelaide came agonisingly close to a gutsy win on ANZAC Day Eve but were unable to conquer Norwood who emerged as seven-point winners.

Facing traditional rivals at The Parade on Friday night, the Magpies fought valiantly to overcome injuries but were outrun by the Redlegs, falling to a 9.7 (61) to 9.14 (68) loss.

Newfound forward Xavier Walsh kicked the opening goal to ignite intense efforts across the ground, making it abundantly clear from the first siren that the Magpies were playing with ANZAC spirit in mind.

The Magpies and Redlegs traded goals throughout the first quarter which ended with the visitors holding an eight-point lead, despite injuries to forward Benny Barrett (hamstring) and Tom Anastasopoulos (concussion).

Despite the exciting forward duo being ruled out of the game early, Port Adelaide continued to score through talls Damon Pitt and Kyan Smith who kicked two goals each, rewarding the Magpies for their relentless pressure which silenced the hostile Norwood crowd.

It was all Norwood after half time though as they kicked the only three goals of the third term to reclaim the lead, leaving Port Adelaide to rue missed set shots that would have given it a comfortable margin heading into a tense final term.

The wayward Redlegs couldn’t bury Port Adelaide in the last quarter, only able to kick five behinds for the quarter while Mitch Zadow breathed life into the Magpies with a crucial goal.

It wasn’t to be though for the Magpies after they couldn’t land a final punch before the final siren, falling to their fourth straight loss.

Head Coach Jacob Surjan was proud of the gutsy effort, but still bitterly disappointed with the result.

“I thought our boys gave an incredible effort,” Surjan said.

“[But] our club’s not about mediocrity… we want to make sure that we keep developing our guys and we’ll make sure that we continue to do that.”

Ravaged by injuries, Surjan said there was effort to slow the game down and keep the game on the Magpies’ terms.

“When you’re three [players] down after half-time, you can’t play go-go-go football,” Surjan said.

“We wanted to try to use some marks and guide the ball forward, and I thought our guys really took a step forward tonight in the way we wanted to play.”

Standout performer Brandon Zerk-Thatcher continued his rich vein of form, impressing the coaching staff yet again, this week being named best afield.

“[Zerk-Thatcher]’s last month has been great,” Surjan praised.

“He was incredible tonight… I think the back six didn’t come off for a whole half of football.”

Classy midfielder Will Lorenz collected 40 disposals and five clearances, while fellow AFL-listed players Jackson Mead (27 disposals, ten marks) and Jack Watkins (25 disposals, one goal) also impressed.

Port Adelaide will hope to earn its first win as it faces Adelaide at Adelaide Oval next Friday at 4:00pm, acting as a curtain raiser for the AFL Showdown.

SCOREBOARD

 PA  5.3  8.4  8.7  9.7  (61)

NFC  4.1  6.5  9.9  9.14  (68)

Goals: Pitt, Smith, Zadow 2, Elbrow, Walsh, Watkins

Best: Zerk-Thatcher, Lorenz, Mead, Watkins, Arnold, O’Driscoll