PORT ADELAIDE suffered a disappointing loss at the hands of Norwood on Thursday night at The Parade.

The Magpies went down by 34 points and coach Matthew Lokan said there was a lot to learn from the dominant Redlegs, who played off in last year’s grand final.

“It is a good opportunity for our younger guys to play on a big occasion (Easter Thursday), it is no excuse but we came off a four day break, and we lost Tobin Cox in the first quarter which limited us to two on the bench,” he said.

“It was a big occasion for our guys and for them to play in big games and against quality opposition like this is really crucial for their development – hopefully they learn from it.”

Norwood kicked seven goals to three in the third quarter and dominated general play, which Lokan said was the major difference in the match.

“Their pressure was really good, it seemed like when they got the ball to centre/forward they were able to score.

“They had 45 inside 50s for 28 scoring shots so they were efficient in their front half – they are a pretty dangerous side.”

Lokan praised the efforts of Jack Trengove who has started the year collecting 44 disposals in Round 1 and following it up with, 42, 34 and 37 over the last three weeks.

“Jack is an elite runner, and his ability to get from contest to contest is outstanding and he didn’t use the ball fantastic today, but his ability to find the ball and impact the game has been really handy for us.”