THE MAGPIES couldn’t put it together in front of a strong Alberton crowd, falling to traditional rivals Norwood in a heavy loss.

Port Adelaide unveiled prized debutant Dougie Cochrane on Sunday against bitter rivals Norwood, hoping for a better result than the eventual 70-point loss it succumbed to after an inaccurate day in front of goal.

Although the sun shone on Alberton Oval in the early August afternoon, blustery winds that plagued Port Adelaide’s skills were a stark reminder that winter still has one month on its contract.

Both teams started off hot in the first quarter, using the corridor freely and moving the ball at fast pace to create scoring opportunities, except the scoring didn’t start until youngster Finn Wakelin kicked the opening goal of the match after 17 minutes of play.

The Redlegs responded immediately though and never looked back, piling on nine consecutive goals across the second and third quarters to deflate the Magpies.

While Port Adelaide fought back two goals after half time through Wakelin and Kye Roberts, the clouds greyed with the damage already done, seeing the home side register a 3.8 (26) to 14.12 (96) loss.

After a recent standout performance against Woodville-West Torrens, Coach Jacob Surjan was understandably disappointed with the result.

“[Norwood] really challenged our guys,” Surjan said.

“We felt like we gave ourselves opportunities in that first quarter… but some skills, fundamental stuff broke down.”

While disappointed with his side’s performance, Surjan highlighted the sheer quality of Norwood.

“I thought we got smashed around the ball and in contested possession… when a team is up and rolling like [Norwood was], to change the momentum of the game is very hard,” Surjan said.

“We’re all about giving credit when credit’s due… they were pretty good.”

With 18-year-old Cochrane generating a lot of attention leading into the game, Surjan was just relieved that he had a successful return to football after a turbulent 12 months.

“I’m just happy [Cochrane] got through four quarters of footy,” Surjan said.

“He’s a kid that just loves playing footy, so to see him running and leaping around was really good. We wanted to put him behind the ball in the second half to get him going a bit, which we felt like he did for us.”

Surjan was also impressed with the performances of Jacob Wehr (20 disposals, four inside 50s) who moved to the half back flank, Jackson Mead (16 disposals, eight tackles, four clearances), and Brad Thompson (17 disposals, seven rebound 50s).

Port Adelaide turns its attention to taking on West Adelaide next Sunday at Richmond Ovalat 2:10pm.

SCOREBOARD

PA  1.0  1.3  2.4  3.8  (26)

NFC  1.3  6.6  10.9  14.12  (96)

Goals: Wakelin 2, Roberts

Best: Wehr, Thompson, Cavallaro, Sterzl, Wakelin, McLennan