Port Adelaide has produced 19 magical minutes to sink Geelong by 38 points and climb to the top of the AFL ladder.
The Power weathered an early storm before blowing away the reigning premiers in a third-term blitz in their 16.14 (110) to 11.6 (72) triumph at the Adelaide Oval on Thursday night.
Port, extending its club-record winning streak to 11 games, replaces Collingwood in top spot.
And coach Ken Hinkley’s outfit, with 12 wins and two losses, will keep top billing for at least a week, with the Magpies (11-2) having a bye this weekend.
The Cats (six wins, seven losses) retain ninth spot but could slip as low as 12th by the end of the weekend.
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Port slipped 21 points behind in the second quarter and were 13 points down three minutes into the third term.
But an improbable Sam Powell-Pepper goal – a dribbling effort from the boundary line – sparked a match-defining scoring spree.
Powell-Pepper’s strike was the first of seven consecutive Power goals in a 19-minute burst that turned their deficit into a 30-point advantage.
Port forwards Jeremy Finlayson (four goals) and Todd Marshall (three goals) were superb, while utility Dan Houston (31 disposals) continued his excellent form.
Acting captain Ollie Wines (28 touches), Zak Butters (23, one goal) and Connor Rozee (25) were also influential.
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Geelong’s Gary Rohan also booted three goals, all in the first quarter, while Zach Guthrie (26 possessions), Max Holmes (24), Mitch Duncan (20) and Isaac Smith (20) were chief ball winners for the visitors.
The Cats, with Rohan scoring his three majors, booted 6.2 to 2.6 in an impressive opening term.
And they maintained a 21-point lead midway through the second quarter before Power, with former Geelong utility Quinton Narkle prominent, hit back.
Narkle, delisted by the Cats at the end of last season, was a mid-season draftee by Port and a late inclusion into their team, replacing the ill Junior Rioli.
The 25-year-old made the most of his call-up, snapping his first goal in Port colours and having eight disposals for the quarter – he finished with two majors.
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Narkle’s initial strike was rapidly followed by a Finlayson conversion that reduced Geelong’s advantage to seven points at half-time, 7.3 to 5.8.
Port went 13 points down in the third before clicking into top gear with seven unanswered goals in 19 brilliant minutes.
After trailing by 17 at three-quarter-time, Geelong crept within 12 points early in the final term.
Powell-Pepper then again stole the spotlight.
With brute strength, he shrugged a Guthrie tackle and snapped accurately to trigger a final Power flourish in which it scored the last four goals.
-AAP
