HUNGRY, determined and ferocious ... that was Port Melbourne against the Northern Blues as Brendan Lucas reports.
If coach Gary Ayres ever thought his team would "get caught up in the moment" at quarter time, he hid it well.
At the end of the game, Port Melbourne had a 126-point win, its 27th victory on the trot.
The Borough are defying the critics and standing tall, week in, week out.
Port set the tone early. It took until half way through the first term for the Blues to register a score.
Woeful kick-outs, turnovers and poor disposal became a trend.
A 28-point deficit at quarter time was flattering for the Blues, after some missed opportunities in front of goal from the Boroughs.
Carlton's Robbie Warnock was trying to find some form for the Blues and gave them the start they needed with an early second-term goal.
However goals were scarce to find as the visitors' forward structures kept breaking down.
Port forward Myles Pitt was a surprise packet for the day finishing with five goals, taking pressure off Dean Galea, who still managed six.
Despite the game being all but over at half time with Port up by 72, the Blues showed some spirit and rallied in the third.
Goals to Adam Marcon and back-to-back goals to Tyson Thomas and Brent Bransgrove helped them win the quarter three goals to two.
Blues' first-gamer Dylan Buckley had a rugged welcome to the VFL, with a heavy collision in the last term leaving him seeing stars.
The floodgates opened in the last quarter, with Port finishing the Blues off with a demoralising 11-goal term.
Backing up from 15 last week, the Boroughs finished with a spread of 11 goalkickers.
John Baird continued his good form and led the possession tally with 32.
Shane Valenti added to his Liston Medal chances with 30 disposals, and Heath O'Farrell was another outstanding contributor with 19.
After the game, Ayres was licking his lips.
"(The win) was pretty powerful really when you think about what was served up to us in relation to the Blues. They were coming off a 100-point win and they would have come here with a fair bit of confidence," he said.
Ayres said the spread of goalkickers again showed the side's versatility.
"We don't want to become predictable."
"We have a lot of options in the forward line and we are continuing to use them."
With Steve Brewer, Adam Bentick, Toby Pinwill and Tony Francis still to return to the side, Port continues to look a threat.
The Boroughs face their great rival Williamstown at North Port Oval on Saturday in the grand final rematch, which is this week’s ABC TV game.
Last Modified on 30/04/2012 12:41