It is too early to say if a changing of the guard has taken place but it isn't too early to brand the Power the genuine article.

Former captains Travis Boak and Ollie Wines - playing his 150th game - provided supreme strength at the contest, Robbie Gray and Zac Butters the finishing sizzle and big Pete Ladhams with the X-factor in attack to keep Richmond at bay.

Port's powerhouse Charlie Dixon could have virtually killed the contest early but when he missed two set-shot sitters - which could have opened up a 31-point buffer - Richmond were able to wriggle their way back.

Tom Lynch slotted Richmond's first after Power defenders Dan Houston and Trent McKenzie fell over each other. Jack Riewoldt goaled following a similar fluff-up between Hamish Hartlett and Tom Clurey to reduce Port's lead to seven points at quarter-time.

The Tigers were again the recipients of a bit of luck in the second stanza, when Riewoldt converted a contentious free kick when it appeared Dustin Martin shoved Clurey, before Martin snapped truly after a poor Hartlett turnover.

Richmond closed to within nine points when Robbie Gray, strolling into the goal-square, was beaten by the half-time siren by a matter of seconds.

Port's advantage swelled to 22 points before the Tigers responded and stole a one-point, three-quarter-time lead thanks largely to Mabior Chol's back-to-back majors.

Gray goaled inside the first 16 seconds of the fourth to kickstart a run of three Port goals in five minutes to terminate Richmond's brave challenge.

Pete's pocket

Saturday's clash was a minute old when 202-centimetre Port big man Pete Ladhams got the ball rolling and set the tone for the high-quality, gripping contest that was to follow with a sensational opening goal.

On the opposite side of the ground to the scoreboard pocket, nicknamed "Eddie's Pocket" after Carlton's ex-Crows magician Eddie Betts, Ladhams received a sharp handball from Cam Sutcliffe and bent through a magnificent left-foot banana from the left-hand pocket of the River End.

Unable to comprehend what he had just done, Ladhams shared a laugh with direct opponent Dylan Grimes moments later.

Brain fade sabotages late bid

Josh Caddy's fourth-quarter brain fade hurt the Tigers' prospects of a last-ditch comeback.

After conceding a free kick in the middle, in the fifth minute of the final term, a frustrated Martin shoved Tom Rockliff and copped a 50m penalty for his troubles.

Then, Jayden Short inexplicably made it a 100m penalty when he ran in front of Rockliff while running back to goal. Rockliff converted from point-blank range and Richmond's challenge was done.

BEST
Port Adelaide: Boak, Gray, Wines, Rockliff, Ladhams, Dixon.
Richmond: Bolton, Martin, McIntosh, Rioli, Aarts, Soldo.