An injury-ravaged North Melbourne has gone down to Port Adelaide by 70 points at Blundstone Arena on Saturday afternoon.

It was the second quarter which set up the big win for Port. After leading by just one point at the first break, the Power produced a dominant second term, outscoring the Roos eight goals to one to set up a commanding 45-point lead at the main change.

It would prove the difference in the end, with Port cruising from there to secure its sixth win in a row with the 20.15 (135) to 10.5 (65) victory - its biggest win of the season so far.

It was a case of the walking wounded for North, with Darcy Tucker (hamstring), Flynn Perez (concussion), Jack Mahony (shoulder), Luke Davies-Uniacke (hamstring), and Paul Curtis (corkie) all suffering injuries, although the latter managed to play out the game.

The highly anticipated Horne-Francis v North Melbourne sideshow wasn't nearly as fiery as many were expecting. The 2021 No.1 draft pick, who left the Kangaroos after just one season, lined up against Hugh Greenwood at the opening bounce - but there were no fireworks and it was the same story throughout the game.

While North held its own in the first quarter, any hopes of an upset were snuffed out in the second term, as dynamic Power duo Zak Butters (32 disposals) and Connor Rozee (25) took control in the midfield and young defender Miles Bergman impressed with his intercept marking and precision kicking from half-back.

KANGAROOS v POWER Full match coverage and stats

North was sloppy when delivering the ball inside 50 and offered little resistance the other way, with Port Adelaide frequently taking the ball from end to end with ease.

Port Adelaide had 14 individual goalkickers, including captain Tom Jonas, who kicked just his second career goal in his 210th game when he launched a ripping kick from outside the 50m during the third term.

Jeremy Finlayson slotted three majors from eight shots, while former Cat Francis Evans kicked his first two goals in Port colours and Brynn Teakle kicked the first of his career.

To add more insult to injury, Aidan Corr will face MRO scrutiny after being reported for striking Ollie Lord in an off-the-ball scuffle.

Roo on report
North Melbourne defender Aidan Corr has a nervous wait ahead of him after being reported for striking. Corr's hit on Port Adelaide's Ollie Lord midway through the opening term gifted the Power a goal just as North looked to be settling into the clash in what was a hotly contested first quarter. The undisciplined act was a double whack for the Roos, who actually had a free kick at the time after a brilliant Jack Ziebell rundown tackle, but instead it was reversed and Jed McEntee converted an easy set shot on goal. It was one of two gimme goals for Port in the first quarter, with Sam Powell-Pepper gifted a goal moments later after a free kick and then 50m penalty which took him to the goal line. 

NORTH MELBOURNE      3.2     4.4    8.5      10.5 (65)
PORT ADELAIDE             3.3    11.7   15.11   20.15 (135)

GOALS 
North Melbourne: Larkey 4, Stephenson 2, Zurhaar 2, Curtis, Logue
Port Adelaide: Finlayson 3, Bonner 2, Evans 2, McEntee 2, Powell-Pepper 2, Boak, Burton, Drew, Horne-Francis, Jonas, Lord, Mead, Teakle, Wines

BEST 
North Melbourne: Goldstein, Ziebell, Davies-Uniacke, Simpkin, Larkey
Port Adelaide: Butters, Bergman, Finlayson, Wines, Rozee, Powell-Pepper

INJURIES 
North Melbourne: Darcy Tucker (hamstring) Flynn Perez (concussion) Paul Curtis (corkie), Jack Mahony (shoulder), Luke Davies-Uniacke (hamstring)
Port Adelaide: Todd Marshall (concussion)

LATE CHANGES
North Melbourne: Nil
Port Adelaide: Kane Farrell, replaced Darcy Byrne-Jones in the selected side

SUBSTITUTES
North Melbourne: Phoenix Spicer (replaced Darcy Tucker in the first quarter)
Port Adelaide: Jackson Mead (replaced Todd Marshall in the second quarter)

Crowd: 6310 at Blundstone Arena