Port survives St Kilda charge

Power triumphant ... Robbie Gray plays in front of St Kilda's Jack Steven. Source: JOE CASTRO / AAP

PORT Adelaide have withstood a blistering St Kilda comeback to salvage a narrow win and keep their AFL finals hopes in their own hands.

The Saints turned around a 39-point half time deficit, and a Port lead which stretched to 46 points at one stage in the second term, to come within five points of victory at Etihad Stadium on Saturday night.

2.2 (14)	Q1	7.4 (46)
4.5 (29)	Q2	10.8 (68)
9.9 (63)	Q3	11.10 (76)
13.14 (92)	Q4	14.13 (97)

Ben McEvoy 3	John Butcher 3
Jack Steven 3	Jasper Pittard 2
Thomas Lee 2	Justin Westhoff 2
Nick Riewoldt 2	Chad Wingard 2
Thomas Curren 1	Robert Gray 1
Lenny Hayes 1	Matthew Lobbe 1
Stephen Milne 1	Kane Mitchell 1
	Angus Monfries 1
	Jay Schulz 1

The Power ran out 14.13 (97) to 13.14 (92) winners to climb back into the top eight.

		P	W	D	L	%	Pts
1	Hawthorn	16	14	0	2	141.00	56
2	Geelong	15	13	0	2	132.74	52
3	Essendon	16	13	0	3	131.40	52
4	Sydney	15	11	1	3	142.20	46
5	Fremantle	15	11	1	3	126.27	46
6	Richmond	15	10	0	5	116.69	40
7	Collingwood	16	10	0	6	108.32	40
8	Port Adelaide	16	9	0	7	108.66	36
9	Carlton	16	8	0	8	110.64	32
10	West Coast	15	7	0	8	107.08	28
11	Brisbane	16	7	0	9	82.40	28
12	North Melbourne	16	6	0	10	114.76	24
13	Adelaide	15	6	0	9	102.46	24
14	Gold Coast	16	6	0	10	90.08	24
15	Bulldogs	16	4	0	12	76.90	16
16	St Kilda	16	3	0	13	83.87	12
17	Melbourne	16	2	0	14	55.21	8
18	Greater Western Sydney	16	0	0	16	50.82	0

Port completely dominated the first half, but the momentum was shifted forcibly by St Kilda's star players and their sheer will to win in the second.

Midfield trio Leigh Montagna, Jack Steven and Nick Dal Santo were dominant, while skipper Nick Riewoldt was also inspirational as the Saints kicked nine goals to four in the second half.

Steven's two final quarter goals were critical in helping St Kilda reel in Port's 16-point lead early in the final term. The Saints finally grabbed the lead with just over 10 minutes remaining when first-gamer Tom Curren goaled - though there were a few nervous moments as he had to await a video review before it was confirmed.

Port then regained the lead with a contentious free-kick for a trip, then a 50-metre penalty, which gifted Jasper Pittard a chance to put his side back in front.

From then, Port hung on - with Justin Westhoff pulling off two huge marks in defence late in the match to help his side seal victory.

Port Adelaide coach Ken Hinkley believed his men deserved the victory and that the way they were able to withstand the Saints will form an important part of their learning curve.

"We've been in those games this year when we've come from behind and run over sides - it's sometimes almost impossible to stop that sort of run-on,'' Hinkley said.

"But to our boys' credit, we were able to do that, get a hold of the ball and convert a couple of times when we needed to.''

Forward John Butcher booted three goals, while Westhoff also kicked two goals to go with his defensive heroics.

Steven and Ben McEvoy kicked three goals each for the Saints, while Montagna finished with 35 disposals.

St Kilda coach Scott Watters admitted his players were disappointed, but he believed there were plenty of positives to be taken despite the manner of the defeat and praised both his youngsters and the team's leaders for their efforts.

"We'll take some really good lessons out of that and move on to next week,'' Watters said.

"Overwhelmingly there were a lot of positives to take out of it. We sit here very disappointed as a club we didn't win that game ... watching some of those young guys win some pivotal battles after being under some pressure early says a lot about them.''

Port now have an 9-7 win-loss record, and have climbed back above Carlton - one-point Friday night winners over North Melbourne - into eighth on the ladder.

Click here to see all of the stats and scores in the FOX FOOTY Match Centre.

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