PORT Adelaide genius Robbie Gray has conjured a great escape, scoring the match-winning goal with seconds remaining to sink St Kilda by two points.

Gray's running goal with less than 10 seconds left delivered Port a precious 9.9 (63) to 8.13 (61) win at Adelaide Oval on Saturday.

Full match coverage and stats

Gray's last-gasp heroics came after the Saints held a 10-point lead with minutes remaining, only for Port's Aaron Young and Gray to steal the win for the home side after receiving an inch-perfect tap from ruckman Paddy Ryder.

"Good player, isn't he," Power coach Ken Hinkley said.

"Don't undersell what Ryder did.

"That's a pretty good effort. Together they did well … we train that sort of stuff to hopefully get one of those wins for us and in a season as tight and tough as it is, it's pretty significant."

Five talking points: Port Adelaide v St Kilda

Hinkley said it was the type of victory that "can make seasons".

"We haven't felt that thrill from that type of win for a long, long time and that's important to remember," he said.

"There's some parts of the game that clearly we shouldn't have done or didn't do, but that's a pretty emotional win for the football club."

Port (11 wins and seven losses) will tread water around fifth spot but are now two wins clear of the slipping Saints (9-9).

Saints coach Alan Richardson admitted they didn't get everything right at the final decisive stoppage with shutting down Gray.

"As the umpire got the ball it was pretty sound, but when the ball went up, things shifted and we just lost a bit of shape," Richardson said.

"It's really important to have the best stoppage player in the game covered.

"I think he had six or seven clearances in the last quarter.

"He's a star, in particularly in the contest, we just couldn't control him in the middle, on a day when we did pretty well in the clearance."

WATCH: The last two minutes

The Power's triumph was substance rather than style - both sides struggled to score in tricky winds and slippery conditions as Port led 5.7 to 3.12 at three-quarter time.

The dour battle sparked in a frenetic finale with Port appearing safe when Brad Ebert served up a 55m bomb for a 14-point lead midway through the term.

But the plucky Saints replied with four unanswered goals - when Tim Membrey slotted this third, they were 10 points up.

But Port's Young scrambled a snap and then Gray stole the show, converting on the run from 50m for a famous win.

Port was well served by reliable onballer Ollie Wines (23 disposals), Jared Polec (30 touches) and Gray (27 possessions), while Hamish Hartlett and Jasper Pittard were in the thick of it defensively.

Spearhead Charlie Dixon was among seven goalkickers for Port, who meet hometown rival and ladder leader Adelaide next Sunday.

The Saints, who host West Coast next Sunday, had a midfield with plenty of punch led by Seb Ross (31 possessions) and Luke Dunstan and Jake Carlisle was superb in defence.

MEDICAL ROOM
Port Adelaide: The Power reported a clean bill of health heading into next week's Showdown.

St Kilda: The Saints didn't report any injuries.

NEXT UP
South Australia will be a state divided when the Power take on the Crows in a massive Showdown at Adelaide Oval next Sunday, 4.10pm ACST. The Saints host the Eagles at Etihad Stadium next Sunday, 1.10pm AEST.

PORT ADELAIDE     2.3     3.5     5.7     9.9     (63)
ST KILDA                 1.3     2.8     3.12   8.13    (61)

GOALS
Port Adelaide: Westhoff, Amon, Impey, Polec, Trengove, Dixon, Ebert, Young, R Gray
St Kilda: Membrey 3, Lonie, Membrey, Acres, Gresham, Dunstan 

BEST
Port Adelaide: R Gray, Wines, Hartlett, Ryder, Byrne-Jones, Jonas
St Kilda: Dunstan, Carlisle, Ross, Roberton, Acres 

INJURIES
Port Adelaide: Nil
St Kilda: Nil 

Reports: Nil

Umpires: Stephens, Kamolins, Findlay 

Official crowd: 30,335 at Adelaide Oval