Jason Horne-Francis celebrates a goal with teammate Ryan Burton during Port Adelaide's match against North Melbourne at Blundstone Arena in round nine, 2023. Picture: AFL Photos

PORT Adelaide young gun Jason Horne-Francis has had the last laugh in his first clash with former club North Melbourne, with the Power belting an injury-hit Kangaroos by 70 points to hand them a seventh consecutive loss.

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.

KANGAROOS v POWER Full match coverage and stats

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.

08:17

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.

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His former teammates had little interest in targeting him physically and the 19-year-old registered just one handball in the opening term, giving Kangaroos fans little chance to boo him.

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 halfback.

02:33

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.

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Even with Todd Marshall subbed out early with concussion, and Charlie Dixon (quad) and Junior Rioli (suspension) watching on from the sidelines, the Power had no issues finding goalkickers.

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 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.

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

Port Adelaide has an opportunity to firm up its top-four credentials with a win over Melbourne at Adelaide Oval next Saturday night.

Horne-Francis 1, Roos 0
There was plenty of talk in the lead-up to the game as Jason Horne-Francis prepared to face his old side. Adelaide-born Horne-Francis was drafted by North with pick No.1 in 2021 but after just one season with the Kangaroos last year, walked out to join Port. While his former teammates had little interest in targeting the 19-year-old, Kangaroos fans in the stands certainly let him know their thoughts with boos echoing around Blundstone Arena every time he went near it. While Horne-Francis had the last laugh on the scoreboard, it wasn't his best outing of the year, finishing with 15 possessions (seven contested), five tackles, four clearances and a goal.

Jy Simpkin and Jason Horne-Francis shake hands ahead of the round nine match between North Melbourne and Port Adelaide at Blundstone Arena on May 13, 2023. Picture: AFL Photos

Reckless Roo on report
North Melbourne defender Aidan Corr has a nervous wait ahead of him after being reported for striking. Corr's brazen 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 goalline. 

01:10

Jonas joins the goal party
Tom Jonas doesn't hit the scoreboard very often – in fact, before today he'd kicked just one goal from 209 games. But his second career goal, which came midway through the third term against the Roos, certainly was a memorable one. After looking like he was going to unload from well outside the 50m line, he unselfishly gave off the handball to a teammate before receiving it back and launching a ripping kick to give his side another goal.

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ALL THE HIGHLIGHTS

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: 6,310 at Blundstone Arena