Mattaes Phillipou during the round five match between Port Adelaide and St Kilda at Adelaide Oval, April 11, 2026. Picture: AFL Photos

ST KILDA has survived a late scare from Port Adelaide for a season-steadying 14-point triumph in Gather Round's finale.

The Saints twice led by healthy margins before holding off Power comebacks for a 12.9 (81) to 9.13 (67) win at a rain-soaked Adelaide Oval.

POWER v SAINTS Full match coverage and stats

St Kilda held a match-high 32 point lead in the second term of Sunday night's fixture, and remained 31 points ahead midway through the third.

But the Power, propelled by Zak Butters (30 disposals), rallied with the next three goals.

Port trailed by nine points at three-quarter time, and got within eight early in the last quarter.

ALL THE HIGHLIGHTS

But a rare goal from recruit Jack Silvagni, from a 50m 'stand' penalty against Jason Horne-Francis, gave the Saints precious space before a long Mattaes Phillipou bomb effectively sealed victory.

St Kilda's win lifts them to a two-three record, the same as Port.

Trump card Nasiah Wangeen-Milera was influential with two goals, 28 disposals, nine tackles and eight clearances.

08:13

Highlights: Port Adelaide v St Kilda

The Power and Saints clash in round five of the 2026 Toyota AFL Premiership Season

Teammates Mitch Owens and Phillipou also kicked two majors while Jack Sinclair (23 disposals) and Hugo Garcia (26, one goal) provided grunt in the packs.

Port's Butters, acting captain in the absence of Connor Rozee (hamstring), was outstanding, as was Horne-Francis (two goals, 26 touches).

00:48

Big fireworks as Butters rocks Nasiah with huge tackle

Superstars collide as Zak Butters lays a crunching tackle on Nasiah Wanganeen-Milera in a fiery moment on the wing

Veterans Darcy Byrne-Jones (21 touches, one goal) and Ollie Wines (26 possessions) revelled in the wet, while spearhead Mitch Georgiades and Corey Durdin both kicked two goals.

The Saints dominated the opening term with four consecutive goals. When Phillipou converted, they led 27-0.

00:32

Electric Saints slam two in seconds in clinical centre runs

Hugo Garcia drills a beautiful finish straight out of the middle before Max Hall curls a quick shot just moments later

Port, deploying Jase Burgoyne to a close-checking role on Wanganeen-Milera in the first half, trailed by 20 points at quarter-time.

Wanganeen-Milera got busy early in the second term, kicking a goal and delivering inside 50m for another as St Kilda crafted a match-high 32-point break.

00:43

Elite Nas continues to damage with sweet snap

Nasiah Wanganeen-Milera collects cleanly and nails his second goal of the night with a classy finish

But Port responded with a three-goal quarter only for a late Owens strike to boost St Kilda's half-time advantage to 27 points.

A third-term flashpoint soon gave the Saints further scoring ammunition when Owens was given a dubious free kick for a ruck infringement.

Butters' verbal outburst was penalised 50m and he was reported for abusive language as Owens goaled from close range.

01:14

'Someone said something': Port stars fume at costly call

Mitch Owens is taken to the goalsquare after Port Adelaide is penalised for dissent in this incident involving Zak Butters and Ollie Wines

That put the Saints 31 points clear and, with heavy rain falling, seemingly safe.

Butters and Horne-Francis rallied their troops as Port scored four goals to two in the third quarter, but Port could only come as close as eight points in the last term before the Saints kicked clear.

00:43

Clutch Phillipou flushes monster after costly Aliir howler

Mattaes Phillipou breaks away and launches a huge finish from beyond 50 after Aliir Aliir turns the footy over at the wrong time

I can't believe it's Butters
With St Kilda leading by 25 points and the rain pouring down, Port Adelaide needed a good start to the second half and looked like they had one when Jason Horne-Francis appeared to slot a goal from 35 metres. But then it was ruled to have scraped the post. The ball went down the other end where Jordon Sweet infringed against Mitch Owens in the ruck and a 50 metre penalty was paid for abuse from Zak Butters, the superstar midfielder reported for disent. Suddenly the job was a whole lot bigger for the Power.

01:04

‘I didn’t say anything bad’: Butters hits back on umpire dissent

Zak Butters delivers a raw post-match response after being reported for dissent, insisting he said nothing inappropriate and will ‘follow it up’

Best of friends the best of enemies
Nasiah Wanganeen-Milera is drawing a tag most weeks this year and has had some trouble dealing with the attention, so Josh Carr obviously thought it would be a well-advised tactical move. But one would have to wonder if the choice of tagger was the right one. The Saints' two-million dollar man put in a sparkling performance despite the close attention of Jase Burgoyne - one of his best friends - who seemed reluctant to bring much behind-the-scenes aggression to try and distract Wanganeen-Milera.

PORT ADELAIDE   1.2    4.5    8.11    9.13 (67)
ST KILDA              4.4    8.8    10.8    12.9 (81) 

GOALS
Port Adelaide: Georgiades 2, Durdin 2, Horne-Francis 2, Byrne-Jones, Butters, Berry
St Kilda: Wanganeen-Milera 2, Owens 2, Phillipou 2, Wood, Silvagni, Sharman, Ryan, Hall, Garcia

BEST
Port Adelaide: Butters, Horne-Francis, Byrne-Jones, Aliir, Georgiades
St Kilda: Wanganeen-Milera, Garcia, Wilkie, Windhager, Sinclair

INJURIES
Port Adelaide: TBC
St Kilda: TBC

Crowd: TBC at Adelaide Oval