PORT Adelaide has held off a charging West Coast to win a thrilling clash at Optus Stadium by six points, with the Power defending grimly in the final quarter on Saturday night to snap a four-game losing streak.

Port led by 22 points deep in the third quarter but were forced to dig in through the final term and scrap for their fourth win of the season, surviving a one-sided finish to win 11.11 (77) to 10.11 (71).

EAGLES v POWER Full match coverage and stats

The Power had to withstand a barrage of inside 50s (19-8) in the final quarter, finally prevailing in a close game after being on the end of four losses this season by less than a goal. 

They were helped by missed opportunities for West Coast deep in the game, with spearhead Jake Waterman, young forward Jobe Shanahan and premiership defender Tom Cole all missing set shots down the stretch.

Star midfielder Jason Horne-Francis kicked the Power's only goal for the quarter in a critical intervention, sneaking forward in space and then converting on the run to cap a terrific game for the powerful ball-winner.

The loss for West Coast was compounded by an injury to young star Reuben Ginbey, who suffered a quad injury while chasing opponent Mitch Georgiades desperately in the third quarter, robbing the Eagles of their No.1 key defender.  

Port also lost ninth-gamer Josh Lai to a head knock after he was collected by teammate Esava Ratugolea in friendly fire, with the Power bruised and battered by the final siren as several players cramped in the dying minutes. 

Ratugolea and sidekick Aliir Aliir were terrific in defence, while star midfielder Zak Butters (27 disposals and seven clearances) battled through a tag from Brady Hough to have an influence. Horne-Francis proved the difference with three goals.

There might have been early concerns that Port Adelaide was flat after its week off when stopper Hough snapped the opening goal one minute in, but Josh Carr's team quickly adjusted to the Eagles’ pressure and started to win the contest battle.

Their tall defenders got to work and began to dominate the game, with Aliir and Ratugolea combining for 10 intercepts in the opening quarter and setting up repeated scoring chains as Tom Cochrane, Christian Moraes and Joe Berry capitalised.  

The visitors were inaccurate, however, and only led by six points at quarter-time, despite largely controlling the game and generating nine scoring shots to three.

West Coast continued to feed Port's turnover game with poor skills in the second term, falling 19 points behind as the Power grew in confidence following goals for Horne-Francis and Todd Marshall.

Elliot Yeo was sent behind the ball to try and halt Port Adelaide’s momentum, while Waterman stood up to kick a crucial goal and Willem Duursma grew in influence with 10 disposals for the quarter.

In one crucial passage, Tom Cole marked at half forward and had options ahead of him to move the ball quickly inside 50, but play was halted to allow Jacob Wehr to gather himself after the contest, despite no apparent injury.

The moment was lost and the Power won possession and whisked the ball the length of the ground for Berry to kick his second goal, with Waterman cutting the half-time margin to 11 points with a late goal.

Port threatened to charge away in the third quarter, but the Eagles kept finding goals at crucial times to stay in the game. The loss of Ginbey was a massive blow, however, with the All-Australian contender limping off after a desperate chase to the goalline.  

Port built a 22-point lead deep in the quarter after goals for Horne-Francis and Jordon Sweet, and might have broken the Eagles if another late effort from Sweet wasn't touched by Tylar Young.

The game remained alive, however, after redeployed forward Cole kicked a terrific goal on the run from 45m, giving the Eagles momentum before they attempted to chase down the Power in a thrilling final quarter.  

Angry Waterman keeps head in the game 
West Coast spearhead Jake Waterman was clearly frustrated with himself in the second quarter when he dropped an uncontested mark in the goalsquare and allowed opponent Aliir Aliir to rush a behind. He stayed active inside 50, however, and redemption came quickly as the Eagles won back possession and found the big man on the lead. Waterman slammed the ball on the deck after marking, kicked the goal with a floating set shot, and then shook his head in frustration as teammates got to him. With 28 goals and 34 behinds now this season, set shot kicking has been an ongoing issue for Waterman. He continues to present for his team, however, amid a testing run and has played key roles in wins over GWS and Essendon, even if a late miss on Saturday will leave a bad taste. 

Starcevich arrives just in time 
The loss of key defender Reuben Ginbey to a quad injury is a massive blow for West Coast, with the young star sure to be in the top two again of the club's best and fairest at this point after an All-Australian level season. The player who may need to step up as a tall defender is dual premiership backman Brandon Starcevich, who showed plenty of grit and composure in his club debut for West Coast, winning contested balls and laying some crunching tackles. The Eagles' backline shaped as a strength this season, but the club may not get to see its best six defenders together this year as Harry Edwards works through concussion issues and Ginbey heads for assessment. Rhett Bazzo has stepped up well as a tall defender in recent weeks, while Tylar Young's improved form is also encouraging. Starcevich shapes as a key player, however, in the second half of the season.   

WEST COAST            3.0   5.2   8.5   10.11 (71)
PORT ADELAIDE      3.6   6.7   10.9   11.11 (77)

GOALS
West Coast: Waterman 3, Cole 2, Allan, Duursma, Hough, Shanahan, Yeo
Port Adelaide: Horne-Francis 3, Berry 2, Cochrane, Durdin, Georgiades, Marshall, Moraes, Sweet

BEST
West Coast: McCarthy, Waterman, Kelly, Cole, Reid, Duursma, Yeo 
Port Adelaide: Ratugolea, Horne-Francis, Sweet, Aliir, Butters, Richards

INJURIES
West Coast: Ginbey (quad)
Port Adelaide: Lai (head knock)  

Crowd: 47,479 at Optus Stadium