A CAREER-HIGH six-goal haul to forward Taylor Walker has propelled Adelaide to a 19-point win over Port Adelaide in their Showdown clash on Sunday.

Walker was unstoppable, helping the Crows overcome a three-point three-quarter time deficit to triumph 16.14 (110) to 14.7 (91) in front of 41,469 spectators.

Five talking points: Adelaide v Port Adelaide

Standout displays from a trio of Adelaide midfielders also helped flatten the Power.

Emerging star Patrick Dangerfield gathered 39 disposals, including 15 contested possessions, and 14 times propelled Adelaide inside their attacking 50m arc.

His midfield colleagues Scott Thompson (34 touches) and Rory Sloane (27 possessions, 15 contested) were also influential.

Port's tall forwards Justin Westhoff and John Butcher each kicked four goals but lost their attacking colleague Jay Schulz to an eye injury, which is likely to keep him out of next Sunday's clash with Richmond.

After a traditionally tight opening, Walker stunned Port with three goals in three minutes.

Walker's burst at the start of the second term created a 19-point buffer for the Crows at half-time - the ultimate winning margin.

Dangerfield had 21 touches and Walker four goals by the long break, with Port's cause hampered by Schulz's injury in the second quarter.

Schulz lowered his head and appeared to initiate contact with Adelaide veteran Michael Doughty, whose thumb poked the Power forward in the right eye.

Adelaide appeared on a path to victory when 27 points up four minutes into the third quarter after Jared Petrenko's lively game was rewarded with a goal.

But Port, in an unheralded scoring burst, kicked six of the next seven goals to steal a three-point lead at the last change.

Port's purple patch included a worrying incident for Walker, whose slide into a grounded Jacob Surjan will be scrutinised by the Match Review Panel.

Westhoff and Butcher were crucial to the revival, with Port holding valuable momentum at three-quarter time.

But the Crows stemmed Port's flow in a tense nine-minute deadlock to open the last term which was broken by Adelaide goalsneak Ian Callinan.

The 29-year-old rookie marked and goaled, and two minutes later a 60m set shot bomb from Graham Johncock gave the Crows an 11-point break.

Walker then capped his influential performance with the next two goals and helped deliver Port a fourth loss from five outings this season.

Coach Matthew Primus lamented Port again slipping from a winning position - a common theme in their four losses in five rounds.

"I don't know if it's a habit," Primus said.

"But I think as every week goes on, the belief just drops that little bit more."


ADELAIDE                 4.3   10.4   12.7  16.14  (110)                 
PORT ADELAIDE     4.2     7.3   14.4   14.7    (91)         
 
GOALS
Adelaide: Walker 6, Petrenko, Johncock 2, Thompson, Jacobs, McKernan, Tippett, Wright, Callinan
Port Adelaide: Westhoff, Butcher 4, Broadbent, Ebert 2, Jacobs, Schulz
 
BEST
Adelaide: Dangerfield, Sloane, Walker, Thompson, Johncock, Jacobs
Port Adelaide: Westhoff, Ebert, Chaplin, Rodan, Cornes, Boak
 
INJURIES
Adelaide: van Berlo (leg)
Port Adelaide: Schulz (eye)
 
SUBSTITUTES
Adelaide: Ricky Henderson replaced Nathan van Berlo in the third quarter
Port Adelaide: Aaron Young replaced Jay Schulz at half-time
 
Reports: Nil
 
Umpires: Stewart, Nicholls, Hay
 
Official crowd: 41,649 at AAMI Stadium
 
The views in this article are those of the author and not necessarily those of the AFL or its clubs