It was presented as the biggest showdown on earth, but while Port Adelaide thrived on the centre stage, Adelaide appeared overwhelmed by the occasion in the opening performance at Adelaide Oval.

For four shaky minutes early in the third quarter, the Crows led, but five unanswered goals to end saw Port march to a crushing win – its most memorable home-and-away performance.

It delivered on the promise from coach Ken Hinkley that Port would never give up, while Adelaide struggled to overcome its appalling and costly turnovers that surely left coach Brenton Sanderson angry and the fans bewildered.

To again fade away so badly tells us that something is seriously wrong with this club, while Port is an outstanding competitor again worthy of the high expectation many have placed on it this season.

For all the hype surrounding this historic match, Adelaide’s blatant lack of composure under pressure – a repeat of its round-one match against Geelong – must surely be of serious concern.

No one could question the commitment of either side. At times the match was brutal; occasionally niggly with a few scuffles, and the fight for the ball was intense.

The coaches declared this game would be about clearances, contested possessions and tackles, and they were basically right. Not in the equation was Adelaide’s puzzling repeated short passing to opponents, costing three goals in the first half – the margin at that stage.

Port thoroughly deserved this win. It obviously worked hard and its ability to switch the play and move into attack was impressive. Again, Adelaide was caught a few times by not having a player at the back of the play, and Port was able to break the packs or the lines and find teammates at least 15-20 metres in the clear and able to run into an unguarded goal square.

As the occasion demanded, leaders were required to emerge, and none did it better than Port vice-captain Brad Ebert, particularly the manner in which he set a high standard in a torrid opening.

It was also about creating special moments, and Port’s five-goal burst to end the third quarter that turned the game back into its favour was magical, especially Chad Wingard’s freakish goal while being tackled.

Port had many of those quality moments that inspired all. In contrast, Adelaide had far too many players who simply didn’t measure up on the big stage, especially its big forwards James Podsiadly and Shaun McKernan. The brightest light in attack was Eddie Betts, who contested valiantly.

Port had a host of these players apart from the classy Ebert. Hamish Hartlett wasn’t far behind him as best-on-ground, and again in a big match showed his immense talent. Jared Polec was damaging with his run and class, a performance that rubbed further salt into the Crows’ wounds given the fact he almost joined the club from the Brisbane Lions.

It was a magnificent contest despite the Crows’ skill flaws, and Port will talk about this for some time. A great win at an amazing venue. There is much to like about Port again this season, but one questions whether Adelaide has the players capable of making an impact this season. Honest triers, but right now that’s about all.