Port Adelaide saved some face - but may have lost pick No.3 at the national draft - by thumping lowly Melbourne by 78 points at AAMI Stadium.

In an uninspiring spectacle, witnessed by the second lowest crowd ever for a Port home game, the Power sprinted to an early lead and were never seriously challenged in the 18.21 (129) to 7.9 (51) victory.

The 18,885 spectators who did show up were treated to a welcome return to form by Power veteran Peter Burgoyne, who demonstrated that he should earn another contract for next year in a stylish and confident display.

His brother Shaun was also prominent, while Domenic Cassisi did the hard things and Daniel Motlop finished off nicely with five goals.

Less happy news for the Power came in the form of a win for Richmond over Fremantle, meaning Port will go from 14th to 13th with one round remaining, a position that will give them draft pick No.4.

The desperately poor Demons had few winners, though James McDonald, Brad Miller and Paul Wheatley battled hard.

Kicking with the aid of a slight breeze in the first, Port quickly set about building a bridgehead against opponents predictably lacking in skill and system.

Joined in the side by his debutant cousin Marlon, Daniel Motlop celebrated by nailing three of his side's six first term majors, proving more than a match for Colin Garland.

Thirty-six points clear at quarter time, the Power fiddled badly with the ball early in the second, allowing the Demons to soak up some pressure in some of the least inspiring passages of play seen all year.

But Motlop re-opened the gates with his fourth, and further goals to David Rodan and Justin Westhoff stretched the halftime gap to 48 points.

There would again be little to enthuse about in the third, Melbourne creeping ever so slightly into Port's advantage by compiling 2.4 to the home side's 1.7.

Port would improve on that, finding greater fluency up forward thanks to ruckman Brendon Lade, and Cassisi's nifty snap put an exclamation point on the result.

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