A day after Matthew Lloyd eased doubts about his usefulness to Essendon with a five-goal performance, Port Adelaide spearhead Warren Tredrea did likewise by notching six, his best haul in four years, against Melbourne.

Tredrea's quiet start to 2009 had attracted some speculation that the 30-year-old might follow the loss of the Port captaincy by giving up his place in the team to a younger body.

There was some irony then in a display against the Demons that was helped noticeably by the absence of young marking target Justin Westhoff, which left Tredrea as the forward line focal point he yearns to be again after being afflicted by a series of knee problems.

In recent times Tredrea has seemed a cameo player at best in Port's forward setup, as the likes of Westhoff, Daniel Motlop and Brett Ebert demand the ball instead via younger legs.

But on Sunday he was back to the forefront against an admittedly modest opponent, suggesting there is more football left in his creaking body, and visibly pleasing Power coach Mark Williams.

"It was great wasn't it, he's fully aware if you don't kick goals in the forward line you can't just keep getting a gold pass, and especially when you're not captain anymore it makes it even more critical for him to be involved in kicking goals," he said.

"He kicked particularly straight when we really needed him and that was great.

"You saw the other night with Matty Lloyd going to full forward and saying 'this is it, I'm going to show something' and it's great for those quality forwards, everyone loves to see them and it was great for our fans."

An unabashed fan of Tredrea, Williams admitted there had been times when even he doubted his ability to get back into touch.

"There have been some occasions when we thought he may have been on his last legs, but he's continually a person who bats against the odds and keeps coming up," he said.

"So you're never quite sure how much more he's got but he's a very determined man."

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