Chris Judd must have liked what he saw from the sidelines as Carlton over-ran Port Adelaide in the first round AFL pre-season cup match at AAMI Stadium.

Lacking their prize signing Judd but able to call on a raft of young talent including last year's No. 1 draft pick Matthew Kreuzer, the Blues trailed badly early and narrowly at halftime before accelerating crucially in the third term to win 1.13.13 (100) to 0.12.13 (85).

Missing plenty of high profile names including Chad and Kane Cornes, Brendon Lade and Brett Ebert, the Power were inconsistent, and went missing for much of the third as the Blues built their matchwinning lead.

Ex-Crow Darren Pfeiffer was a standout for the Blues, while Brendon Fevola's influence extended well beyond his goals and Ryan Houlihan also contributed nicely.

Kreuzer drifted in and out of proceedings but enjoyed the distinction of booting a long goal with his first kick.

Steve Salopek (three goals), Matt Thomas and fit-again Warren Tredrea all had their moments for Port.

The first term was a see-saw, Port dominating the first 10 minutes to claim a 22-point advantage and Carlton the final 15 to finish the term up by 11.

Port's reliance on handball resulted in several dead ends after the fast start, and the team lost fluency and run towards the end in temperatures that nudged 36 degrees during the day.

They looked fresher after quarter-time, and the sun lost its bite as the shadows lengthened.

Dean Brogan's ruck ascendancy was proving useful, while Tredrea was showing all the benefits of a full pre-season after recovering from a series of knee complaints.

By halftime the Power were seven points clear, but doing so with a statistical dominance that suggested a wider margin.

Unfortunately for a small but Power-backing crowd, the Blues chose to confound this trend in the third, skipping away to as Fevola called the shots up forward.

Career defender Bret Thornton nailed two of the first three goals, Pfeiffer the other, and further majors to Cameron Cloke and finally Fevola gave the Blues a not inconsiderable 21-point buffer.

They did well to maintain it in the last as the Power's superiority at the stoppages gave the home side numerous opportunities to narrow the margin.

Port crept to within nine points deep in time-on, but young ruckman Shaun Hampson's cool free kick removed all doubt.

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