Power crush Crows, Motlop under scrutiny

Port Adelaide's mercurial forward Daniel Motlop faces scrutiny for a spear tackle in
his side's 56-point thumping of Adelaide in their season-opening AFL NAB Cup match.
Motlop's misguided moment is certain to be investigated in the aftermath of Port's
comprehensive 2.15.15 (123) to 1.8.10 (67) win at AAMI Stadium on Saturday.
Motlop lifted Crow Michael Doughty by a leg and dumped him in a questionable
second-quarter tackle which earnt a 50-metre penalty.
The gifted goalsneak immediately protested his innocence to field umpires in a match
cracked open by the Power in a devastating 15-minute burst.
Port led their hometown rivals by just nine points early in the third term but then
slammed on seven goals in a match-turning quarter of an hour which laid the
foundation of a deserved triumph.
Classy midfielder Travis Boak (21 disposals) and sweeping defender Nathan Krakouer
(20 touches) were massive influences and Port unearthed two snappy small men in
Cameron Hitchcock and Mitch Banner.
Rookie-listed Hitchcock and Banner, whose first season with Port last year was
cruelled by injury, each snared two goals in impressive displays while Justin
Westhoff kicked three - all in his side's third-term purple patch.
Hitchcock's productivity prematurely ceased with a third-quarter shoulder injury
from which he tried to return, but couldn't, while captain Dom Cassisi converted two
nine-point supergoals.
On the flip side, a disjointed Adelaide showed none of the form which hoisted them
to a semi-final berth in last year's premiership season.
In pre-season matches usually notable for the emergence of younger players, the
Crows relied heavily on their prolific captain Simon Goodwin (22 possessions and one
supergoal), veteran Brett Burton and regulars Bernie Vince and Chris Knights, who
both kicked two goals.