GEELONG has fallen to Port Adelaide by 38-points in their Round 14 clash at Adelaide Oval on Thursday night.

The Cats got off to a strong start, but a seven-goal streak to the Power in the third term saw the home side surge to a 16.14 (110) to 11.6 (72) victory.

POWER v CATS Full match coverage and stats

The win further strengthens the Power's charge for a top-two finish, with Ken Hinkley's team moving to 12-2 and looking close to unbeatable in the second half of the season.

Port Adelaide's ability to turn clearances into scores, which has been a major strength this season, was phenomenal as tall forwards Jeremy Finlayson (four goals) and Todd Marshall (three) capitalised.

Forward Sam Powell-Pepper (two) was also outstanding, while half-back Dan Houston continued a terrific season with 31 disposals and six clearances.

As good as they were after half-time, Port has rarely looked as sluggish during its winning run as it did in the opening quarter, getting caught on the back foot by Geelong. 

The Cats were slick on the outside and dominated uncontested ball (62-29) as they raced to a 20-point lead on the back of some brilliance from Gary Rohan, who kicked three of the first five goals of the game.

The premiership Cat leapt over ruckman Scott Lycett and then tall defender Aliir Aliir to take contested grabs and set the tone for his team, which looked in total control at the first break.

The response from Port didn't take long, with the match reverting to a contested slog in the second term as the home team ramped up its pressure around the ball and started to control the stoppages.

Back-to-back goals through former Cat Quinton Narkle, who was making his Power debut as a mid-season recruit, and Finlayson cut the half-time margin to just seven points.

The Cats still had reason to believe they were in control of the contest, but it wouldn't last, with Powell-Pepper launching the Power's seven-goal run early in the third term with some magic from the pocket, gathering at pace and dribbling the ball through with the outside of his right boot.

A stoppage domination ensured for the next 20 minutes as the Power's forwards lined up for their turn, with Finlayson's third goal deep in the quarter extending the lead to 30 points.

Geelong, to its credit, had one more effort to give and was able to cut the margin to 12 points early in the final term after premiership veteran Isaac Smith snapped on his left.

But their short run was quickly snuffed out by a Power team that showed its vast array of weapons might be even more dangerous than the competition suspected.

Max Holmes and Zach Guthrie were among the Cats' better players.

In his first game back in the senior side since Round 10, Holmes finished with seven tackles and seven clearances to go with his 24 disposals (15 contested). Whilst Guthrie gathered a team-high 26 disposals and seven marks.

Geelong will return to GMHBA Stadium to host Melbourne in Round 15 on next Thursday at 7.20pm.

PORT ADELAIDE     2.6    5.8    12.9     16.14 (110)
GEELONG                6.2    7.3    10.4     11.6 (72)

GOALS
Port Adelaide: Finlayson 4, Marshall 3, Powell-Pepper 2, Narkle 2, Butters, Byrne-Jones, Drew, Burton, McEntee
Geelong: Rohan 3, Hawkins 2, Smith, O'Connor, Dangerfield, Henry, Cameron, Close

BEST
Port Adelaide: Houston, Marshall, Powell-Pepper, Finlayson, Butters, Rozee, Wines
Geelong: Holmes, Z Guthrie, Tuohy, Rohan, Duncan

INJURIES
Port Adelaide: Nil
Geelong: Nil

LATE CHANGES
Port Adelaide: Junior Rioli (illness), replaced in the selected side by Quinton Narkle
Geelong: Jon Ceglar (adductor), replaced in the selected side by Zach Tuohy

SUBSTITUTES
Port Adelaide: Riley Bonner (replaced Josh Sinn in the third quarter)
Geelong: Jack Bowes (replaced Tanner Bruhn in the third quarter)

Crowd: TBC at Adelaide Oval