The reactive home side was second to the footy and fumbly when they had it in their clutches and errant in front of goals.
The closing stages of the quarter couldn’t have unravelled more badly for the home side.
Charlie Dixon missed a snap from close range and was made to pay when Tom Hawkins kicked a fine goal at the other end.
Then inside the last 30 seconds, Wines uncharacteristically missed Rozee with a routine handpass before Houston attempted an ill-advised, no-look, overhead handball which was chopped off by Gryan Miers and ended with Jeremy Cameron’s snapped goal, nine seconds before the quarter-time siren.
A couple of goals late in the half to mid-season draftee Quinton Narkle and Jeremy Finlayson gave the Power the momentum at the main interval and they capitalised grandly.
At one stage in the third period, Port led the possession count 26-3, were out-tackling the Cats with their immense pressure, dominating the clearances and looked like goaling every time they moved forward, which was often.
Houston’s playmaking was influential, Sam Powell-Pepper and Finlayson’s finishing of the highest calibre and Geelong were left out of answers and, still, outside the top eight.
The Cats conjured three goals either side of three-quarter-time to stem the bleeding but it was only a temporary fix.
BURTON’S BOMB
Shutdown defender Ryan Burton, recalled to Port’s line-up after being surprisingly relegated to the SANFL last weekend, showed why he is lethal when given room anywhere in the half-forward zone.
Rohan flew high but spilled a mark in the middle and Burton, his direct opponent, kept his feet, picked up the crumbs and blazed successfully from inside the centre-square.
PORT’S HEARTBEAT
Isaac Smith’s goal to start the fourth quarter gave the Cats life and reduced the deficit to 12 points.
But their hopes were quickly extinguished thanks to the brilliance of Powell-Pepper.
Often described as the Power’s heartbeat, tough-as-old-boots Powell-Pepper fended off Zach Guthrie, spun past Jack Bowes then dribbled through a stunner from the south-eastern pocket.
Powell-Pepper’s muscular second half was pivotal in Port’s emphatic rearguard.
Best: Port – Houston, Rozee Marshall, Powell-Pepper, Wines, Finlayson, Allir, Butters. Geelong – Holmes, Z. Guthrie, Smith, Tuohy, Rohan, Blicavs.
Port Adelaide 16.14 (110) d Geelong 11.6 (72)