Leading by 47 points early in the third term, Richmond then failed to kick a goal for more than a quarter before registering a 13.13 (91) to 8.6 (54) win.
Ruckman and new cult hero Ivan Maric played arguably the best game of his career, collecting a career-high in both disposals (20) and hit-outs (46) to be his team's best.
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Up forward, Robin Nahas booted three goals while spearhead Jack Riewoldt chipped in with four to lead the Tigers' goalkickers.
Despite the Tigers' lack of firepower in the third term, they were helped by a lacklustre Port, who belatedly rallied with four unanswered goals but crashed to its fifth loss in six rounds.
The Tigers set their winning tone early with the opening three goals of the game before Port scrapped to within six points early in the second term.
But Richmond then booted the next six goals to bust the game open.
Richmond's dominating second term set up the victory, with the Tigers restricting Port to just two entries inside their attacking 50m arc.
In contrast, the Tigers, driven by the likes of Dustin Martin and captain Chris Newman, had 19 inside 50s for five goals.
Richmond led 8.7 to 2.2 at half-time but it could have been more as a sloppy Port revisited its dark days of last year when it won only three games.
Within a minute of the third quarter, Port was 47 points down but the Power belatedly kicked the next four goals to trail by 24 points at the last change.
But Riewoldt, who also missed two set shots and sprayed another out of bounds on the full, sealed Richmond's deserved triumph with the opening goal of the final term.
Richmond coach Damien Hardwick admitted it was an "ugly" win, but said it was still an impressive performance after two consecutive 10-point losses.
"I've said previously our performance up to this stage was OK, without quite getting the four points, but to come over here and beat Port on their home deck by 37 points; it's not easy travelling," Hardwick said.
Hardwick expected his captain Chris Newman to recover from a shin injury and play against the Sydney Swans at the MCG on Saturday night.
Port will lose goalsneak Cameron Hitchcock (hamstring) for their trip to meet Fremantle next Sunday while veteran onballer Kane Cornes suffered a bruised knee.
PORT ADELAIDE 1.2 2.2 6.4 8.6 (54)
RICHMOND 3.2 8.7 9.10 13.13 (91)
GOALS
Port Adelaide: Renouf, Broadbent 2, Stewart, Jacobs, Butcher, Young
Richmond: Riewoldt 4, Nahas 3, King 2, Miller, Newman, Deledio, Conca
BEST
Port Adelaide: Ebert, Hartlett, Jacobs, Cassisi, Renouf, Boak
Richmond: Maric, Deledio, Tuck, Rance, Nahas, Morris, King
INJURIES
Port Adelaide: Surjan (dislocated finger), Hitchcock (hamstring), Cornes (knee)
Richmond: Newman (shin), Vickery (corked buttock)
SUBSTITUTES
Port Adelaide: Darren Pfeiffer replaced Cameron Hitchcock at quarter-time.
Richmond: Shane Edwards replaced Tyrone Vickery in the third quarter
Reports: Nil
Umpires: McBurney, Ritchie, Margetts
Official crowd: 18,552 at AAMI Stadium
The views in this article are those of the author and not necessarily those of the club
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