AS FARas 40-point losses go, Richmond could take several positives out of its defeat at the hands of Port Adelaide at AAMI Stadium.

One, it won the second half of football by three points, although it had been palpably outplayed to the long break, after which there was little sense of contest.

And two? Against the team sitting second on the ladder, the result threatened several times to get a lot uglier than the eventual 16.19 (115) to 10.15 (75) scoreline.

The class and execution of the Power set up a 43-point margin at half-time, after which the gap was never closer than 38 points.

There was little sting left in the Tigers’ tail as they lost their seventh straight game to open the season, the club’s worst opening since 1887 - three years after it entered the VFA, and two full decades before it became a VFL entity.

And historians are keeping watch: things look no rosier in the short term, as the Tigers return to AAMI Stadium next week for a visit to the Crows.

In the first half, Port was stronger, smoother and had more weapons at its disposal. Forward Damon White, initially manned by Brett Deledio, was the game’s dominant target when the game was decided in the first half, taking advantage of the undersized Richmond defence to take nine marks and kick a pair of goals by the long break.

His teammates had the advantage of seldom delivering the ball under pressure, capitalising on countless Tiger turnovers to break forward with ease.

Given Richmond’s No.1 ruckman Troy Simmons remains absent with injury, Adam Pattison and Matthew Richardson split his duties manfully, but they were no match for All-Australian Brendon Lade and the returning Dean Brogan.

The latter’s return allowed Lade to spell in the forward line, and with Graham Polak occupied keeping Warren Tredrea quiet, it proved an impossible match-up for the stretched visitors’ defence. Lade kicked all three of his goals by half time.

Polak was again amongst his side’s best, matching Tredrea’s single goal and keeping the Port Adelaide spearhead to minimal impact.

When Deledio was freed up the ground, and eventually went forward, he worked hard to make space and present, finishing with 17 marks, 22 possessions and two final-term goals as the Tigers kicked five goals to two in the last quarter.

Also kicking two in the fourth quarter was Richardson, who had a first half to forget, albeit being played largely out of position.

Through the middle, Nathan Foley impressed, gathering 30 touches, while returning rookie-list promotion Cam Howat played his best senior game to date with 24 touches and some tireless running. Skipper Kane Johnson added some physical spark around the contests, and Joel Bowden played with typical poise deep in defence.

Yet the class of the Power’s finishing proved pivotal in this contest. Kane Cornes led that charge, gathering 27 touches; his brother Chad produced a 26-touch outing of typical quality. Peter Burgoyne was also a standout, and David Rodan – delisted by the Tigers in the off-season - celebrated heartily when he booted his two goals.

That only illustrated Richmond’s inability to hit a target; the Tigers turned the ball over, often atrociously, wasting opportunities moving forward and making critical decision errors in defence.

It was never more evident than the decisive second quarter, when they kicked seven behinds for the term as a 14-point quarter-time margin slipped out to a 43-point deficit at the half.

Perhaps the threat of another humbling defeat injected some life into their effort - a Shane Tuck goal 17 minutes into the third term closed the margin to 38 points, arguably Richmond’s best period of the match, only to spark three quick Port majors, and any sense of contest was extinguished.

PORT ADELAIDE 5.4 10.10 14.16 16.19 (115)

RICHMOND 3.2 3.9 5.12 10.15 (75)

GOALS

Port Adelaide: B Lade 3 D White 2 D Rodan 2 D Motlop 2 D Pearce 2 S Burgoyne P Burgoyne K Cornes N Lonie W Tredrea.
Richmond: J Schulz 2 K Pettifer 2 M Richardson 2 B Deledio 2 G Polak S Tuck.

BEST

Port Adelaide: B Lade D White K Cornes C Cornes P Burgoyne D Pearce D Cassisi.
Richmond: N Foley K Johnson J Bowden G Tivendale B Deledio.

Umpires: L Farmer B Rosebury S Grun

Official crowd: 26,232 at AAMI Stadium

Reports: Nil.