EMERGING Port star Hamish Hartlett has inspired his team to a 54-point win over Carlton on Saturday night, shattering the Blues' top-four ambitions in the process.

Port triumphed 14.15 (99) to 6.9 (45) at AAMI Stadium, with Jay Schulz and Hartlett each kicking three goals.

Hartlett produced a triple highlight of long, running goals, beating fellow onballer Matthew Broadbent (two goals) for best afield honours.

The Blues were overly reliant on skipper Chris Judd for midfield drive and couldn't find a multiple goalkicker as they crashed to their third defeat in four matches.

Port's upset victory before 24,746 spectators was their third win in a row and fourth this season - one more than they managed last year.

Schulz set Port on the path to victory with a dominant first half, potting his side's opening two goals and setting up another to help create a 12-point break at quarter-time.

Carlton goalsneak Jeff Garlett booted the first goal of the second stanza but the Blues would muster just two more for the match.

After Garlett's major, the Power went on an unheralded scoring spree in heavy rain, reaping the next five goals to establish a match-defining 32-point advantage at half-time.

Port ensured they marked midfielder Travis Boak's 100th AFL game with a win by suffocating the visitors as they attempted a challenge in the third term.

Port only kicked one goal in the third, but Carlton could manage just the one major themselves to still trail by 33 points at the last change.

The result was confirmed five minutes into the last term when Broadbent kicked his second goal, with Hartlett later adding an exclamation mark to his game when booting his third major from outside 50 metres.

Two of Hartlett's goals came when the smooth-moving onballer was pressed near the boundary line, and the other was a 65-metre bomb from inside the centre square.

The Blues, who meet Geelong on Friday night, were without ruckman Matthew Kreuzer, who was a late withdrawal with hamstring tightness.

More to come...

PORT ADELAIDE    5.2    9.4    10.9     14.15 (99)
CARLTON                  3.1    4.2    5.6       6.9  (45)

GOALS
Port Adelaide: Hartlett, Schulz 3, Broadbent 2, Thomas, Pearce, Stewart, Brett Ebert, Wingard, Westhoff
Carlton: McLean, Betts, Walker, Garlett, Gibbs, Hampson

BEST
Port Adelaide: Hartlett, Broadbent, Brad Ebert, Thomas, Renouf, Schulz
Carlton: Ellard, McLean, Judd, Robinson, Warnock, Scotland

INJURIES
Port Adelaide: John McCarthy (corked calf) replaced in selected side by Andrew Moore, Jay Schulz
Carlton: Matthew Kreuzer (hamstring) replaced in selected side by Andrew Collins

SUBS:
Port Adelaide's Andrew Moore replaced Jay Schulz in the fourth quarter
Carlton's Andrew Collins replaced Ed Curnow in the third quarter

Reports
Port Adelaide: Nil
Carlton: Nil

Umpires: Ritchie, Jeffery, Bannister

Official crowd: 24, 476 at AAMI Stadium

The views in this article are those of the author and not necessarily those of the clubs or the AFL.