Round 20, 2003
Port Adelaide vs Melbourne
Saturday 16 August
Venue: Football Park
Attendance: 28,032
| 1st | 2nd | 3rd | Final | |
| Port Adelaide | 6.2 | 10.3 | 14.6 | 17.10.112 |
| Melbourne | 2.0 | 6.5 | 10.6 | 15.8.98 |
Port Adelaide win by 14 points
Goalkickers: David Neitz 5, Russell Robertson 4, Cameron Bruce 1, Simon Godfrey 1, Brad Green 1, Scott Thompson 1, Matthew Whelan 1, Luke Williams 1
Brownlow Votes:
3 - Nathan Brown
Milestones:
Nil
The two sides were going in very different directions, with Port Adelaide playing to win their first minor premiership and the Demons trying to arrest a slump that had seen them lose their last five games.
Melbourne recalled Ryan Ferguson and Brad Green, but lost Alistair Nicholson with a foot injury.
The Demons win in round 7 was one of just four losses for the year for the Power, but the two sides had travelled in drastically different directions since.
With the Demons flooding back to clog the Power forward line they were forced to continue with their high-possession game which had drawn so much criticism, but despite taking a four goal lead into the first break they couldn't break away.
Daniel Ward, Nathan Brown, James McDonald and Brad Green were providing plenty of run in the midfield, while Neitz and Robertson were powerful targets up front.
Media
Age - 17/08/2003