Fears of a potential ACL injury to captain Janelle Cuthbertson has soured Port Adelaide's commanding 40-point AFLW victory over the battling Western Bulldogs at the MCG.
Key forward Julia Teakle kicked four goals as the Power responded to their first-round showdown loss to Adelaide to claim a 7.4 (46) to 0.6 (6) win and get their season off the mark.
But Port will nervously await scans after Cuthbertson grabbed her already-strapped left knee after landing awkwardly from an aerial contest and was immediately helped from the ground.
She was ruled out of the rest of the match and will have scans..
"Janelle - I think it's a left knee. It doesn't look great at this point," coach Lauren Arnell said.
"Yeah, there are concerns there (about the ACL) and obviously we'll get a scan and get a better medical opinion off the back of it, but it's not looking good at the moment."
Bulldogs star Ellie Blackburn appeared to suffer a shoulder injury in a heavy hit from Port Adelaide's Ebony O'Dea in the third term but played on.
The game was moved from Whitten Oval to the MCG, and switched from a standalone game to a double header with the AFL elimination final between the Bulldogs and Hawthorn later on Friday night.
Bulldogs coach Tamara Hyett admitted the bigger stage was a challenge for her younger group, while the MCG probably wasn't properly kitted out for double headers, in terms of dressing rooms.
"Not just yet. We are in the cricket nets," Hyett said.
"But that's OK - we've been in worse in women's football, I can tell you that.
"So the cricket nets might be an upgrade from eight years ago to be honest.
"Look, we know that we've got a lot of work to do but we're ticking little boxes along the way and the experience that the girls will gain from tonight is probably paramount."
Teakle, 21, was the star of the show
"We love Teaks - she's the ultimate team player," Arnell said.
"She works so hard every single opportunity she gets at Alberton to practice her goal kicking.
"She's just been a master of her craft since the first day she walked in the door and the fact that she got to show that at the MCG is pretty awesome."
Former Bulldog Kirsty Lamb kicked two goals while forward Gemma Houghton was influential.
The Bulldogs went goalless and have kicked just one goal across two games after a first-round thumping from GWS.
Hyett conceded closing the gap to better teams wasn't "a quick fix" and it would probably take two to three years.
Isabelle Pritchard (22 touches) impressed along with Blackburn (25 disposals, seven clearances).
Lauren Arnell's Power led by 11 at quarter time, 23 at half time then kicked away in the second half.
The Bulldogs (0-2) host West Coast at Whitten Oval next Thursday while Port (1-1) play Fremantle at Alberton next Saturday.
