ROUND 2
Saturday 7th of April.

PORT 5.1 7.6 11.8 16.10 (106)
GLENELG 01. 3.3 5.4 9.5 (59)

Star turn from new Magpie.

By Paul Kermode.
High-profile recruit ryan O'Connor started his career in Port Adelaide's black and white with a dominating performance, inspiring the Magpie's to an impressive 47-point victory over Glenelg at Alberton yesterday.
The burly ex-Essendon and Sydney big man bagged two goals and dished out 15 hand passes to eager team mates as he became the immediate focus of the Port forward line and became a huge factor in the Magpies' 16.10 (106) to 9.5 (59) victory.
O'Connor's impact on the game was far greater than even his impressive stats line would suggest, his physical presence clearing a path for smaller team mates and allowing Brian Beinke to play a cameo role in the second quarter.
With Port having a bye in round one, the Alberton faithful had to wait an extra week before seeing the biggest-name recruit of the season in action - and he didn't disappoint. "He brings the little blokes into the game and that's eactly why we recruited him - to be a dominant player in the forward line," coach Stephen Williams said.
Port's impressive performance yesterday, against a team that had recorded a stirring win against Sturt - was a clear indicator it was still smarting from last year's straight sets exit from the SANFL finals.

The Magpies pressured Glenelg into error and their defence kept the visitors goalless in the first quarter and conceded just three majors by half-time.
With ruckman Michael Spanagel dropping accross the half-back line with telling effect, the Tigers struggled for a clear path to goal and did not get a reward for their hard work further up the field.
Apart from the presence of O'Connor on the forward line, the other main difference in the Port Adelaide of 2001 was the number of players able to run through the midfield.
Ricky O'Loughlin started the match on fire on the ball and Braden Lyle worked hard from start to finish.
But when Williams was able to bring Julian wait and Darren Fraser off the bench it was clear this was a different side to the one which relied on too few to do too much in the midfield last year. "We figured last year that was an area we let ourselves down, so we put the hard word on everybody that if they want to play in that area they have to work hard," Williams said.
"And a lot of blokes worked hard. We've got the flexibility to run blokes out out of the back half and through the middle of the ground, and we'll continue to do that all year."
After its fabulous first-round victory, yesterday's match was a realitiy check of sorts for Glenelg. Although their work ethic and commitment could not be questioned, the Tigers struggled for the fluency that was a feature of its first half last week against Sturt.
Coach Brenton Honor said the main difference between week one and week two of his coaching tenure was simply skill level.
"Our stats indicators were around the mark - we had as much of the footy as they did, we went inside the 50 as much as they did, centre breaks were about the same - but the major difference was they were so much cleaner and their skill level was a lot higher," he said.

BEST PLAYERS: Cook, Hele, Cornes, Byrne, Angwin.
SCORERS: Greenwood 2.0, M.Raidis 1.1, Hay, Angwin, Thompson, Cook, Smythe, Cornes 1.0, D.Raidis, Burke 0.1, rushed 0.2.
INJURIES: Liptak (hamstring), Thompson (groin).
CROWD: 3626.