PORT ADELAIDE'S 12-point victory over the Crows yesterday was a case of a side with nothing to play for beating an opponent with everything to lose.

The Power ended a five-match losing run and seriously dented Adelaide's season with a 13.14 (92) to 11.14 (80) result at AAMI Stadium.

It was the Crows' fifth straight loss and dumped them out of the top eight for the first time since round one.

Crippled by injuries to Brett Burton and Jason Porplyzia, Adelaide must now be odds-on to miss the finals, while the Power can pride themselves on having their noses in front on the showdown ledger, 13-12.

"At 12-12 we wanted to stay ahead of the Crows in regard to that ledger, we have been in front every time the games have been played so it's really important for our club," Port coach Mark Williams said.

"We had a great effort from everyone, it was all about giving a bit of yourself for the club today."

In difficult, greasy conditions, it was Port's greater class at the stoppages and in front of goal that got them home.

Small forwards Daniel Motlop (four goals), Danyle Pearce (three) and Brett Ebert (four) all contributed significantly in attack for the Power.

Midfielder Steve Salopek was outstanding in his first game back from injury, Dom Cassisi was ever-present around the packs and Shaun Burgoyne had a serious influence in the third quarter.

Kane Cornes was significant too, completely shutting down the recalled Andrew McLeod.

Adelaide coach Neil Craig acknowledged the pressure generated by five consecutive losses.

"Any long losing streak for any football club at any level always poses a range of challenges and we're no different," Craig said. "What I can say is we'll continue to be very demanding in what we're doing, our preparation and the way we want to play our football, and we'll get out of it."

Elsewhere yesterday, Fremantle notched their third win of the season and moved a game clear of the dogfight to avoid the wooden spoon with a 46-point victory over Melbourne at Subiaco Oval.

The Dockers were terrible early and trailed by 34 points five minutes into the second quarter before launching a remarkable comeback.

With Fremantle controlling the clearances courtesy of Aaron Sandilands' dominance in the ruck, the Dockers piled on 13 of the next 14 goals to seal the 16.8 (114) to 10.8 (68) win.

Matthew Pavlich was the hero with five goals, 28 possessions, five clearances and five score assists.