Fremantle have failed to make a winning start to life at their new home ground, marking their debut game for premiership points at Cockburn ARC Oval with a 21-point defeat to Port Adelaide.

The 2514 fans who saw history made at the newly-redeveloped venue enjoyed a festival atmosphere but were given only fleeting moments to cheer for their Dockers, who were plagued by a persistent disconnect between their midfield and forward line in a 6.5 (41) to 2.8 (20) loss.

Despite the defeat, veteran on-baller Kiara Bowers put in a typically lion-hearted effort, applying nine trademark tackles while winning 24 disposals.

The points in a hugely-anticipated ruck battle between Mim Strom (15 hit-outs, 19 disposals) and Matilda Scholz (25 hit-outs, 16 disposals) went the way of the emerging Power superstar, who had more influence around the ground than the All Australian Docker in her milestone 75th game.

And while former Fremantle forward Gemma Houghton went without a goal for the visitors, the defensive attention the prolific forward attracted brought the rest of their attacking threats into the game.

Meanwhile, Fremantle’s struggles to find their targets in blustery conditions meant their star forward recruit Eden Zanker cut an isolated figure for much of the afternoon and finished with only four disposals.

Just seconds into the season, Fremantle were given a big scare when Hayley Miller went down clutching her knee, but the stalwart was able to carry on after receiving some treatment.

The Dockers notched nine of the game’s 11 first inside-50s as they largely bossed proceedings in the opening term, although it brought only four behinds as they failed to make the most of their chances.

And they were promptly made to pay for an inefficient start by Katelyn Pope converting a set shot to give the Power the first goal of the day.

Fremantle blazed away with regularity in the first half and Port defender Teagan Germech was all too happy to pick them off, with the Power defender reeling in five intercept marks before five minutes had elapsed in the second term.

Down the other end, the visitors franked their strong start through midfield star Abbey Dowrick, who broke loose of a contest to slot their second goal on the run.

The game’s direction of travel appeared clear when Port matched the two goals they managed in the first half inside the first four minutes of the third term through Ashleigh Woodland and WA product Emily Elkington — who was only officially signed by the club in midweek — hitting the scoreboard.

At last, the Dockers responded by coming up with their first goal of the season through Miller, who finished off a passage of play featuring some precise ball movement they had been in desperate need of.

While they quickly followed up through Matilda Banfield, their second goal had come in response to a Lauren Young major which meant they would need to come up with at least four more late to win the game.

The effect of Houghton was clear when she drew both defenders in a two-on-two contest in the early stages of the final term, allowing Indy Tahau to slam the easiest of goals through from close range to all but make a certainty of the result.

On a perfect day for football, the Dockers tired late and were unable to find the verve they needed to mount a genuine attempt at a comeback.

SCOREBOARD

PORT ADELAIDE 1.2, 2.3, 5.4, 6.5 (41)

FREMANTLE 0.4, 0.4, 2.5, 2.8 (20)

Goals - PORT ADELAIDE: L Young A Woodland I Tahau K Pope E Elkington A Dowrick.

FREMANTLE: H Miller M Banfield.

BEST - PORT ADELAIDE: M Scholz T Germach A Woodland A Dowrick K Pope L Young.

FREMANTLE: K Bowers A McCarthy G Newton M Strom A Brazill.

Umpires: T Burgess J Orr C Bowen. Crowd: 2514 at Cockburn ARC Oval.