The Western Bulldogs have suffered a 48-point loss to Port Adelaide at Adelaide Oval on Saturday afternoon.

The Bulldogs found themselves on the back-foot all day, unable to hit the scoreboard until the 21st minute of the opening term.

Captain Marcus Bontempelli broke his side's goal drought early in the second term.

But Port remained in control with five goals to three, with Mitch Georgiades slotting his fourth on the half-time siren for a 10.5 to 3.3 scoreline.

00:45

Bont breaks out the tricks in much-needed major

Marcus Bontempelli executes a crafty kick to give the Dogs their first goal of the game.

The Dogs' woes were compounded when Aaron Naughton was substituted with concussion, the key forward hurt when blocked behind play by Brandon Zerk-Thatcher.

Port, with Horne-Francis kicking two goals and missing another set shot, extended its lead to 52 points at three-quarter time.

The Bulldogs belatedly outscored the Power four goals to three in the final term.

Bontempelli, Tim English and Rhylee West scored two majors each and Adam Treloar had a match-high 38 disposals.

But the ninth-placed Dogs could slip six premiership points outside the top eight by the end of the round ahead of fixtures against Carlton, Geelong and Sydney.

PORT ADELAIDE                    5.2     10.5     12.8     15.12 (102)
WESTERN BULLDOGS          0.2       3.3       4.4        8.6 (54)  

GOALS
Port Adelaide: Georgiades 5, Horne-Francis 3, Wines, Sweet, Rozee, Narkle, Lord, Byrne-Jones, Butters
Western Bulldogs: West 2, English 2, Bontempelli 2, McNeil, Freijah

BEST
Port Adelaide: Rozee, Butters, Georgiades, Wines, Horne-Francis, Zerk-Thatcher
Western Bulldogs: Liberatore, Treloar, Bontempelli, English

INJURIES
Port Adelaide: Nil
Western Bulldogs: Naughton (concussion), O'Donnell (concussion)

SUBSTITUTES
Port Adelaide: Francis Evans (replaced Zak Butters in the fourth quarter)
Western Bulldogs: Joel Freijah (replaced Aaron Naughton in the second quarter)

Crowd: TBC at Adelaide Oval