The Saints trailed by a goal halfway through the third term when Adam Houlihan kicked his first major for the Power but the reigning premiers proceeded to slam on the next six goals to seal a gritty 9.14 (68) to 5.16 (46) victory.

The scoreboard defied the perfect conditions on offer with both sides’ defensive pressure contributing to the inaccuracy.

Neither team could manage a goal in the opening quarter and it wasn’t until the seven-minute mark of the second term – with the scoreboard reading 0.8 to 0.5 – that Brad Talbot kicked the first game’s first major.

The Power controlled large periods of the first half but were left to rue missed opportunities as the class of Josh McCudden, Liam Johnson and DJ Oates shone through.

Oates was locked in an engaging battle with Russell Anderson in the ruck but came into his own when the Power big man left the field with a shoulder injury.

Former AFL player Houlihan had his moments with some silky touches for the Power, who were best served by Tim Cooper, Jeremy Stevenson and veteran Brad Talbot.

Brock-Burrum co-coach Jarrod Hillary was relieved to emerge victorious and keep the Saints’ undefeated record intact with Luke Schilg, Dean Murphy and Nico Sedgwick all chances to return against Jindera in round four.

“It probably wasn’t the prettiest game to watch and there was some pretty ordinary use of the football, particularly in the first half,” he said.

“Things opened up a little bit in the second half and we started to play the footy we wanted to.

“I don’t know what you put the poor kicking down to because kicking has been a strength of ours.

“We feel that CDHBU will still be one of the sides to beat, they always give a good contest.

“It’s a pretty crazy ladder this year with the comp being so tight, so these early wins are huge.”

Henty survived a final-quarter charge from Osborne to defeat the Cats by three points.

The Swampies held a 27-point advantage at the final change but Osborne, led by Marty Bahr, kicked five goals to one in the last quarter to give Josh Gaynor’s charges a huge scare.

Trent Keller and James Ellis were instrumental in the victory for Henty.

Jindera overcame a slow start to defeat the Murray Magpies by 17 points while Howlong proved too strong for Lockhart, downing the Demons by 37 points.