Port Adelaide took a small step towards regaining some credibility when they cruised past North Melbourne in an NAB Challenge clash at Visy Park on Saturday.

The Power jumped away to lead early in the opening term, were ahead at every change and sailed home to win 17.14 (116) to 11.13 (79).

Former Geelong midfielder Jason Davenport sparked Port with 30 possessions while speedster Nathan Krakouer showed he has fully recovered from the injury troubles which interrupted his 2008 season, amassing 27 touches.

Port had little trouble controlling the midfield and showcased too many options in front of goal for the Kangaroo defence to hold.

North crept to within seven points in the third quarter before the Power sped away in the final term with a six-goal-to-three burst.

Port coach Mark Williams said Davenport was given more game time this week after being held back last week and responded well - but would still face a fight to hang on to a spot in the midfield.

"He made the most of it but it's going to be a tough decision as to who we play in a couple of weeks' time because obviously Dom Cassissi will come back into the group and Matt Thomas is probably in the mix," Williams said.

"Alipate Carlile will be coming back ... and Warren Tredrea probably will be available next week as well."

Chad and Kane Cornes both gathered 17 possessions although Chad came off late in the match with mild cramps.

Williams said the club was desperate to regain top form this year after sliding from a grand final appearance in 2007 to 13th last season.

"Towards the end of last year we'd made some big decisions on how we wanted to play and certainly who we wanted to play and where we wanted to play them," he said.

"But there were about five players out getting surgery and they've all come back now and we're pretty keen on trying to recover some of our credibility that we lost last year."

North rested several of their stars, including key position player Drew Petrie, while star defender Michael Firrito played only the first half.

Roos captain Brent Harvey returned to the side but had little impact, as did former skipper Adam Simpson.

Spearhead David Hale kept the Roos afloat with five goals and was the side's only multiple goalkicker, but coach Dean Laidley said he was happy enough to escape with no injuries from the match.

"You've just got to make sure you get enough minutes into certain players and get no injuries," Laidley said.

"I thought we missed some opportunities.

"We've tried numerous players through the midfield to get a better mix and we'll continue to do that.

"I was really pleased with our young defence, that was a real positive."

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