Port Adelaide coach Ken Hinkley admits his players "blew" it after watching them slump to a shock nine-point loss to Fremantle at Optus Stadium on Sunday.
Star Power duo Paddy Ryder and Robbie Gray were struck down by injuries in the 8.11 (59) to 7.8 (50) defeat, leaving Port vulnerable ahead of next Sunday's crunch home clash with GWS.
Gray was knocked unconscious and stretchered off early in the third quarter after being body slammed into the turf by a dangerous Ryan Nyhuis tackle.
Nyhuis is almost certain to be suspended after pinning Gray's left arm in the tackle, leaving the Power forward with little way to protect himself.
Port players remonstrated angrily with Nyhuis while medical staff attended to Gray, who was lying motionless on the ground.
Ryder is set to miss several weeks with a hip flexor injury suffered early in the second quarter.
Scans will determine the full extent of the damage.
Port Adelaide would have risen to equal first with a win over Fremantle.
Instead, they are fifth with an 11-5 record, leaving them in a scrap for a top-four berth.
"We didn't play anywhere near our best today. We blew an opportunity," Hinkley said.
"We're really disappointed, we're really angry, we blew that opportunity."
"We came over here with an opportunity and we messed it up badly."
Hinkley said he didn't want to see a red card send-off system introduced in AFL ranks despite watching Gray get taken out of the game.
But he said the Nyhuis tackle was clearly in the wrong.
"It's exactly what you're not supposed to do," Hinkley said.
"I don't want to put anyone in trouble, but that's why the injuries come about.
"Players don't set out deliberately to cause injury like that. But when you tackle and you take that responsibility away from the player landing, you put yourself in trouble. So clearly there'll be some trouble."
Fremantle coach Ross Lyon knows Nyhuis is now at the mercy of match review officer Michael Christian.
"No one intentionally goes out to hurt anyone and they're split-second decisions," Lyon said of the tackle.
"Clearly it's a split (second) decision and no one's intentional.
"Our players have been driven into the turf unintentionally by the opposition. Sometimes it just happens."
Port Adelaide won the clearance count 20-4 in the first term, but led by just nine points at quarter time.
Remarkably, Fremantle didn't even need to kick a goal in the second term to end their run of 11 consecutive losing quarters.
Fremantle registered 0.7 (7) to Port's 0.0 (0) in a term featuring a glut of comical mistakes.
The Dockers' fortunes in front of goal finally turned in the third quarter, and the Power failed to match them.
