Port Adelaide ended North Melbourne's three-game winning run with a 10.13 (73) to 7.10 (52) victory at Adelaide Oval on Sunday, while St Kilda handed Essendon a 67-point thrashing at Marvel Stadium to close out Round 17.

The Sunday twilight game in Adelaide was level at three-quarter time before Port kicked the only three goals of the final term in front of 33,105. Jack Whitlock and Mitch Georgiades finished with three goals each, and Jason Horne-Francis, Zak Butters and Jase Burgoyne were Port's best. The whistle was the other story: 71 combined free kicks, 37 to 33 in Port's favour, which AFL.com.au reported as a league record, passing the 69 paid in a Sydney-Port Adelaide game in 2008.

“It was a real arm-wrestle, and they won," North coach Alastair Clarkson said afterwards. His bigger concern was George Wardlaw, who went down in the last quarter. "We're not sure; he went off with a hamstring, so we'll get that assessed during the week." Port coach Josh Carr conceded the game nearly slipped: "That third quarter probably got away from us a bit." Georgiades finished the game sore, and Carr rated him "touch-and-go" for next week.”

Earlier on Sunday, St Kilda buried Essendon 17.15 (117) to 7.8 (50) in front of 34,713, piling on 10 unanswered goals from late in the first quarter with 12 individual goalkickers. Nasiah Wanganeen-Milera led the Saints. The defeat was Essendon's 15th of the season and, per AFL.com.au, left the club with one win from its past 29 matches, and interim coach Dean Solomon with five losses from five since replacing Brad Scott mid-season. "There's been a few low points. Is it the lowest? I'm not sure, but it's difficult right now," Solomon said.

Across the rest of the round, Brisbane beat Geelong by 22 on Thursday, Sydney handled the Western Bulldogs by 35 at the SCG, and Adelaide accounted for West Coast by 25 in Perth. Saturday brought a 35-point Melbourne win over Hawthorn in Launceston, a 21-point GWS win over ladder-leader Fremantle in Canberra, a six-point Collingwood escape at Gold Coast, and a two-point Carlton win over Richmond at the MCG.

Fremantle stays on top at 14-2 despite the loss, ahead of Sydney at 13-3, with Hawthorn, Brisbane and Adelaide rounding out the top five. North sits 11th at 8-8, one game outside the top-10 wildcard places in the finals format introduced this season. Port's win lifts it to 15th at 6-10, and Essendon props up the ladder at 1-15.

The AFL's official injury list updates midweek. Wardlaw's scan will tell North how much of the run home it has to plan without him; for Essendon, there is no such suspense left in the season.