A cold night in Canberra saw a hot finish as Port Adelaide holds on for a crucial win.

ZAK BUTTERS and Connor Rozee have led the charge as Port Adelaide snapped a four-game losing streak with a pressure-relieving 16-point upset win over Greater Western Sydney on Saturday night.

The Power, who had been adamant they wouldn't bring forward plans for Josh Carr to succeed under-fire coach Ken Hinkley at season's end, fought through a Sam Taylor defensive masterclass to prevail 9.12 (66) to 7.8 (50).

The Giants will sweat on Toby Greene's fitness ahead of next Saturday's clash with Brisbane at the Gabba after their skipper was substituted at half-time with a nasty corked left glute at Canberra's Manuka Oval.

With the Power needing a change of fortunes, and the heat on Hinkley, Rozee and Butters stood tall.

Butters (32 disposals) had a career-high 12 clearances, plus 20 contested possessions, while Rozee had 690 metres gained from 28 disposals.

Kane Farrell, Esava Ratugolea and Miles Bergman worked hard behind the ball in a gritty performance.

When asked post-game if the win eased the pressure on himself and the club, Hinkley answered: "What pressure?"

When pressed, he said: "(It will) continue on, I suppose. It's just going to continue on for the remainder of the season.

"But what I do know tonight is that helps us get back on track where we want to be.

"Clearly we're a long way off where we thought we would be and need to be.

"But at least we feel like we maybe snuck our head around the corner just a little bit just to have a look and see what's next and we've got a big game next week back at Adelaide."

When asked if finals were still Port's dream, Hinkley said: "Yeah, well why wouldn't they be?"

While Port relished its first win in Canberra since 2014, GWS coach Adam Kingsley will have plenty to ponder after the Giants (7-5) were held to just one goal in the second half.

"We expected what they did," Kingsley said after the match.

"We planned really well for it. We just didn't do it as well as what they did.

"He (Hinkley) prepares his team and his players really well.

"It's clear that they love him and they play a strong brand of footy in response to when he's under pressure. That was evident tonight."

Taylor (15 intercept possessions, nine marks) worked over Port spearhead Mitch Georgiades and set the tone with support from partner-in-crime Jack Buckley (12 marks, 24 disposals).

Canberra local Tom Green (31 disposals) gave the Giants punch and power through the midfield, while Lachie Ash racked up plenty of the ball off half-back, and Jesse Hogan and Jake Riccardi kicked two goals apiece.

Willie Rioli (two goals) and Rozee nabbed the first two goals of the match, but the Giants settled into the game and cold conditions in Canberra.

Port led by two points at quarter-time before GWS took a three-point lead into the main break.

Port was arguably the better team from half-time onwards but was thwarted by its inefficiency and a resolute Taylor.

The third term was just the Giants' third scoreless quarter in the past 10 years, yet Port led by just seven at the final change.

Hogan cut the deficit to a point early in the fourth term.

Substitute Cristian Moraes kicked his first AFL goal to extend Port's lead to back seven, before Ollie Wines added another from a free kick, then Joe Richards dealt the knockout blow.

The Power (4-7) will head into next Sunday's clash with Melbourne with renewed confidence.

Another Greene goes down in Canberra

A contest late in the first quarter saw Aliir Aliir’s knee make hard contact with Toby Greene’s hip, sending the Giants captain to the ground like he’d been shot. Greene stayed on the ground but was clearly uncomfortable, camping himself deep in attack through the second quarter and unable to pick up a possession in the term. Subbed out at half-time, the GWS medical team will have started working immediately on getting their matchwinner ready to face Brisbane in a crucial clash next round.

Rookie ruck rumble

To see a fresh-faced youngster as starting ruck is a rarity – to see two up against each other at the opening bounce is almost unheard of. An ankle injury to Kieren Briggs handed 21-year-old Nick Madden his debut, and he found himself up against Dante Visentini, one year older and in just his 10th game. Both played the majority of gametime and carried the ruck load with aplomb, breaking even in the first of what should be many head-to-head clashes through the coming years.

The Big Chill

The official Big Freeze game isn't until Melbourne and Collingwood meet on Monday, but the temperature in Canberra came close to matching the ice bath at the bottom of the MCG slide. Players wore FightMND beanies during the pre-game warm up and Toby Greene was quick to don one again when he was substituted at half-time, definitely for comfort rather than promotion, but it was a good reminder to get behind the important cause.

• GREATER WESTERN SYDNEY 3.2 6.4 6.4 7.8 (50)
• PORT ADELAIDE 3.4 5.7 6.11 9.12 (66)

GOALS

• Greater Western Sydney: Riccardi 2, Hogan 2, Thomas, Jones, Cadman
• Port Adelaide: Rioli 2, Rozee, Jackson, Georgiades, Farrell, Wines, Moraes, Richards

BEST

• Greater Western Sydney: Green, Buckley, Ash, Taylor, Whitfield
• Port Adelaide: Rozee, Butters, Ratugolea, Bergman, Wines, Farrell

INJURIES

• Greater Western Sydney: Toby Greene (hip)
• Port Adelaide: Nil

SUBSTITUTES

• Greater Western Sydney: Brent Daniels, replaced Toby Greene at half-time
• Port Adelaide: Christian Moraes, replaced Jeremy Finlayson in the fourth quarter

Crowd: TBC at Manuka Oval

Source: afl.com.au