Power surge stuns Hawks
CHARLIE Dixon put a tough week behind him to shine last night as Port Adelaide showed it is poised to end two years in the finals wilderness. Dixon, above, booted four goals as the Power thumpedped perennial powerhouse Hawthorn by 51 points at Adelaide Oval..
ONE week after his slowmoving AFL brain fade, Charlie Dixon has masterminded Port Adelaide’s stunning 51point rout of a hapless Hawthorn.
Dixon responded to a week of ridicule with an imposing four-goal haul in Port’s crushing 13.20 (98) to 7.5 (47) win at the Adelaide Oval last night.
A week ago, Dixon blew a chance of sealing a Port Adelaide win in Geelong by taking too long for a set shot at goal — and his side lost.
But against the Hawks he was instrumental in a fast start for Port, kicking the first two goals of the game and setting up the third.
Port piled on 6.5 as Hawthorn was kept scoreless in an opening quarter for the first time in 11 years.
The Hawks, wilting under the Power’s heat, simply could not muster a goal in the opening half for the first time since 2009.
Port crafted a match-defining 9.8 to 0.3 halftime lead before Hawthorn’s first goal came three minutes into the third quarter when James Sicily scored from a relayed free kick.
The error-prone Hawks were overwhelmed by a ferocious Power, who marked stalwart Brad Ebert’s 200th AFL game in style.
Ebert was superb in his side’s opening-half onslaught — he had 21 disposals by halftime and 34 for the match.
Teammates Jared Polec (24 possessions), Matthew Broadbent (24 touches), Ollie Wines (28 disposals) and Brendan Ah Chee (25 touches) were also influential ball-winners.
Dixon was the dominant forward force on the ground and his lively attacking colleague Jarman Impey booted 2.4.
Port entrenched itself in the top eight with a sixth win of the season, but Hawthorn (four wins, seven losses) remains back in the mire.
Sicily, Luke Bruest and skipper Jarryd Roughead kicked two goals each for the disappointing visitors, while midfielder Tom Mitchell (30 disposals) Luke Hodge (27 touches) and Ryan Burton (25 possessions) battled gamely.