POWER SURGES TO SINK SUNS
PORT Adelaide has refused to let the sun set on its finals dream, the brave Power seeing off a furious challenge by Gold Coast to win a pulsating encounter by two points on Sunday.
It was 11th v 12th on the ladder leading into the clash, which lived up to its billing as a quasi-elimination final in June.
The Power led by only two points when Ben Ainsworth goaled with little more than two minutes remaining at Adelaide Oval.
With the ball deep in Gold Coast’s attacking 50 Port defended desperately to hold on for a 13.15 (93) to 13.13 (91) that keeps Ken Hinkley’s men in the finals hunt with a 7-7 record.
It was the Power’s 13th win in a row against the Suns, who remain winless at Adelaide Oval after nine attempts.
Ollie Wines, Dan Houston, Connor Rozee and Karl Amon led the charge, while Todd Marshall kicked a game-high four goals.
The frantic finish was not on the cards after Port leapt out of the blocks to lead by 26 points in the first quarter.
Such an early margin in hostile territory would have been enough for the Suns of old to capitulate, but Stuart Dew’s men are made of sterner stuff these days.
Touk Miller and Ainsworth were all class, Izak Rankine put in some jawdropping acts of wizardry and Jarrod Witts dominated the ruck.
JEREMY V GOLIATH
IT was not quite a David versus Goliath match-up in the ruck but Jeremy Finlayson faced a huge task against inform Suns big man Witts, who enjoyed a 12cm and 17kg physical advantage in the head-to-head battle.
Finlayson’s superior mobility when the ball hit the ground served the Power well early, with Mitch Georgiades kicking his first goal in an opening term blitz.
But Witts’ dominance at the stoppages was a key factor in the Suns’ resurgence, with Mabior Chol also proving a handful in attack in the second quarter.
Chol kicked goals either side of the quarter-time break in a run of four unanswered majors that saw the visitors hit the front for the first time 13 minutes into the second term.
CHARLIE’S 300TH
THE home side held a slender five-point lead at halftime, but Charlie Dixon extended that margin with a perfectly timed milestone goal for the Power.
Dixon, who played 65 games and kicked 94 goals for the Suns, struck a blow against his old side from tight against the boundary line out near the 50m arc.
Hemmed in on the wrong side for a left-footer, the burly forward curled in a stunning effort to make his 300th AFL goal one to remember.
ROZEE RISES
SEVERAL acts of desperation inside Port’s attacking 50 allowed the home side to edge ahead after the Suns led midway through an enthralling third quarter.
Rozee provided the polish with back-to-back goals snatching back the lead and helping his side to a 13-point break at the last change.
Gold Coast kept coming after the restart and threatened to steal a famous victory as Chol booted his third.
A brilliant tackle by Sam Powell-Pepper on Miller lifted the Power with just under two minutes left.
The home side survived a shout for a deliberate out-ofbounds by Willem Drew in the dying seconds to deny the visitors one last shot at victory.