Brutal Showdown: Port pushed to end
PORT Adelaide has survived an almighty scare from a brave, plucky
Adelaide outfit, emerging from one of the most brutal Showdowns ever with a hardfought win and a cemented spot inside the top four.
In an exhausting contest that sapped the energy of all players – and spectators – the Power kicked four goals on the trot across the third and fourth terms to take the lead.
Tom Lynch kicked a goal to reduce the margin to under a kick, but Aliir Aliir took his 10th intercept mark in the dying stages to stop another Adelaide foray and secure a fourpoint win for the Power, 7.13 (55) to 7.9 (51).
After an early arm-wrestle, the Power drew first blood with Zak Butters kicking the opening goal.
But the Crows responded at the next stoppage, winning the centre bounce clearance, thumping the ball forward where Elliott Himmelberg was in the right spot at the right time.
Despite the ladder position differential between the two teams, the Power didn’t have it all their own way with the Crows matching them at the coalface to lead by one point at quarter-time.
“They’ve had a horrid week, they were shocking last week against the Bulldogs. Yet Matty Nicks has shown as a coach he has the capacity to get his group together,” Brownlow Medallist Gerard Healy told Fox Footy.
The Crows then continued their promising form in the second term, launching a terrific counter-attack from the wing that ended up in a set-shot goal for Darcy Fogarty.
And the Crows led by 19 points at halftime, with Port held to 1.5 (11) – its lowest halftime score for the season so far.