PORT SHINES EVEN AS FINALS LIGHT FADES
PORT Adelaide’s finals bid might be all but over after a 12-point loss to Geelong but Ken Hinkley’s men didn’t go quietly into the night, the gallant Power pushing the Cats all the way in a pulsating encounter.
Port trailed by 34 points at halftime on Saturday night but scores were level with five minutes to go in an enthralling contest following a Charlie Dixon-inspired fightback.
With the result in the balance, four-goal hero Tom Hawkins stepped up to boot the last two majors of the night to seal a memorable 16.10 (106) to 14.10 (94) win at Adelaide Oval.
Star veterans Patrick Dangerfield and Joel Selwood had just 10 possessions each to three-quarter time, but Tom Atkins played out of his skin to help drag his side across the line for Geelong’s ninth win in a row.
Needing a win to keep the season alive, Port had willing contributors all over the ground in an impressive display, with Ollie Wines, Travis Boak and Jeremy Finlayson all prominent.
Mitch Georgiades took a contender for mark of the year in a tense final term but he couldn’t add to his three goals as his set shot hit the post.
HOLMES SWOOPS
THE Power opened the contest with an energy and enthusiasm that had the Cats on the back foot, with the home side thoroughly deserving of its early two-goal lead.
Amon led the way with 13 firstquarter possessions, but one of those touches opened the door for the visitors to hit the scoreboard.
Looking for Darcy Byrne-Jones, Amon aimed an ill-advised kick across the face of goal, which Max
Holmes intercepted then walked into an open goal. It sparked a run of three unanswered majors that was broken when Todd Marshall snapped brilliantly in traffic.
Despite applying a ton of pressure, Port trailed by four points at the first break after Jeremy Cameron kicked truly as the siren sounded.
INTERCEPTORS ON
PORT largely avoided Geelong’s vaunted intercept defenders in the first quarter, but Jack Henry, Sam De Koning and Jake Kolodjashnij helped turn the game in the second.
The trio’s marks thwarted repeated Power attacks, restricting the home side to one goal for the term, then launched damaging counterattacks. The powerful one-two punch combination of Hawkins and Cameron landed telling blows as the visitors made their move with a six-goals-toone quarter.
Hinkley’s men didn’t help their cause with the Cats’ last two majors of the half coming from turnovers.
DIXON DAZZLES
WITH the season teetering on the brink 34 points behind, Port’s response was something to behold in an eight-goals-to-one third quarter.
Geelong’s choice of 203cm ruckman Shannon Neale as the medical sub raised some eyebrows, but it was a like-for-like swap when Rhys Stanley left the game with a knee injury.
Even so, Dixon got on top at the stoppages and rallied his troops with a stirring display. The big man had 11 possessions, seven score involvements and kicked two goals to help turn a game-high deficit at half-time to a seven-point lead at the last change.