Power shocks sorry Hawks
Port juggernaut rumbles on as Hawthorn falls victim
Ken Hinkley’s barnstorming Port Adelaide side rumbled to a record nine wins in a row on Saturday, with Connor Rozee, Zak Butters and Jeremy Finlayson starring as the Power cruised to a 55-point win over Hawthorn.
In a stunning first-half display that was simply breathtaking at times, Port booted the highest first-half score in the club’s history, and the highest of any AFL side since 2012, to set up the 23.13 (151) to 14.12 (96) win at Adelaide Oval.
The Power booted nine goals in the first quarter to lead by 42 points at the first break, with that lead 82 points at halftime after the home side eclipsed its previous record first-half tally of 15.5 (95) with a whopping 16.9 (105) from two quarters of awe-inspiring footy.
Port led by as much as 96 points in the third quarter, but with a 100-point demolition in the offing, the brave Hawks did well to regroup and fight the game out with eight of the last 10 goals.
Rozee and Butters provided their customary midfield drive for Port, who had 11 goalkickers, with Finlayson (five goals), Todd Marshall (five) and Junior Rioli (four) all equalling personal bests.
James Worpel, with a gamehigh 35 possessions, and Luke Breust, with five goals that took him past the 500-goal mark, were pivotal in Hawthorn’s second-half revival.
The result means Port has won nine games in a row in the AFL for the first time.
Hinkley’s men have a chance to extend their winning run into double figures against the Western Bulldogs, who the Power beat by 14 points in round 5, when the sides face off at Marvel Stadium on Friday night. After a shaky 1-2 start to the season, Port’s stirring run of victories has improved its record to 10-2 that strengthened its grip on a top-two spot.
Without star skipper James Sicily, who was serving a onematch suspension, the shellshocked Hawks had no answers to the switched-on Power’s intensity, pressure and superior work rate in a blistering opening term.
Butters provided the spark in the middle with nine firstquarter possessions and Finlayson was unstoppable in attack with four goals as Port recorded its highest-scoring quarter for the season.
Finlayson got the ball rolling with the first two goals of the match and when he sent his fourth soaring over the Moreton Bay fig trees at the northern end of the ground inside the last minute, the home side enjoyed a whopping 42-point advantage.
The rout continued into the second quarter, Marshall joining the party with two goals and Finlayson equalling his career-best mark with his fifth as Port rattled through nine unanswered majors.