It was a gallant fight to the end for an injury-wrecked Port Adelaide, but the Brisbane Lions proved too strong and too good to march away with a 28-point win.
Brisbane’s Gabba woes looked like they were going to continue early when Port came blasting out of the box, and for the first ten minutes of the game an upset was on the cards in a round where the results had been fairly predictable. They kicked three goals to one thanks to some fierce tackling pressure and fast ball movement,
But a snap from Zac Bailey that bounced perfectly over the leaping Aliir ignited a fire in the Lions, who went on a seven-goal rampage having found their goal kicking boots after being plagued by inaccuracy for much of the season.
To Port’s credit they were able to pull the brakes on the Lions in the second but their structure had fallen away after early injuries. Everything seemed like a lot of effort for the Power while Brisbane were able to chug along in low gear with it taking some desperate defensive to stop them adding on more goals. Port were able to win the quarter, three goals to one, but heading into the break it still felt like the Lions had completely control over the game.
The margin was only 21 points, which created a subtle but present sense of pressure on the Lions who were cautious but determined with their ball movement. Meanwhile, Port tried to get it forward anyway they could, which resulted in frequent turnovers. The game was more or less a standoff for much of the third quarter before a flurry of seven goals to finish the term – including a goal in the dying seconds from Willie Rioli which still gave Port a sneaky chance.
A goal in a minute to Port brought the margin back to under four goals, but a quick reply suggested that the comeback would not be allowed. Port refused to give up though and got it back to 16 points before a three goal run ending with man of the match Bailey, slammed the door shut and completed another gutsy win for the reigning premiers, who have tightened their grip on second spot.
Brilliant Bailey at his best
Zac Bailey was far too good for the Power who had no way of stopping him each time he came flying through the forward 50. ‘I wanna know if you’ll be my girl’ rang out across the Gabba five times with Bailey racking up 26 disposals, two clearances and a goal assist. It was the highest rated game of Bailey’s career and he was all smiles post-game.
Birthday boy Charlie Cameron also chipped in with a nice cameo and kicked the Lions’ first goal of game, ending with three.
Hugh McCluggage had no trouble handling a tag from Drew to be the Lions’ highest ranked player, collecting 29 disposals, seven clearances and 577 metres gained.
Lachie Neale also was hard at work as usual with 29 disposals and two goals, and Kai Lohmann deserves a mention for working hard all night.
At the other end, Mitch Georgiades continued his fight for the Coleman with another four goals. He continues to be Port’s most targeted player but with good reason, with his confidence growing week by week and defenders’ nerves doing the same. He held seven marks and had five score involvements and was a big part of the reason Port remained in the game for most of the night.
The return of Jack Lukosius meant he didn’t have to handle it alone this week, with Jack cooly slotting a couple of tricky shots from the 50.
Veteran Travis Boak also had a great performance after a bit of a subdued year by his standards, with 27 disposals, seven marks, and three clearances.
Another knee for SPP
Sam Powell-Pepper was looking all fired up after the birth of another daughter this week. His running goal in the first was celebrated with a shout out to his new baby, and he had his trademark fierce attack on the ball.
He’d kicked two goals and racked up 16 disposals before falling awkwardly and immediately clutching his knee in the third term. A frustrated Powell-Pepper pushed away the doctor and physio before accepting the injury and looked completely dejected on the bench.
Post game, Ken Hinkley confirmed the club is expecting the worst and reflected on the sad prospect it had been his last time coaching him.
It was the – whatever is the opposite of cherry on top – for Port who had finally begun seeing their injury list shrink but saw a total of four players getting stuck down.
Dante Visentini went down after a ruck contest midway through the first and was quickly subbed out, leaving the ruck duties to Jordan Sweet and Ollie Wines fresh back from injury himself.
Esava Ratugolea has been rock solid for Port in recent weeks after his return from injury earlier this year but pulled a hamstring late in the first term. He was also looking devastated and seems set for another stint in recovery.
Josh Sinn also spent some time in the rooms but was able to finish out the game.
A shot of a lone Mitch Georgiades on the bench during the third term really summed up the night.
The point of difference
Port fans would have been tearing their hair out after seeing kick after kick into the forward 50 going straight towards Brisbane defenders. Both teams finished with 55 inside 50s but Brisbane were able to convert theirs into 30 scores while the Power had only 22. The Lions finished the game with 10 more marks in what proved to be a defining factor.
It’s been a real issue for the Power this year (and previously) and seems to hint at a real disconnect between the mids and forwards, with Burgoyne, JHF, and Butters a few of the main culprits.
Not much else separated the two sides, with Brisbane wining clearances by only two and Port contested possession by three.
Umpire woes again
I know we’re all sick of talking about them, but they just keep giving us reasons to.
The near collision between Richards and the umpire late in the game was certainly not the fault of Richards who was just trying to get at the ball but will probably be looked at after the announcement this week that the AFL wants to crack down on umpire contact.
Brad Scott came out and said what we’ve all thinking when he came said the umpires positioning is part of the problem. Everyone knows that players are looking to move the ball into the corridor, so why are umpires incessantly positioning themselves there? Instead of moving away from the flight of the ball the umpire ran with it and right in the way of Richards who did well in the end to stop the contact from being more severe.
It’s no wonder the players are getting frustrated.
And of course it was another night of baffling calls and a completely needless score review as the rule surrounding holding the ball seemingly remains a matter of whether or not the man with the whistle likes you or not.
But with Dillon doing a Principal Skinner and remaining steadfast that the players are wrong we aren’t going to be seeing change anytime soon.
Zorko gets a taste of his own medicine
We all love the players who aren’t afraid to get in the face of opposition get a little physical from time to time, but if you’re gonna dish it out you’ve gotta be ready to cop it back.
Zorko was not happy with a little knee to the ribs from Hugh Jackson and had plenty to say to JHF and other Port players in the aftermath. While it was a cheeky dig, it’s a bit rich of Zorko to have a problem with it given his history.
The Final season of the Ken Hinkley Show
Ken Hinkley said Port will fight out the season until the end but has seemingly admitted the farewell victory tour is officially just the farewell tour with his comments post-game. With seven weeks left until he hands over the reins to Josh Carr it will be interesting to see what changes – if any – happen in the Port box.
Ken hit out against Tom Morris for reporting that he would step down if finals were out of reach, but in the past two weeks we have seen a more relaxed Ken move back in the box. This week he even had the time to make a teeth jest in the third quarter, while Josh has been in steadfast game day mode.
However the handover happens behind the scenes, Port don’t look like they’ll be bottoming out with Georgiadis comfortably filling the hole left by Charlie Dixon and Miles Bergman re-signing this week.
Fellow ‘dad’ coach Chris Fagan on the other hand will be focussed on the right here and now as Brisbane’s first hit out in big boy month was not as convincing as he may have hoped. Before the bye Brisbane looked like they were beginning to return to their premiership winning form, but in this game – apart from a blitzing ten minutes in the first term – the Lions were looking more like the team of earlier this year, doing enough but not setting the game on fire.
In the following month they will play against three top 8 teams, firmly placing their destiny in their own hands as look to become this decade’s back-to-back champs.
Brisbane will head down to Melbourne next week to take on the dispirited Carlton on Thursday night. It’s hard to see Carlton finally finding something to fight for – if facing their biggest rival couldn’t inspire them then what could? The Lions should come away with the four points and a nice percentage booster as well.
Port Adelaide will be glad to take on West Coast at home following all their injuries, but it’s no certain win. They’ll have at least three forced changes which will be another chance to give some of the younger players a run, but they’ll need to be on their game to beat an Eagles side which only last week pushed premiership favourites Collingwood.
