Round 5 – Power v Saints
Disco Monagle
The Statler and Woldorf Game
Almost Footballed Out
Even the most ardent follower of the great game would be feeling a tad tired after a couple of weeks of non-stop football going from Easter Thursday to Easter Monday, then jumping to the start of Gather Round last Thursday night to its end at Adelaide Oval with the Power versus the Saints. On face value, it was a clash that just doesn’t really enthuse the casual observer.
Port Adelaide has a 2-2 record to open their campaign this year; against four teams they would have pencilled in at the start of the season as being winnable games. North and West Coast both notched up nice wins over the Power, while the boys from Alberton steamrolled Essendon and Richmond.
On exposed form the Power can again be flagged as ‘flat track bullies’; failing to win two close games while trouncing two teams who will struggle to win more than a couple games this season.
St Kilda has been underwhelming in their first four games this season; registering only one win to start their 2026 campaign, a campaign which promised so much more than what has been delivered so far.
In the Saints’ defence, they have been beaten by a couple of top tier teams, the Pies and the Lions, and they did beat the Giants on their dung heap, while the loss to Melbourne can be viewed as an outlier.
On exposed form both teams will be HOPING for a win in this battle of the also rans.
Hope: the last bastion of the desperate.
As the game to bookend Gather Round, the AFL have dropped the ball, not only with the quality of the teams involved, but also with the graveyard 7:15pm (6:45pm Adelaide time) start time on a Sunday night.
Fashions on the Field
I’m not sure about the predominately teal atomic fallout jersey (guernsey or jumper) the Power are sporting, but I am no fashionista.
While the jury is out on the Power’s attire, until I looked closely, I honestly thought the Saints had a Swans jersey (guernsey or jumper) on.
As this is not a fashion competition (or is it?), let’s start the game with the Port Adelaide glee club singing Never Tear us Apart before the chuck up of the ball to start the game.
In the immortal words of the philosophers Statler and Woldorf (The Muppets) when Statler raised the age old question, ‘who wins’, as sharp as whip Wordorf replied, ‘who cares?’
Given this is a school night for the author, the review of this game will be in a shorter format than normal (unless something earth shattering and spectacular happens).
A Ross Lyon Type Win
Craig McRae could learn a lot from Ross Lyon about playing negative defensive half football to win a match (I had to get that in).
St Kilda started the match with a dominant first quarter as they jumped out to a 20-point lead on the back of some exciting football from Hugo Garcia, Marcus Windhager and Sam Flanders, ensuring the ball remained locked in their forward setup.
Up forward, Liam Ryan, Mattaes Phillipou, Mason Wood, and Cooper Sharman all got early goals on the back of the midfielders’ excellent delivery of the ball.
The Saints’ backline held up well, with Mitch Georgiades being the only Power forward who looked likely to cause any concern.
I noted at quarter time that the Saints should have been further in front.
In the second quarter, the game evened out a bit to a true arm-wrestle with the Power kicking three goals to the Saints’ four, as Zak Butters, Ollie Wines. and Darcy Byrne-Jones battled hard to keep their team within range of the Saints.
It was a forgettable quarter of football, and at the main break the Saints held a handy 27-point lead.
The third quarter and one Angry Ollie Wines
In the third quarter the Saints jumped out to a 31-point lead when Mitch Owens goaled after getting a dubious free kick,. This was made a certainty after Zak Butters gave away a 50 metre penalty for allegedly telling the umpire to ‘go fornicate himself’ in a verbal outburst not seen on an AFL ground for a number of years. Well, look… the verbal outburst has probably been seen, and heard, but the punishment was more significant. When was the last time someone got reported for giving the ump a mouthful?
Butters was in the book, but on the back of his report the Power lifted, especially Ollie Wines who played angry and Jason Horne-Francis who was suddenly on fire.
When Zak Butters laid a perfect tackle on Nasiah Wanganeen-Milera on the wing a little later, the whole energy of the game changed. The Power were up, the crowd suddenly found voice, and the commentators suddenly presented the game with some passion.
On the back of Butters’s ferocity at the contest, Willem Drew and the angry Ollie Wines nullified Wanganeen-Milera in the third quarter. They racked up 22-possessions between them as the Power steamrolled their way back into the game.
There was a fifteen-minute period of play in the third quarter when the very best of the Power was on display as they started to surge the ball forward with pace and polish, while maintaining the ball in their forward half for nearly 80 percent of the quarter.
For all the Power’s dominance in the third quarter, they didn’t get full bang for their buck as they kicked four goals and six behinds, and at three-quarter time the Saints still lead by nine points.
It felt as though Port should have done more. It turns out that feeling was correct.
Early in the final quarter Jason Horne-Francis was sucked in by Jack Silvagni, giving away a 50m penalty to which Silvagni said, thank you very much, as he slotted truly. Shortly thereafter Aliir Aliir had a brain fade as he turned the ball over to his direct opponent Mitch Owens who found Phillipou who kicked a nice running goal from 55 metres out.
In true Ross Lyon style, the Saints strangled the life out of the game thereafter, as they shut down the game to win the game by 14 points.
Wins on the road are hard to come by so St Kilda will be satisfied with the overall result.
There were some interesting man-o-man matchups in this game which are worth mentioning.
Mitch Owens v Aliir Aliir
The record books will say Aliir Aliir had 15 possessions and took 11 marks, and on paper it looked like he had the better of Mitch Owens, however, Owens kicked a couple of goals and he was huge in the last quarter when the game was on the line.
It is highly unusual a defender is tagged, but such has been Aliir’s form this year that Lyon decided to lock him down.
Apart from one mistake, Aliir was a stalwart up back, but Owens held his own in an enthralling battle.
Jason Horne-Francis v St Kilda
In the third quarter, Jason Horne-Francis had the ball on a string and St Kilda on the back foot as he danced merrily around them.
In full flight, JHF is great to watch, and in the third quarter he turned it on. JHF’s exquisite pass to Corey Durdin lace out late in the third quarter was breathtaking.
Nasiah Wanganeen-Milera v Jase Burgoyne, Ollie Wines and William Drew
At halftime, Josh Carr released Jase Burgoyne from his role on Nasiah, even though he had held his own against the Saints star, restricting him to eleven possessions, to play a more attacking role in the second half.
In a hectic second half, the role of attempting to nullify Nasiah was given to Ollie Wines and William Drew who did restrict his impact on the game in the third quarter and then some. Wines and Drew racked up possessions at will in the third quarter as the Power muscled their way back into the game while negating Nasiah.
Nasiah had the last laugh in the final quarter, being instrumental leading his side to a gritty victory.
Callum Wilkie v Mitch Georgiades
This game was setup for Mitch Georgiades to be the man who separated the two teams, and try as he did, he was against one of the best in the business. Callum Wilkie is a one-man brick wall up back for the Saints and an extremely difficult obstacle to get past.
Georgiades had a serviceable game that could have been so much more if he had kicked the couple of goals he left out on the field.
Yes, he was good up the field, but he belongs within a 30-metre arc of the goal front, especially in the absence of Charlie Dixon. Jeremy Cameron, Jesse Hogan and other full forwards in the competition often play up the field with great effect, but Georgiades is a different beast more in the mould of Tony Lockett and Jason Dunstall who rarely (if ever) moved away from the goal front. He needs to be stationed where he can deliver the most inpact, and that, in this current incarnation of the Port Adelaide team, is well within scoring range.
Tom De Koning v Jordon Sweet
Early in the game, Tom De Koning and Nasiah Wanganeen-Milera made a complete dog’s breakfast of a passage of play giving away a free kick. I light-heartedly noted it as being the 2 million dollar blunder, but it did raise the question as to how TDK would respond after being involved in an error early in the game?
Potentially, TDK is worth every cent he earns, but he is a confidence player, and if that early turnover did affect his confidence, then was Jordon Sweet the right person to exploit it?
In short, Sweet just lowered his colours to the combination of TDK and Rowan Marshall, although it must be said all three were a bit bland on the night, having little impact on the end result.
Jordon Sweet rarely gets mentioned in discussions about the top ranked big men in the game, but on his day, he is as good as any of the other big men of the game. Using the other ‘c’ word, Sweet needs to add consistency to his repertoire.
There will be a day when TDK holds onto his marks and absolutely rips a game apart – we saw him do this at points during his time at Carlton, so it is a matter of when, not if, he will do it. However, for the time being he just has to keep his head in the game when the chips don’t fall his way. Given TDK is still learning his craft, I now understand why St Kilda were adamant about keeping Rowan Marshall on their list and personally I like their one/two punch combination.
A Paragraph for the Newbies
I’ll start with Hugh Boxshall who looks a likely type of player who is slowly cementing his place in the Saints team. One word of advice to Hugh the bull, stop running into players headfirst as it will shorten your career.
It just feels like Hugo Garcia has played over 50 games such is his football smarts and poise, so it took me by surprise to realise he still young not only in age but in his career. A very bright future.
If I could steal one player from the Power, it would be Logan Evans. Evans is a real goer with an abundance of natural ability who has the potential to be a top tier player out of defence.
A bit like Hugo Garcia, Joe Berry plays the game with a maturity that belies his age and career games and he warrants a mention as he pushes his way up the charts with a bullet.
Corey Durdin
A lot of Carlton people reckon the club was wrong for not trying a little harder to hold onto Corey Durdin although from the outside it seemed he was a bit of a whipping boy for the fans. Carlton’s loss is the Power’s gain, as Durdin has slotted nicely into his new environments and given his age, the best is still to come in his career.
Quando Quando Quando Jack Lukosius and Cooper Sharman
When Cooper Sharman kicked the first goal of the game it looked like he was in for a big day, but with only another six possessions for the match he failed to have much impact on the game from that point on.
In a game that seemed ideal for Jack Lukosius to prove his worth to the Power after a forgettable season in 2025 when he moved from the Gold Coast to Alberton, he again put in an underwhelming performance.
Both Lukosius and Sharman are seasoned players who have shown at times they can be amongst the best players in the competition, but that potential does not manifest itself consistently from week to week, or even within a game. As an outsider, both players are frustrating to watch, let alone being a paid up and proud member of the Power and/or the Saints waiting for the day when they finally deliver.
It may seem harsh, but if I didn’t believe both players had more to offer, they would not be mentioned.
Jack Higgins – 150 of the Best
Chapeau to Jack Higgins who played his 150th game of AFL in a career that nearly didn’t happen after he had brain surgery after suffering blurred vision and headaches early in his career which started at Richmond.
In 2021, Higgins left Punt Road for better opportunities at the Saints to which he has grabbed with both hands, and he hasn’t looked back since.
Higgins is a universally loved and respected player.
Zak Butters
Zak Butters has been a Great player for the Power, and I say that with a capital ‘G’ and it is to be hoped the Power afford him more dignity than the Bombers did with Zach Merrett whether he decides to stay or leave.
Zak doesn’t know how to play a bad game and never stops throwing himself at the contest. If everyone played the game like him, it’d sure be a spectacle… and the AFL would likely be a lot richer for it. Read what you want into that sentence.
Finally
That’s a wrap for Gather Round 2026 and it is to be hoped the brains trust at the AFL keep the round in Adelaide and they do not interfere with the effort South Australia as a whole has put into the success of the weekend.
It is a no brainer.
I would suggest the AFL think twice about playing the last game of Gather Round at 7:15pm on the Sunday night.
Where to for Port Adelaide and St Kilda?
St Kilda return to Adelaide Oval next week to play the Crows in a game where they would fancy their chances of winning. They’re staying in Adelaide all week to save making the trip again – smart move, and if they can pull off back-to-back wins at Adelaide Oval, it might be time for some of the doomsayers to eat their words about this club.
Port Adelaide head east to face the Hawks outfit who have started flexing their muscles in the last few weeks. This will be a tough ask. Let’s hope that whatever happens, the playrs are all polite to the umpires and everyone has a nice time.
As for this game, the first half was like watching paint dry, but the second half was entertaining when the Power surged.
There is a good chance I have left something out, but it is a school night for this poor old reviewer.
