Oh, I was looking forward to this game. You got the feeling going in that this was one of those games that would either make or break a season. Maybe more the latter than the former.
Port showed some signs of life last week, rising to the occasion on the road and knocking over the Giants. It demonstrated that there was fight left in this team, and when they threw themselves at the contest, anything was possible.
The Dees were not so lucky. After a flurry of wins to renew the faith against the Lions and Swans, they fell back to earth with a thud against the Saints, before falling over at the last hurdle against the Pies.
With both clubs sitting on five wins for the season, this game was set to be do-or-die, and I expected the contest to be played in a spirit befitting that which was on the line.
With a reduced number of games this weekend, the Power and Dees took centre stage at Adelaide Oval, and for a winter’s day, the weather gods came to the party.
Me, I got to finish cleaning the house, had my daughter invite a friend over for a playdate, had my son taking great delight in smacking me in the back of the head as he climbed into my chair to annoy me as I watched the footy. Life is good.
And that is doubly so, now, particularly if you’re a supporter of Port, who took everything the Dees could throw at them, and managed to stay standing, and fire back in their own right.
We’ve had some stinkers this season. There have been some games over the last two weeks that have made me wonder why I was watching, but when you see a game like this, where the teams play to win, refuse to play to lose, and add spice to the contest every time there is a footy to be won, it makes you appreciate how good footy can be.
Mitch Georgiades starred, slotting seven big ones, as the weekend of key forwards continued, whilst Zak Butters, Jason Horne-Francis, The Big Sav, and Connor Rozee were all prominent for Port.
For the Dees, once again, it was Max Gawn leading the way, with Bayley Fritsch working hard, and Kysaiah Pickett threatening to take the game over… for a half, at least.
This one was a belter. Lots of heat. Lots of passion. Lots on the line.
Here are The Mongrel’s Big Questions from this one
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