Heading towards the end of the season, matches tend to lose meaning as both teams have nothing left to play for. With both teams mathematically eliminated from the finals, and neither of them in the hunt for a top draft pick, they instead sit in this awkward middle ground where there the stakes are few.
Both teams also knew about their respective coaching futures, with Michael Voss receiving the backing of the board (just like Simon Goodwin did a while back), and incoming CEO Graeme Wright. On the other side, Ken Hinkley had already agreed to hand over the reins of Port Adelaide to his assistant coach, Josh Carr, who will get a fresh chance to lead a team. Hopefully, they have a better run with injuries than they have this season.
The only sting in the tail for this game is with the story of Hinkley being approached by Carlton to help Voss, a coach who previously worked as his assistant at Port Adelaide before being given the Carlton senior job. Though this is one of the many rumours swirling about the changes that will be made to figures in the coaching box, the relationship between the two appears strong and the head/assistant coach dynamic flipped around may be something both are interested in.
The Blues got off to a hot start through Hudson O’Keeffe. The young key forward was able to outmark Brandon Zerk-Thatcher to kick the first goal of the game. Not long later, Ashton Moir doubled Carlton’s lead from close range. Francis Evans continued his good forming, kicking Carlton’s third goal of the game before Port had even had a single shot at goal.
Zac Williams then took a mark and kicked Carlton’s fourth goal of the term, giving the Blues a 25-0 lead halfway through the first quarter. Flynn Young was given a free kick after Jackson Mead walked the ball through the behinds under no pressure, and Young kicked Carlton’s fifth. This was the Carlton team Blues fans had been waiting for.
Alas, at this stage of the season, all they were doing was reminding supporters, and their coach, of what they were capable of.
Harry McKay then joined the party after taking the ball out of the ruck in a forward 50 stoppage. McKay then found Hudson O’Keeffe 20 metres out, directly in front, but the young ruckman pulled his shot across the face of the goals to the left. Finally, Port Adelaide registered their first score through Travis Boak, who kicked a snapped goal after roving a contest in Port’s forward line.
It was great to once again see Boak stepping up when his team needed him. What a player he’s been. He’ll leave a sii=zeable hole in that Port team next season.
Mitch Georgiades then got Port Adelaide’s second goal to help restore the margin to just over four goals. However, Port’s run of goals was ended when McKay kicked his second, this time from a free kick against Aliir Aliir. Port’s third goal came through third-gamer Jack Whitlock, who kicked his first career goal. At the end of the first quarter, the Blues held a 24-point lead.
Ollie Lord helped cut the margin back to just 18 points at the start of the second quarter. Carlton then continued to press but could not find the goals, partially due to Port’s steadfast defending and partially through Carlton players missing shots. Eventually, Patrick Cripps was able to break the run of misses and kick a goal after finding space in the forward line before slotting it through for his first goal of the game.
The Blues would get back-to-back goals when they were able to break through from the centre clearance and find Harry McKay for the key forward’s third. McKay was then awarded a free kick to slot successive goals and extend Carlton’s lead to 38 points.
Carlton continued to pile the pain on Port as Zac Williams and Patrick Cripps kicked their second goals of the game. With seconds remaining in the half, Tom De Koning joined the goal-kicking to give Carlton a 45-point lead heading into the main break.
At this stage, you could have called it, and nobody would have complained.
Port had multiple opportunities to cut into Carlton’s lead at the start of the second half, but Travis Boak, Mitch Georgiades, and Ollie Wines all scored behinds from their shots at goal. Finally, Jack Whitlock was able to convert for Port, kicking their first goal since early in the second quarter.
Harry McKay then kicked goal number five for the day, and a few minutes later, Francis Evans kicked his second, which extended the lead out to ten goals. With one quarter remaining in the game, Carlton led by 61 points.
Port got the first goal of the final quarter through ex-Collingwood player Joe Richards. This was followed by a period where both teams struggled to score. Unfortunately for the Power, Carlton got the next goal through Harry McKay, who slotted goal number six for the game.
Carlton’s mid-season pick up, Flynn Young, kicked his second goal to extend Carlton’s lead to 68 points. Harry McKay then equalled his personal best with goal number seven for the game. With Carlton’s lead pushed out to a game-high 74 points, the Blues then took their foot off the gas with the game sewn up.
Port finished the game strongly with Christian Moraes, Darcy Byrne-Jones, and Jack Whitlock kicking the final three goals of the game to cut the final margin down to just 54 points. All three of those snags came in the final five minutes of the game.
The Harry McKay Show
In the last few years, Harry McKay has often played second fiddle to Charlie Curnow in Carlton’s forward line. McKay, who won the Coleman Medal in 2021, feasted on Port Adelaide, who were missing several of their first-choice key defenders.
Still, Harry made the most of his opportunities, kicking seven goals straight for the first time in his career. McKay last kicked seven goals back in 2021, when he slotted 7.5 behinds against Fremantle in Round Three.
Whilst we do give the Port defence a pass due to injuries and the strakes being pretty low, it is well worth remembering that just a week ago, Aliir Aliir had coaches and media pundits raving about the way he controlled the defensive 50. There was no such control this week, with McKay the dominant figure in the game.
Given the hardships that McKay has gone through this year, it was nice to see a return to form from the Carlton big man, and you have to wonder how much a confident and healthy Harry McKay could make on a Carlton side in 2026?
Defence depleted
Coming into the game, Port Adelaide was already crippled by injuries. Some of the players on Port Adelaide’s injury list include the likes of Jase Burgoyne, Jason Horne-Francis, Jack Lukosius, Todd Marshall, Sam Powell-Pepper, Esava Ratugolea, and Ivan Soldo. It didn’t get any better during the game against Carlton, either.
Early in the first quarter, Aliir Aliir came off the ground after rolling his ankle in a marking contest, but eventually returned to play out the rest of the game, albeit severely hampered. In the second quarter, Josh Sinn was subbed out of the game after suffering a calf injury.
They were not the only ones who would have felt banged up by the end of the game. Connor Rozee appeared to suffer a shoulder injury towards the end of the game.
The Power have been ruined by injuries in 2025. Losing both Lukosius and Marshall early on, robbed them of much needed firepower, whilst they have rarely had Aliir, Ratugolea, and Zerk-Thatcher on the park together. When you lose pillars like this, things begin to fall down.
For Carlton, young gun Cooper Lord was subbed out of the game after reportedly suffering a concussion. It would be a shame to see him miss next week, as his form late this year has been excellent.
Master/Apprentice
So, is there a place at Carlton for Ken Hinkley?
Does he want to jump straight back in without having the time to allow things to settle?
With Josh Carr now one game away from taking on the role of senior coach, those who believe Hinkley hasn’t got much to offer are likely blinded by anger and frustration due to his time at Port. With roles reversed, could Hinkley become the type of player-focused assistant that the Blues need? And would that aid Michael Voss becoming the coach the Blues want him to be?
This off-season was already interesting enough, with player movements, but what happens with Uncle Ken heading into 2026 may be one of the biggest moves of the off-season… even if it doesn’t feel like it.
The run home
Both Carlton and Port Adelaide have one game remaining before they can wrap up their disappointing seasons and start their preparation for next year. The Blues’ final game comes on Thursday night against arch-rival Essendon. If Carlton manages to beat the Bombers and the Saints lose to the Giants, Carlton will leapfrog the Saints to finish 11th on the ladder, but if the Blues lose, they could be overtaken by Port Adelaide and Melbourne, depending on percentage.
Port will finally wrap up the Ken Hinkley farewell tour back at Adelaide Oval, where they will face off against the Gold Coast Suns. The Suns will need to win to qualify for finals for the first time in the club’s history, or else they need to hope that the Bulldogs lose to Fremantle, which will assure them of a final place regardless of how their result goes. A win could potentially see Port overtake Carlton on the ladder, if the Blues were to lose to the Bombers, but they are unlikely to catch St. Kilda, who have a 9.5% lead on Port Adelaide.
