AFL Port Adelaide v Essendon: Connor Rozee leads Power to big win
Connor Rozee had the greatest half in Gather Round history in a performance that puts him in the conversation for the best player in the game as Port Adelaide recorded a big win.
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It was the greatest half in Gather Round history.
You’d also be hard-pressed to find one better in the history of games at Adelaide Oval, and in recent memory in the AFL.
With Adelaide the centre of the footy world, Port Adelaide captain Connor Rozee put his name well and truly in lights on Friday night with a sensational individual performance against Essendon.
After an extremely even first quarter, with the Power ahead by just the three points, in which the Bombers started strongly and looked to be a chance for a Gather Round upset, Port blitzed its opponents away in the second quarter.
Rozee was at the heart of it as he shined like the star he is under the Friday night lights.
It was a performance that puts him in the conversation for best player in the game kind of good.
His 20 disposals, three goal, four clearance and two tackle half was impressive enough on paper.
The numbers almost didn’t do its brilliance justice.
Two of the goals game after fantastic defensive efforts from the Power skipper.
In the first quarter he smothered a Darcy Parish kick and then scored with a classy finish after the Power started the game on the backfoot.
His second came after he chased down Essendon ruckman Sam Draper from a centre bounce, impacted his kick and then was soon going the other way to get on the end of some good Port Adelaide work to slot it through the goals.
And then his third was a great snap as the Power piled on eight of the last nine goals to end the half and all but ice the game with a 32-point lead.
“We have seen one of the great halfs of footy from the captain Connor Rozee,” Melbourne great Garry Lyon declared on Fox Footy.
“I came away from last night (Adelaide v Melbourne) thinking (Christian) Petracca might be the best team in the competition, he has some competition
It was hard to disagree.
It wasn’t just that Rozee looked to have brought his own footy to Adelaide Oval, it was that he caused damage nearly whenever he got the footy.
“He is not just going one way, he is putting the pressure on the opposition and is doing the work,” former Collingwood coach Nathan Buckley said.
“Nearly 500m gained through 20 disposals in a half of footy, that is a lot of damage.”
Rozee continued this herculean performance throughout the game, finishing with 36 disposals, 16 contested possessions, three goals, eight score involvements and 654m gained.
It, plus the way he has started the season, made the Power’s decision to appoint him as captain as a masterstroke.
The No. 1 guernsey has weighed heavily on many players over the years at Alberton, but Rozee looks to have gone to another level with the iconic number on his back despite being just 24-years-old.
It was suspected that he might have to play a bit more forward to accommodate the addition of a fit Ollie Wines to the strong Port Adelaide midfield.
So far this season Rozee has been on the ball and on fire, and on the national stage showed why he is one of the best players in the competition.
And he isn’t alone in that midfield with vice-captain Zak Butters and young star Jason Horne-Francis also putting Essendon to the sword.
It’s a midfield that can rule the AFL, and scarily for rival fans Rozee is the oldest of the trio at 24.
SCOREBOARD
POWER 4.0 10.3 13.7 17.9 (111)
BOMBERS 3.3 4.4 6.5 6.6 (42)
PHELAN’S BEST POWER: Rozee, Horne-Francis, Butters, Finlayson, Houston, Rioli, Farrell. BOMBERS: Merrett, Martin, Caldwell, Duursma, Heppell, Gresham.
GOALS POWER: Rozee 3, Rioli 3, Finlayson 3, Byrne-Jones 3, Georgiades 2, Soldo, McEntee, Marshall. BOMBERS: Gresham 3, Stringer, Perkins, Jones.
INJURIES POWER: Boak (back). BOMBERS: Perkins (hamstring).
UMPIRES Stephens, Nicholls, Power, Gavine.
47,641 at ADELAIDE OVAL
PLAYER OF THE YEAR
JASON PHELAN’S VOTES
3 Rozee (Port)
2 Horne-Francis (Port)
1 Butters (Port)
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