Port Adelaide beat a gritty Glenelg in a tense SANFL battle

PORT Adelaide was given a huge fright from Glenelg before claiming the premiership points with a three-point win in an entertaining battle.

Ben Sawford having a huge influence. Picture: Naomi Jellicoe

PORT Adelaide was forced to withstand a gritty challenge from Glenelg before emerging with a three-point victory at Glenelg Oval last night.

In an absorbing confrontation, Port had to come from behind in the final quarter to hold off a determined bid by the Tigers.

It was a Jake Neade snap 24 minutes into the final which gave Port the valuable two premiership points.

“They (Tigers) were outstanding, especially in the first half,” Port coach Matthew Lokan said. “They were beating us up at the contest and getting it done on the outside.

“Credit to our guys. I thought we responded really well after the break. We had a few honest conversations at half-time.

“It was a good win, we got the points.”

The clash opened at a frenetic pace with both sides having two goals within the first five minutes. Lively forward Terry Milera had both goals for the Tigers and he nailed a third just seven minutes into the battle.

Although the Port ruckman were getting most of the taps, the Tigers midfield was winning plenty of clearances to give the potent forward line plenty of opportunities.

There was no lack of physicality with the two sides adopting a spirited attitude. But the Genelg pressure was especially outstanding and the Tigers challenged Port with their enthusiasm for the contest.

Port exposed some frustration when Joe Atley was reported late in the term.

When Ben Sawford snapped a terrific goal on the quarter-time siren, the Tigers led by eight points and their confidence was growing.

The first half was the Terry Milera show and he bagged another two goals in the first seven minutes of the second term to give his side the ascendancy.

Marlon Motlop, recruited from North Adelaide, was prominent on the ball for the Tigers and he extended their lead to 20 points with a goal before Milera kicked his sixth.

However, Port ate into the deficit courtesy of goals to Karl Amon and Peter Ladhams before turning up the heat in the third quarter to pose plenty of questions to the home side.

Port needed to match the Tigers’ intensity and they found plenty of willing participants. Jarrod Lienert impressed in defence and Amon got his hands to plenty of ball to be a spark for the visitors.

Jack Trengove made his debut for Port after joining the club from Melbourne and he put his side in front midway through the third quarter.

With such a heavy AFL presence the issue was could the Tigers maintain pace with a side containing so many full timers. And while the Tigers continued to fight, they seemingly ran out of answers against the early season favourites.

But the Tigers still had life and they hit the front after Milera kicked his seventh goal followed by a Sawford major.

PORT ADELAIDE 3.2 6.3 11.5 14.8 (92)

GLENELG 4.4 8.4 10.4 14.5 (89)

BEST — Port: Lienert, Hombsch, Amon, Trengove, Atley, Hayes. Glenelg: Motlop, T. Milera, Sawford, Curran, Proud, Scharenberg.

GOALS — Port: Ladams, Neade 3, Farrell, Hayes, Trengove 2, Amon, Frampton. Glenelg: T. Milera 7, Motlop 3, Sawford 2, Koster, Reynolds.

REPORTS — Port: Atley.

UMPIRES — Burke, Bowen, Lewis.

CROWD — 2511.