Port Adelaide ends a wasted season on a high after comfortable win over Fremantle
Port Adelaide had nothing to play for the in final home-and-away round but the Power gave their fans some cheer despite another season without finals.
It was a game that essentially meant nothing, but Port Adelaide turned it into a something: a rout of a hapless Fremantle that will give Power supporters something to smile about until season 2020.
Port outplayed, outscored, out-willed and out-coached the Dockers to end 2019 on a high note, in a 43-point win, 15.20 (110) to 10.7 (67).
In a dead rubber contest with nothing on the line but a season’s pride, it was the Dockers who came out with greater intensity early in what was generally a free-scoring, free-flowing first term.
Willem Drew — returning to the Power for the first time since round 15 — was given the tough job on Fremantle’s ball-winning captain Nat Fyfe, but it was Ed Langdon who did all the talking, with 10 first-term disposals and two goals after Port’s Todd Marshall got the scoring underway in the opening minutes.
The Dockers were up by nine points at quarter-time, lucky really considering Port’s Paddy Ryder, Charlie Dixon and Justin Westhoff had all missed set shots.
But the second term was a complete reversal of fortunes and Fremantle learnt — yet again this season — that a footy game is a marathon, not a sprint.
The Docker’s second-quarter effort looked as if they’d run out of any legs after their big first 30 minutes.
Meanwhile, Port simply enjoyed themselves in the second term: youngster Xavier Duursma, back from a foot injury, brought out his signature bow and arrow celebration early when he booted his first goal of the day at the one-minute mark of the quarter. His much-discussed celebration then kickstarted a huge effort that saw Fremantle held goalless for the term, while Port piled on 4.5 in total, including one from Dan Houston earnt after catching Freo’s Bradley Hill holding the ball.
Port’s dominance continued in the third and Fremantle couldn’t even get their ball into their forward-50 until the 26-minute mark of the third term — and their first goal too.
In a game that had no bearing on anything — the AFL announced the finals fixture during the third term — the Power hardly put a foot wrong: finishing with nine individual goal kickers they won the inside-50 count by a whopping 25 (57 to 32), had a tremendous 25 marks inside 50s, out-tackled the Dockers 66 to 50, and won the hit-outs 42 to 26.
All the Power big names had big days: both Ollie Wines and Travis Boak went from having quiet first terms to having influential games (Wines finished with a team-high 33 touches and Boak kicked a nice goal in the last), Dixon finished the game with three goals and a big smile on his face, while Drew finished his return game well with 22 disposals and even Hinkley brought out the bow and arrow when Duursma kicked the final goal of the game.
Fremantle’s three quick goals to finish the game gave them some respectability.
LYCETT BACK
Port’s big-name signing for 2019 — reigning premiership ruckman Scott Lycett — returned to AFL-level football after two weeks in the SANFL, and made his presence felt early.
Port was up 13-7 in the hitout count at quarter-time.
But it would have been the big man’s workrate end-to-end that would have pleased coach Ken Hinkley. In the second quarter he went from taking a strong defensive mark — as part of a backline that held Fremantle goalless for the term — to then minutes later have two shots on goal (that both ended in behinds).
Before limping off with a sore knee in the final minutes of the game, he finished with 22 hit-outs, 16 disposals, four marks and he kicked one point.
AT LAST FOR FIRST GAMER
Defender Trent McKenzie played his first senior game of the season after finally being rewarded for his strong form for the Magpies all season.
Coming in for the injured Tom Clurey, McKenzie put his elite kick on full display, and his 17-disposals to halftime were a team-high.
But given Fremantle struggled after quarter time bringing the ball forward, it wasn’t prime conditions for a defender to star, but he did what he could and finished the game with 21 disposals.
CARETAKER MODE
The Fremantle team that took to Adelaide Oval would have somewhat shaken after the turmultous week leading into the final match for 2019, after the sensational sacking of coach Ross Lyon.
However they could be forgiven for heading onto Adelaide Oval with some skerrick of confidence given first-game caretaker coaches this season had a 3-0 win-loss record in 2019 (St Kilda, North Melbourne and Carlton have all won their first games after the coach’s sacking).
Port stopped the trend dead in its tracks.
Caretaker Freo coach, David Hale (a triple premiership ruckman for Hawthorn who has spent the past three seasons as an assistant under Lyon) had said in the lead up to this match that his underlying message for the team was to go out, have fun and enjoy their football.
But instead, his players trudged off Adelaide Oval having lost eight of their 10 games and will have a lot of soul-searching in the off-season.
STATS TELL A TALE
The Power’s complete dominance of the Dockers showed on the stats sheets as well as on the field: for example, Port held Fremantle to the fewest number of inside 50s in a quarter (which was the solitary one) by any team this season. Also, until three-quarter time, Port had 14 marks taken inside their forward 50, which was the team’s highest tally for 2019.
CROWD
Given this game was a dead rubber — almost guaranteed by Hawthorn’s win over West Coast on Saturday night — the Port faithful could be forgiven for having stayed away from Adelaide Oval.
It’s not been a brilliant year for the Power in the home-crowd stakes having drawn just 25,623 against the Bulldogs on June 29 (in terrible conditions), 26,129 against the Suns on May 19 and 27,591 on July 27 against GWS.
In near perfect conditions yesterday, 27,504 people come out to support the Power.
And unlike their cross-town rivals, at least Port put on something of a masterclass that will give the supporters something to smile about.
SCOREBOARD
PORT ADELAIDE: 3.4 7.9 11.17 15.20 (110)
FREMANTLE: 5.1 5.6 6.6 10.7 (67)
GOALS
Port Adelaide: Dixon 3, Marshall 2, Westhoff 2, Rozee 2, Bonner, Duursma , Houston, Rockliff, Boak
Fremantle: Walters 3, Langdon 2, Mundy, Switkowski, Banfield, Dixon
BEST
Port Adelaide: Wines, Lycett, Westhoff, Drew, Duursma
Fremantle: Langdon, Fyfe, Conca
INJURIES
Port Adelaide: Lycett (leg)
Fremantle: Nil
Reports: Nil
Umpires: Stevic, Stephens, Hay
Crowd: 27,504 at Adelaide Oval