Crows and Power have only a faint heartbeat after a horror Round 22. See what they have to do this weekend to play AFL finals
Adelaide and Port Adelaide’s finals hopes are hanging by a thread after horror weekends which leave them in their lowest combined ladder positions this year. See what each team has to do to make the top eight.
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- Crows and Power now neck-and-neck in finals race
- Horror night leaves Port’s hopes dangling
Adelaide has the faintest of pulses and Port Adelaide’s hopes of playing finals rests with its bitter hometown rival.
In an intriguing and thrilling battle for the final spot in the AFL’s top eight, four clubs still have a shot at the last elimination final berth heading into Round 23.
But after the Crows and Power stunk it up in being thrashed by Collingwood and North Melbourne on Saturday by a combined 152 points, they need a minor miracle to feature in September after their tasks were made even tougher on Sunday.
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The underdog Western Bulldogs took over eighth spot by overcoming a half-time deficit to thump Greater Western Sydney on the road by 61 points, while Hawthorn gained a big percentage booster with a 70-point crushing of hapless Gold Coast.
This saw the two SA clubs slump to 10th and 11th respectively — their lowest combined ladder positions this year.
The Crows now have to beat the Bulldogs, who kicked the final 12 goals against the Giants, in Ballarat in the early game yesterday by about five goals to have any chance of playing finals.
And if they do, Port, which plays the late Sunday game at home against Fremantle, will have the chance to chase a percentage-boosting win it might need to force its way into the eight in the final home-and-away match of the year.
As it stands, the Dogs occupy eighth spot with 44 points and a percentage of 105.63, gaining a 3 per cent boost yesterday.
Hawthorn sits ninth with 40 points and a percentage of 106.64 but faces a tough ask against
premier West Coast at Optus Stadium in its last game.
Adelaide (40 points, 102.99) and the Power (40 points, 102.98) are next.
“It’s going to be an interesting week because we’re not really going to know what’s going on until other results land,’’ said Port assistant coach Dean Brogan, labelling his club’s performance against the Kangaroos as a “debacle’’.
“It’s been taken out of our hands a bit now and we’ll either know our fate before the game or still be in the hunt (for a finals spot).
“If results go our way, we’ll still be in with a chance and hopefully we can sneak into the eight.’’
Adelaide coach Don Pyke, expressing his “super disappointment’’ at his side’s lame performance against Collingwood — “we’ve let ourselves down, we’ve let our fans and supporters down and it’s not acceptable,” he said — was understandably shattered at his post-match press conference.
“The season … in terms of where we finish, is out of our control now,’’ he said.
“We’ve obviously got one game to go and then whatever presents.”
With seven clubs — upstart Brisbane, Geelong, the Eagles, flag favourite Richmond, Collingwood, GWS and Essendon — already qualifying for finals in September, only one South Australian club can now make the top eight.
The Crows have lost six of their past eight games while the Power has lost four of its past six.