Port Adelaide’s finals hopes, and percentage, take a huge hit as Kangaroos run riot
It’s tight and tense in SA right now after both the Crows and Port Adelaide sustained horror losses. In fact, going into next week’s final round, Adelaide is ahead by just 0.0127 per cent.
- Match centre: All the live stats and SuperCoach scores
- Match report: Horror night leaves Power’s finals hopes dangling
Who would have thought Adelaide would suffer its biggest home loss in six years yet end Saturday night narrowly ahead of Port Adelaide on percentage and inside the eight?
Surely not Crows fans, who had walked out of Adelaide Oval incredibly disappointed by their side’s 66-point defeat to Collingwood, nor Power supporters, who would have eyed a one-win buffer on their rivals with victory over North Melbourne in the game that followed.
Instead, Port got both a reality check and a massive percentage hit, losing six per cent in its shock 86-point defeat to the Kangaroos.
It meant the Crows leapfrogged their cross-town rival into eighth spot to go ahead by the barest of margins — 0.0127 per cent.
Adelaide sits eighth with 102.9878, Port is ninth with 102.9751 and both teams are suddenly relying on other results to make the major round.
All eyes were on the AFL’s live ladder during the final term, as the Power coughed up five goals and kicked only one.
Port not only lost heavily on the scoreboard but in many major statistical categories.
The possession count was a staggering 514-307 in North’s favour — the sixth-highest disposal differential on record in VFL/AFL history.
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Contested disposals were particularly ugly for the Power, as the Kangaroos led that area 175-124.
“If the Port players weren’t aware before the game that was going to be North Melbourne’s big focus, they were kidding themselves,” Cameron Ling said.
“If they were aware, they didn’t bring the effort required in there.
“They’ve been destroyed.”
The Kangaroos also dominated clearances (45-24) and especially centre clearances (22-10), as Todd Goldstein finished with 34 disposals, 28 hit-outs and a goal while giving his midfielders first use of the ball.
He torched Paddy Ryder (eight touches, 26 hit-outs, 1.1) and fifth-gamer Peter Ladhams (seven disposals, nine hit-outs, zero marks), who both copped a serve from Port coach Ken Hinkley at quarter-time, after Goldstein had helped North to a 32-point lead.
The duo had kept their spots after Port’s back-to-back wins over Essendon and Sydney — following Hinkley’s surprise decision to drop off-season recruit Scott Lycett — but those were sides with back-up or makeshift ruckmen.
Their first big test as a pairing was Goldstein and they were smashed, which would surely prompt calls for Lycett to return to the side.
But Ryder and Ladhams had plenty of teammates who also played poorly and would not be the only ones looking over their shoulders ahead of selection for the crunch home game against Fremantle next Sunday.
QUARTER-BY-QUARTER UPDATES
FIRST QUARTER
North 6.3 (39)
Power 1.1 (7)
North Melbourne stunned early Port Adelaide with its attack on the football.
The Kangaroos kicked the opening three majors and dominated the inside 50 count 16-6.
It took until the 21-minute mark of the term for the Power to slot their first goal — a neat running finish from Karl Amon.
But the Kangaroos responded immediately via Cameron Zurhaar then Nick Larkey added another from the goal line after a 50m penalty.
While Port could not find space in its attack, North players were loose — as evidenced when Ben Brown won a free and slotted another late.
Todd Goldstein dominated for North, gathering a game-high 12 touches as the hosts led centre clearances 7-1.
SECOND QUARTER
North 12.8 (80)
Power 3.4 (22)
The horror show continued for Port Adelaide, while Ben Brown and Todd Goldstein kept dominating.
Brown helped North continue where it left off with a goal 22 seconds into the term and Goldstein kicked the next major, taking the ball out of the ruck and snapping truly.
The Kangaroos continued to pile on the pain and Brown kept giving the Power defence and particularly Tom Clurey headaches.
The key forward ended the term with six majors, while North was well ahead in all major statistics — 263-144 disposals and 33-19 in inside 50s.
THIRD QUARTER
North 17.9 (111)
Power 7.6 (48)
The Ben Brown show rolled on during the third term, adding another three majors.
Port kicked the first goal of the quarter through Paddy Ryder but North finished with five to the Power’s four for the term.
To rub salt into Port’s wounds, ex-Power midfielder Jared Polec kicked a goal on the run late in the term to extend the margin to 70 points.
Connor Rozee responded with a major for the visitors not long before the three-quarter time siren, as Port sought to stop its heavy percentage loss.
Travis Boak (20 disposals) was the Power’s leading possession winner to this point.
FOURTH QUARTER
North 22.12 (144)
Power 8.10 (58)
As Port Adelaide played only for pride and damage minimisation, the story of the fourth quarter was again Ben Brown.
The Kangaroos spearhead slotted his 10th major five minutes into the term and the question became how many could he kick?
It started looking like a possible 100-point defeat for the Power after goals to Jack Ziebell and Shaun Higgins a short time later.
Robbie Gray looked like the only dangerous player in attack, finishing with three goals.
But the Power had few contributors on what could be a very costly loss for their finals chances.
North finished with the second-most disposals by a team on record with 514 on an ugly, ugly night for the visitors.
NORTH MELBOURNE V PORT ADELAIDE
Saturday 17 August, 6.55pm at Marvel Stadium
Weather: Roof closed, max 16C
TV: Fox Sports 503, Channel 7 live
Radio: FIVEaa, TripleM, ABC891
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KANGAROOS
B: Williams, Thompson, Pittard
HB: Macmillan, Tarrant, Ahern
C: Simpkin, Higgins, Polec
HF: Anderson, Larkey, Garner
F: Ziebell, Brown, Zurhaar
FOLL: Goldstein, Thomas, Cunnington
I/C: Dumont, Atley, Durdin, Turner
EMG: Hrovat, Wood, Campbell, Hosie
IN: Durdin
OUT: Wood (omitted)
POWER
B: Houston, Clurey, Bonner
HB: Hartlett, Jonas, Byrne-Jones
C: Westhoff, Rockliff, Amon
HF: R. Gray, Dixon, S. Gray
F: Marshall, Ladhams, Rozee
FOLL: Ryder, Wines, Boak
I/C: Broadbent, Butters, Powell-Pepper, Burton
EMG: Sutcliffe, Drew, McKenzie, Lycett
IN: Butters, Burton
OUT: Duursma (injured), Sutcliffe (omitted)