AFL Round 10 Port Adelaide v Geelong: All the news, analysis and fallout as injury carnage hits Adelaide Oval
There was unprecedented injury carnage at Adelaide Oval on Saturday as the Cats went on a second-half blitz. But does it explain – or excuse – another Power capitulation?
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A bizarre first half of injury carnage on Saturday claimed star Geelong skipper Patrick Dangerfield and Port Adelaide’s Jason Horne-Francis, but the Cats overcame the injury toll to smash the desperately disappointing Power.
Jeremy Cameron was quiet early, but exploded for a stunning seven goals in a dominant performance by Geelong that consigned the struggling Power to a third defeat in a row.
Dangerfield and Horne-Francis suffered hamstring injuries in cold and slippery conditions at Adelaide Oval, as did Lachie Jones and Jack Bowes, while Josh Sinn copped a game-ending hip injury in the first quarter.
With the Power down an extra player in the second half, Geelong took full advantage with a five-goals-to-one third quarter.
With Port exerting little pressure, the rampant Cats piled on eight unanswered goals in a devastating burst before Mitch Georgiades broke the run with four minutes remaining.
The conditions made for a tough slog, with the first score not coming until 12 minutes into the first term, but Bailey Smith’s class shone through, the prolific onballer continuing his fine vein of form.
Oisin Mullin largely nullified the impact of Zak Butters, with Port floundering in the second half, conceding 12 of 13 goals at one stage in a drubbing that leaves its season delicately poised.
The loss left Ken Hinkley’s side with a 4-6 record, while the Cats bounced back from a tight loss to GWS to improve to 6-4.
CASUALTY CHAOS
Horne-Francis, Sinn and Bowes left the game in the first quarter, with Dangerfield and Jones knocked out in the second.
Sinn limped to the bench inside the opening two minutes after copping Mark O’Connor’s knee to his left hip then disaster struck again when Horne-Francis pulled up from a chase clutching his right hamstring.
The young star cut a disconsolate figure as he limped from the ground between two trainers to take his place on the bench.
Then Bowes and Dangerfield departed within minutes of each other, with both suffering injuries to their right hamstrings.
“We’ll probably have to play a bit slower clearly, a bit more straight line, and keep it in a bit of a contest,” Hinkley told Fox Footy at halftime.
“We’ll see what happens from there because, you know, they’re down a couple two, but they’ve got one extra one on the bench.”
NOT AGAIN!
Jones had been doing an excellent job on Cameron, but his day ended prematurely 20 minutes into the second quarter.
Jones has an unfortunate history with hamstring injuries, and he pulled up clutching his left one after evading Cameron and getting a handball off.
The Power defender was unable to go with Cameron on a lead before he could leave the ground, with the Cats’ forward bagging his first after taking an uncontested mark.
Cameron went back-to-back in fine style, slotting an outstanding goal from out near the 50m arc on the boundary to give the visitors a nine-point lead at the main break.
The star Cat rubbed salt in the raw wounds of home supporters with his seventh coming just seconds before the final siren.
MAXIMUM RANGE
Max Holmes provided a bit of comic relief after the halftime siren after he was awarded a free kick – the problem was the ambitious Cat was 85m from goal on the boundary line.
Undeterred, he moved a bunch of television cables out of his way and set sail, but his ill-timed torp landed well short.
SCOREBOARD
POWER 2.4 3.6 4.9 5.9 (39)
CATS 3.1 5.3 10.9 17.13 (115)
PHELAN’S BEST POWER: Rozee, Powell-Pepper, Wines, Burton, Visentini. CATS: Cameron, Smith, Dempsey, Miers, O’Connor, Mullin, J Henry, Atkins.
GOALS POWER: Powell-Pepper 2, Richards, Byrne-Jones, Georgiades. CATS: Cameron 7, Dempsey 2, Stengle, Neale, Mannagh, Humphries, O Henry, Close, Bowes, Atkins.
INJURIES POWER: Horne-Francis (hamstring), Jones (hamstring), Sinn (hip). CATS: Dangerfield (hamstring), Bowes (hamstring).
UMPIRES Fleer, Deboy, Heffernan, Stevic
33,508 at ADELAIDE OVAL
PLAYER OF THE YEAR
JASON PHELAN’S VOTES
3 Cameron (Geel)
2 Smith (Geel)
1 Dempsey (Geel)
Originally published as AFL Round 10 Port Adelaide v Geelong: All the news, analysis and fallout as injury carnage hits Adelaide Oval
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