AFL 2022 Port Adelaide v Gold Coast Suns: All the news and reaction from the 15 round clash
Port Adelaide star Charlie Dixon is acutely aware the Power face a simple equation every week — lose, and they’re out of the finals race. So far, so good.
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It was an elimination final in June for Port Adelaide on Sunday against Gold Coast.
And, with a thrilling two-point win over the Suns, the Power have kept their slim finals chances alive as they built on their win over Sydney the previous week.
“It was huge,” Power key forward Charlie Dixon told The Advertiser, post match.
“They are a very in-form team and they threw everything at us.
“It was a very good win, we sort of hurt ourselves a little bit there.
“We started so well and let them back into the game but it was super to come away with the win.”
So with one early elimination final survived, the Power’s finals chances are still alive – for at least another week – as they prepare for another huge clash with a trip to Perth to take on Fremantle.
“Every game for us has been a must win since going 0-5,” Dixon said.
“Every game becomes a must win, and will be for the rest of the year.”
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The clash against the fourth-placed Dockers kicks off an extremely tough run home for the Power – who are now sitting in 12th with a 7-7 record.
Two games out of the finals, and with a significantly lower percentage than top eight rivals Richmond and the Western Bulldogs, after taking on the Dockers in Perth the Power host GWS, travel to the Northern Territory to take on Melbourne, welcome Geelong to Adelaide, take on Collingwood at the MCG, take on Richmond at home, travel to Marvel Stadium to take on Essendon before finishing their season with a Showdown against the Crows.
Realistically the Power probably cannot lose more than three games out of these remaining fixtures to be a chance of sneaking into the top eight come the end of the home-and-away season.
Fremantle in Perth and Melbourne, who have rediscovered its winning touch, will be tough games for the Power to win – despite their impressive form of late.
So unless the Power can cause a big upset or two in the next three weeks, their finals chances could come down to how they go against the Magpies and Tigers in Round 20 and 21 – and even Geelong’s trip to Adelaide in Round 19.
Hinkley said the Power couldn’t look further than their trip to Perth, a mindset that has helped them overcome a 0-5 start to at least have a crack at a finals chance despite coming from a long way back.
“We have to focus on Fremantle,” Hinkley said.
“We have stayed really narrow in our focus and that’s what we should continue to do, stay in the moment and just focus on winning every game.
“The competition will throw up some different things.”
Dixon said the Power had an opportunity to make a big statement against the Dockers, especially if they can cut out some lapses they have been having.
“Definitely, it is another challenge for us,” he said.
“It is a huge game for us.
“There are definitely some areas that we need to work on, we have had some lapses where teams have taken advantage of them but we are moving in the right direction.”
Hinkley said consistency would be key for the Power.
“It’s not about what we need to improve on rather what we need to be consistent on because we know that if we do most things right like we did last week (against Sydney) we have a good outcome,” he said.
“But most teams are like that, if you play to your best and what your best looks like you will get the best chance.”
The Power can take some real confidence from their win over the Suns, especially the way they were able to quell the influence Gold Coast co-captain Jarrod Witts was having on the game.
With Sam Hayes in the SANFL even with mid-season draftee Brynn Teakle joining Scott Lycett on the injury list, the Power again went with no recognised ruckman.
In Round 13 Richmond’s Toby Nankervis wasn’t able to make the Power pay for rolling with Jeremy Finlayson as their No. 1 ruck.
On Sunday, Witts was having a field day and making a solid case for him being arguably the best ruckman in the competition right now.
After the Power’s strong start to the match, Witts practically dragged the Suns back into the game in the second quarter.
Seemingly finding a fellow Sun, especially co-captain Touk Miller, at every opportunity Witts had 11 hit-outs, six disposals, two clearances and two tackles as Gold Coast staged a comeback.
Reigning Brownlow Medallist Ollie Wines conceded at halftime that Witts was having too much of an influence on the game.
“We knew the force that he is around stoppages particularly and they were able to get some scores from there,” he said on Fox Footy.
“So we need to do better to contain him.”
Shaun Burgoyne, who is working for Port Adelaide, said ahead of the third quarter on Triple M that “the Witts match-up will be key to this game”.
So while Finlayson started the game as the Power’s ruckman, it was Dixon who was thrown into the stoppages to try and stop the star Sun.
“He is so big and probably the best ruckman in the league at the moment so we had to try and stop his influence on the game and try and their mids were on the fly flat out and that’s what got them back in the game, surging the ball forward,” Dixon said.
“So we had to try and stop that and neutralise their hits and make it a 50/50 rather than him getting a clean possession.
“Jez had done a super job and I was a bit fresher so I was able to get in there and throw the weight around and try and halve those balls because it is so hard to be able to get a clean hit with someone so big like that.
“We’ve got to do what we’ve got to do for the team you know and that’s to fill a role while we don’t have a ruckman at the moment and I think Jez and I can work really well together and go well.
“It has sort of paid off a little bit, we were able to get it back on our terms more in that third and last quarter.”
Dixon had eight disposals and three hit-outs in the third and fourth quarters.
But Hinkley said his influence went way further than any numbers, as the Power were able to limit Witts’ damage.
“I thought Charlie was huge for us in the ruck, he was really big,” he said.
“Witts was having a big outcome in the game and we put another big person on a big person.
“Jeremy has a lot of weapons with what he does but I thought today it was more of a need for Charlie to be there with his physical presence.
“We knew there was an issue. Miller was getting his hands on the ball, we made some adjustments we made the ruck change, we put Drew on Miller and was able to quell some of his influence.”
Hinkley said going in without a recognised ruck was “not our preference”, even though Hayes was available for selection.
But with Scott Lycett set to come back potentially for the Dockers clash, this should be an area the Power don’t have to worry about in their run home.
Orazio Fantasia is also set to return, giving the Power some small forward skills they have been lacking at times this season.
But youngster Lachie Jones is pleasing Hinkley and his coaching staff with his work as a half-forward.
The cult-hero has been a workhorse type player since he was shifted forward from defence against the Tigers.
Against the Suns he had an impact with the ball, kicking a goal and having eight score involvements from his 16 disposals.
“He plays footy the right way, he’s tough and hard and he has a lot of run,” Hinkley said.
“Right now we aren’t sure exactly where Lachie plays his football in his career, all we know is that he is bringing some really important stuff to our front half and he will stay in that spot.”
Resurgent Power ready to call in cavalry
Port Adelaide should have Orazio Fantasia available for its clash against Fremantle, and could even have No.1 ruckman Scott Lycett back with the cavalry set to return for the huge match against the Dockers.
The Power have kept their slim finals hopes alive after a thrilling two-point win over Gold Coast at Adelaide Oval on Sunday afternoon.
After a 0-5 start the Power are now two wins off a top eight spot, but can’t afford many if any slip-ups on their run home in 2022.
The Power take on the high-flying Fremantle in Perth on Sunday as they begin their tough finish to the end of the season.
And they could have two huge inclusions for another crunch clash.
Fantasia had 17 disposals and 0.4 in his first full game of the season for the Magpies in the SANFL after off-season knee surgery and then a quad issue as he pushed for a return to action.
Hinkley said following the win over the Suns that the livewire small forward was right in the mix to take on the Dockers.
“He will be pushing hard I would have though,” Hinkley said.
“Based on what I saw yesterday he was really damaging other than kicking goals.
“He kicked 0.4 and he looked like he should, a class above some of the SANFL footy.”
Fantasia could be joined by Lycett for the clash, after he suffered a shoulder dislocation against Melbourne in Round 4.
Hinkley said if Lycett is passed fit then he wouldn’t need to go through the SANFL first.
“He’s a mature player so we will make the call on what is best for us and what is best for Scott,” Hinkley said.
“He has had a lot of conditioning, the thing when you do your shoulder you are not lacking conditioning when you return.
“Scott, he won’t mind me saying this he is not the most skilful player we have out there, but he is a really big competitor and that gives us good reason to think about him long and hard.”
Young gun Zak Butters could also be available after he missed the win over the Suns with a medial ligament strain suffered against Sydney the previous week.
“He would say next week, but we will wait and see,” Hinkley said.
Tom Clurey and Darcy Byrne-Jones should also be available again after they missed the win over the Suns because of Covid-19 protocols.
Captain Tom Jonas limped from the field in the fourth quarter after a big collision with Gold Coast’s Izak Rankine, but was able to return to the match.
Hinkley said Jonas “doesn’t get hurt”.
“He is just tough, he plays footy in an unbelievable way and that’s why he’s our captain,” Hinkley said.
Power still connected as finals dream has a pulse
—Jason Phelan
Port Adelaide has refused to let the sun set on its finals dream, the brave Power seeing off a furious challenge by Gold Coast to win a pulsating encounter by two points on Sunday.
It was 11th v 12th on the ladder leading into the clash, which lived up to its billing as a quasi-elimination final in June.
The Power led by just two points when Ben Ainsworth goaled with just over two minutes remaining at Adelaide Oval.
With the ball deep in Gold Coast’s attacking 50 Port defended desperately to hold on for a 13.15 (93) to 13.13 (91) that keeps Ken Hinkley’s men in the finals hunt with a 7-7 record.
“It was a cracking game of football when you can take a breath,” Hinkley said.
“It was two teams who have had pretty good form for a good period of time … this season is remarkable and the match-ups this weekend have proved that.”
It wasn’t quite a David versus Goliath match-up in the ruck but Jeremy Finlayson faced a huge task against in-form Suns big man Witts, who enjoyed a 12cm and 17kg physical advantage in the head-to-head battle.
Finlayson’s superior mobility when the ball hit the ground served the Power well early, with Mitch Georgiades kicking his first goal in an opening term blitz.
But Witts’ dominance at the stoppages was a key factor in the Suns’ resurgence, with Mabior Chol also proving a handful in attack in the second quarter.
Chol kicked goals either side of the quarter-time break in a run of four unanswered majors that saw the visitors hit the front for the first time 13 minutes into the second term.
Jeremy v Goliath
It wasn’t quite a David versus Goliath match-up in the ruck but Jeremy Finlayson faced a huge task against in-form Suns big man Witts, who enjoyed a 12cm and 17kg physical advantage in the head-to-head battle.
Finlayson’s superior mobility when the ball hit the ground served the Power well early, with Mitch Georgiades kicking his first goal in an opening term blitz.
But Witts’ dominance at the stoppages was a key factor in the Suns’ resurgence, with Mabior Chol also proving a handful in attack in the second quarter.
Chol kicked goals either side of the quarter-time break in a run of four unanswered majors that saw the visitors hit the front for the first time 13 minutes into the second term.
Charlie’s 300th
The home side held a slender five-point lead at halftime, but Charlie Dixon extended that margin with a perfectly timed milestone goal.
Dixon, who played 65 games and kicked 94 goals for the Suns, struck a blow against his old side from tight against the boundary line out near the 50m arc.
Hemmed in on the wrong side for a left-footer, the burly forward curled in a stunning effort to make his 300th AFL goal one to remember.
Rozee rises
Several acts of desperation inside Port’s attacking 50 allowed the home side to edge ahead after the Suns led midway through an enthralling third quarter.
Rozee provided the polish with back-to-back goals snatching back the lead and helping his side to a 13-point break at the last change.
Gold Coast kept coming after the restart and threatened to steal a famous victory as Chol booted his third.
A brilliant tackle by Sam Powell-Pepper on Miller lifted the Power with just under two minutes left, the home side surviving a shout for a deliberate out-of-bounds by Willem Drew in the dying seconds to deny the visitors one last shot at victory.
SCOREBOARD
POWER 5.4 6.8 12.11 13.15 (93)
SUNS 2.4 5.9 10.10 13.13 (91)
PHELAN’S BEST
Power: Wines, Rozee, Houston, Marshall, Bonner, Amon.
Suns: Miller, Witts, Ainsworth, Rankine, Swallow, Chol.
GOALS
Power: Marshall 4, Georgiades 2, Rozee 2, Dixon, Duursma, Farrell, Finlayson, Jones.
Suns: Rankine 3, Chol 3, Casboult 2, Ellis 2, Holman, Ainsworth, Rosas.
INJURIES
Power: Nil.
Suns: Nil.
UMPIRES
Harris, Fleer, Pell.
VENUE
Adelaide Oval
PLAYER OF THE YEAR
JASON PHELAN’S VOTES
3 Wines (Port)
2 Miller (GC)
1 Rozee (Port)
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Originally published as AFL 2022 Port Adelaide v Gold Coast Suns: All the news and reaction from the 15 round clash
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