Ex-Roo Jason Horne-Francis gave it to his old team in Port Adelaide’s big win
Port’s Jason Horne-Francis was public enemy No. 1 against North Melbourne, but he had the last laugh in a fiery victory in Hobart.
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Port Adelaide has claimed its eighth victory of the season in a convincing triumph over North Melbourne, winning 16.11 (107) to 7.6 (48) at Blundstone Arena on Saturday afternoon.
The Power moved into second position on the ladder at least for now following the 59-point belting, while the Kangaroos remain winless in 2024.
Alastair Clarkson’s brigade started the game promisingly, holding an early first-quarter lead before relinquishing any momentum they momentarily had in the game.
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Port’s star midfielder Jason Horne-Francis played his 50th AFL game against his former side, finishing with 24 disposals, 10 clearances and one goal in a classy showing against his ex-teammates.
Key forward Todd Marshall also had a day out for the Power, booting an equal-career-best five goals in an impressive set-shot goalkicking display.
The one sour note for Ken Hinkley’s side on the day was the early calf injury suffered by mercurial forward Willie Rioli, who was ruled out at quarter-time after suffering a strain.
It’s the Power’s fifth consecutive victory over North Melbourne, which has won just two games in its past 32 outings and allowed its opponent to score at least 100 points in every game this season.
It seemed spice was inevitable when Horne-Francis came up against the club who invested Pick 1 in him two years ago – and the club he sensationally walked out on 12 months after the draft – for his milestone match.
And there were some tense scenes amid the young star’s midfield masterclass at Blundstone Arena.
Late in the second term, Horne-Francis took a mark inside 50 before getting in the face of ex-teammate Charlie Comben.
Importantly, the 20-year-old went back and nailed his set-shot, prompting some choice words and a mini scuffle with Kangaroos players, most notably co-captain Luke McDonald.
“He (Horne-Francis) is well entrenched in the Port Adelaide side, so there’s no conversation about does he feel awkward coming up against his old side,” four-time premiership Hawk Jordan Lewis told Fox Footy.
“I love the niggle. I love this from players – we don’t see it as often as we should.”
Horne-Francis seemed to be playing with a point to prove against the Kangaroos, producing several outstanding moments at stoppages amid boos and jeers from North fans during the Power’s commanding victory.
Horne-Francis, prior to Saturday’s match, had only had more than eight clearances in a game twice. By halftime against the Roos, he’d already had eight on his way to 10 for the match.
Lewis pointed out that teammate Willem Drew’s defensive positioning at stoppages allowed Horne-Francis to be consistently aggressive and explode out the front.
“He is so dynamic around the midfield,” Lewis said.
“He is causing some headaches for Alastair Clarkson and the North Melbourne coaches.”
Horne-Francis somewhat took a back seat during the Power surge in the third term, with Zak Butters having 10 touches for the quarter alone and Todd Marshall kicking three goals.
But the young gun clearly set the tone – and spice – for the game in a dynamic first half.
Horne-Francis post-game said he “wouldn’t want to change” his AFL journey to date, despite the rollercoaster.
“I’ve been through a lot and now settling down at Port Adelaide, it’s been a really good change,” Horne-Francis told Fox Footy.
“Playing the old mob in 50 games is pretty special. I guess it makes it a little bit more special that it was against them.
“Credit to them, they really tested us early and credit to us boys we stuck to the task.”
For the Kangaroos, there were some good signs for their fans, but the reality is Clarkson’s troops have now lost all of their first 11 games of the season.
The positive signs, undoubtedly, came during the first quarter, kicking three of the game’s first six goals.
The Roos’ ball movement was impressive, changing angles at every opportunity to give their forwards a decent look inside 50, while Comben was leading the backline superbly.
“We’re seeing glimpses of what they can do,” five-time premiership Hawk Dermott Brereton told Fox Footy.
“For periods, they defend pretty well and then there are times where we cross our fingers they can hit a target going inside forward 50.
“There is so much to work with there, they just have lapses where they drop-off and they give the oppo one or two quick ones.”
The problem for the Roos was there was a significant lapse in the third term as the Power slammed on 6.5 to 1.2, with the footy primarily living in the visitors’ forward half.
There was some hope the Roos would be able to restrict the Power to under 100 points for the match as full-time approached.
But late goals to Mitch Georgiades and Ollie Wines extinguished those hopes.
North Melbourne will have the bye in Round 12 – and arguably no team needs it more.
The Roos next face the Eagles at Optus Stadium, with a trip to Perth to take on West Coast a far more intimidating task this year than it was in 2023.
Originally published as Ex-Roo Jason Horne-Francis gave it to his old team in Port Adelaide’s big win
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