AFL Round 16 Essendon v Port Adelaide: Dan Houston wins the game for the Power after the siren
In an MCG thriller, Jye Caldwell put the Bombers in front with 80 seconds left – but Port Adelaide’s best kick marked the ball outside 50 moments later. See the incredible finish here.
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A booming Dan Houston goal after the siren has sunk the Bombers in a heart-stopping finish decided by a video review at the MCG.
Essendon hit the front with 80 seconds left in a pulsating battle with eight lead changes after Jye Caldwell converted a high pressure set shot, but an errant snap at goal from Darcy Parish with a minute remaining opened the door for the Power to surge the ball forward from a kick-in.
Mason Redman was pinged for deliberate out of bounds and Port pumped the ball back inside their 50, with repeat stoppages before Houston slid in to pounce on a Bombers kick on the edge of the arc.
His Power teammates knew his shot had crossed the line and took off in celebration, but a goal review was called before the stunning result was confirmed.
THE MOST INCREDIBLE FINISH.
— 7AFL (@7AFL) July 1, 2023
DAN HOUSTON WINS THE GAME FOR PORT ADELAIDE!!#AFLDonsPowerpic.twitter.com/lVG3RJX09A
Power coach KenHinkley said he was not confident in Houston’s set shot given the distance and wet conditions, but was certain the 26-year-old had the best chance of landing it of any of his players.
“Yeah, if you’ve got a choice it’s Dan, but he was still a long way out, he was on the Telstra logo and the conditions … I wasn’t confident that he could kick that but I knew if anyone could, Dan’s a chance,” Hinkley said post-match.
“In the moment, like all those things they get you emotionally, and I’m always an emotional person, but it was pretty special.
“There’s something going on at the moment for us, and we’re believers in hanging in, and it seems to work
“I said to the boys in there, ‘there’s some sort of story getting written at the moment, for lots of reasons’, and I’m a big believer in those reasons helping you out when you need them, and I thought we got some help today from above.
“It’s been a pretty special week for me to be honest, I had another grandson born this week on Thursday, Ben, and then Miles, my other grandson, it was his birthday today too … so it’s been a pretty emotional week in lots of ways.”
The Bombers were unable to punish Port for a wayward first quarter in which they kicked 2.7. and missed two more straightforward shots at goal completely, in a loss that leaves their finals hopes fading ahead of a difficult run home.
Port Adelaide extended its club record winning streak to 12 games as the bold decision to keep captain Tom Jonas out of the side was again vindicated, with Aliir Aliir and Trent McKenzie keeping Bombers pair Peter Wright and Sam Weideman goalless.
Charlie Dixon limped off the ground late in the last quarter but took a courageous late mark to set Zak Butters tearing through the middle of the ground on the way to a crucial goal.
The latest of changes
Was it the latest late change ever? Scott Lycett twisted his knee in the final warm-up in an extremely frustrating setback for the in-form Power ruckman.
He was put through a series of simulated ruck contests and ground balls, but was uncomfortable changing direction to the extent that Port Adelaide called on travelling emergency Dante Visentini to make his debut.
The decision led to stunning scenes as the 202cm Visentini, who had not warmed up with the original 23, took his boots off on the bench to have an ankle strapped as the game began and was put through his warm-up on the boundary line before finally entering play during time-on in the first term.
It came so late that Visentini wasn’t strapped for the opening minutes of the match.
Melbourne AFLW great Daisy Pearce said that might be a good thing for Visentini.
“It is not a bad way to do it rather than find out on Tuesday and have five sleepless nights,” she said.
The family of the former Brighton Beach junior were caught completely off guard by the stunning call to hand him his first game, with parents Paul and Ange receiving the news just before the bounce and dropping their plans for the evening for a frantic commute to the MCG.
The circumstances would have been bittersweet for Visentini, who would have had a much larger contingent of friends and family in attendance if a debut at the ‘G had come with more notice.
It even caught out the Power’s social media team, with the club announcing Visentini’s debut on Twitter nearly halfway through the first quarter.
Scott Lycett failed his fitness test just minutes before the opening bounce and is a late out!
— Fox Footy (@FOXFOOTY) July 1, 2023
📺 Watch #AFLDonsPower LIVE on ch. 504 or stream on Kayo: https://t.co/cx6wXN0K8n
âœï¸ BLOG https://t.co/NgMG4xXxbu
🔢 MATCH CENTRE https://t.co/IAymedKxM8pic.twitter.com/ZY4DGjgDSf
Martin responds to scrutiny
The commentary around Nic Martin’s season on the wing took a sharp and unexpected turn this week when Leigh Montagna came to AFL360 armed with a number of damning stats.
Martin conceded the most marks and uncontested possessions to his opponents of any player in the first 15 rounds and was singled out by Montagna as he put Essendon’s defensive woes under the microscope, but his response on Saturday night was impressive.
The former SSP bargain recruit kept direct opponent Travis Boak to just one kick and without a mark in the first half, as Martin continued his excellent offensive season and snuck forward for a goal.
Scoreboard
BOMBERS 2.2, 4.8, 7.12, 10.14 (74)
POWER 2.7, 5.8, 6.9, 11.12 (78)
BOURKE’S BEST Bombers: Merrett, Parish, Langford, Stringer, Caldwell, Hobbs. Power: Houston, Farrell, Rozee, Butters, Williams, Powell-Pepper.
GOALS Bombers: Langford 3, Guelfi 2, Caldwell 2, Laverde, Martin, Stringer. Power: Rozee 3, Dixon, Farrell, Narkle, Butters, Finlayson, Burton, Byrne-Jones, Houston.
UMPIRES Findlay, Hosking, Meredith, Power
INJURIES Bombers: none. Power: Dixon (knee).
CROWD 38,957 at the MCG
BOURKE’S VOTES
3. D. Houston (PA)
2. K. Farrell (PA)
1. Z. Merrett (Ess)
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