Port Adelaide thrash Hawthorn at Adelaide Oval with highest first-half score ever

Port Adelaide have racked up a cricket score at the Adelaide Oval in a historically dominant performance that blew an astonished Hawthorn off the park.

Travis Head’s famous 2015 New Year’s Eve effort for the Strikers was in serious danger on Saturday afternoon as the fastest century scored at the Adelaide Oval, as Port Adelaide crushed Hawthorn.

Watch every match of every round of the 2023 Toyota AFL Premiership Season LIVE on Kayo Sports. New to Kayo? Start your free trial now >

In one of the most dominant first-half performances of all time, the Power thrashed the Hawks 23.13 (151) to 14.12 (96), extending their club-record winning streak to nine matches at the Adelaide Oval.

Starting with a goal after 20 seconds to Jeremy Finlayson, the Power never looked back.

Led by Finlayson’s four goals in the first term, Port Adelaide would blow the quarter-time score out to 9.3 (57) to 2.3 (15) before an extraordinary second quarter that would see them raise the bat to go into the major break with 105, the league’s highest first-half score since 2012 and the Power’s highest ever.

Jeremy Finlayson was greeted by wife Kellie and daughter Sophia on the tunnel exit ahead of the game against Hawthorn. (Photo by James Elsby/AFL Photos via Getty Images)

Port led the Hawks in inside 50s 42-20 at the break, and tackles inside 50 14-1, and threatened to kick their highest ever total score within three quarters of football (188 against the Hawks in 2005)

Social media was livid at Hawthorn’s performance after an upset win against St Kilda last week and a thrashing of West Coast the week before.

“I actually think this is the worst Hawthorn game I’ve seen, no exaggeration,” said journalist Leonardo Puglisi.

“Today has been one of the worst bloodbaths of my life.”

One Hawks supporter had no words, simply posting the much-memed scene from the sixth season of The Simpsons – “Stop, stop! He’s already dead!”

At the half, Hawthorn coach Sam Mitchell was at a loss for words.

“We’ve been very ordinary,” said Mitchell to Fox Footy at half time.

“We just couldn’t handle their pressure, so hopefully we show something in the second half.”

Mitchell’s prayers were answered in the second half, as the Hawks rallied to produce a scoreline that approached respectability.

#AFLPowerHawkspic.twitter.com/hpXKxDxNsb

— laura ✨ (@_goldenlaura) June 3, 2023

Luke Breust brings up 5️⃣0️⃣0️⃣ goals 👏 #AFLPowerHawkspic.twitter.com/kMWMHtzS75

— AFL (@AFL) June 3, 2023

Mitch Lewis would kick his first immediately from the first bounce to restart the game, and Hawthorn would even match Port for the third quarter with both teams kicking 5.3.

“They’ve answered the challenge from the coach at half time,” said Fox Footy’s David King.

“They’ve fought hard to wrestle this back.”

The Hawks comeback wasn’t the only positive for the men in brown and gold, with Luke Bruest, standing in for suspended captain James Sicily, kicking his 500th career goal early in the first term.

Breust would go on to kick five as the Hawks dragged the score back to within 60 points.

Ahead of the game, Jeremy Finalyson warmed the hearts of the football world as he took to the ground alongside wife Kellie and with daughter Sophia in his arms in touching scenes.

Finlayson’s partner Kellie was diagnosed with stage four bowel cancer in 2021, and recently announced that following chemotherapy, her condition had improved, although she is not yet in remission.