Furious Port Adelaide coach Ken Hinkley has launched a stinging attack on the “unfair” treatment of high-profile young recruit Jason Horne-Francis following the Power’s brave 14-point victory over the Western Bulldogs.
Relatively quiet until three-quarter-time, Horne-Francis unleashed a fourth-quarter wet-weather masterclass, racking up nine disposals, five inside-50s and four clearances down the stretch to heavily influence Port’s fightback.
Hinkley made a beeline for Horne-Francis after the full-time siren and engaged in animated conversation which finished with them sharing a hug.
Jason Horne-Francis was booed during the match.Credit:
The Power mentor was even more animated during the post-match press conference, hitting out at those wanting to make Horne-Francis their whipping boy.
“Let the kid play footy - he’s 19,” Hinkley steamed.
“If you’re treating my 19-year-old son the way some people have treated him, I’d be embarrassed by my performance if I was those people. I think it’s been really unfair.
Horne-Francis, wooed to Alberton after a tumultuous debut season at North Melbourne who took him with the No.1 pick in the 2021 draft, was called out earlier this year by some past AFL greats for perceived defensive flaws in his evolving game.
And on Saturday night, Horne-Francis received a surprising smattering of boos when he touched the ball early against the Bulldogs.
Hinkley said he was fed up with the media’s reporting on the young player and the boos from the stadium.
Port Adelaide gave their campaign a stirring shot in the arm, while dealing a blow to the Western Bulldogs’ prospects with a brave victory at wet, wintry Adelaide Oval.
The supremacy of Tim English and Marcus Bontempelli around the contest, allied by Cody Weightman’s four-goal haul in his first appearance of the season, saw the Dogs ease their way into pole position before a late Power surge completely altered the temperature of the seesawing encounter.
Trailing by eight points after Weightman’s fourth major, Port’s response was supreme.
The Power defied heavy conditions to overturn three quarters of Bulldogs’ territorial ascendancy. Credit: Paul Kane, Getty
Power forward Todd Marshall booted back-to-back fourth-quarter goals to put Port in front but Bulldogs coach Luke Beveridge insists the turnaround in the middle was where the match was decided.
“We just didn’t have enough contributors as far as the scrap goes,” Beveridge said.
“We lowered our colours towards the end of the game and lost our handle on it. We let the ball drop to the outside from stoppage and let them chain off shoulders, which is too hard to defend.
“In conditions like that, any time with ball in hand was scarce.
“Our balance, organisation and control of where that ball was going to end up fell away and they pounced.“
Architect of the revival: Zak Butters. Credit: Sarah Reed, Getty
Port looked more convincing in front of the ball early, while their defence, which has endured varying degrees of bleeding already, stood firm.
The Power’s robust pressure all across the park forced the Dogs into ill-advised overuse via hand during the torrential downpour that engulfed Adelaide throughout the opening quarter.
The rain softened in the second term, as did Port’s grip on the contest, the Bulldogs beginning to dominate both territory and clearance.
English, arguably the competition’s premier ruckman, was getting on top of Scott Lycett around the ground, combining spectacularly in the clinches with Bontempelli, who at one stage had more individual clearances than the Power’s entire team.
With Ed Richards, Jason Johannisen and Caleb Daniel linking, running and creating, the Dogs sliced their 15-point quarter-time deficit to two midway through the second term.
Marcus Bontempelli, right, spills a mark during round five. Credit: Paul Kane, Getty
Veteran Travis Boak responded with his first goal of the year - and a beauty at that - shaking off Bailey Williams and snapping spectacularly from the scoreboard pocket.
Nullifying the impact of the dangerous Bailey Dale, makeshift defensive forward Darcy Byrne-Jones booted his second major in the shadows of half-time to push Port ahead by nine points.
Adam Treloar got busy in the third and the Doggies went with him.
Bontempelli was shadowed by Willem Drew after the long break and the Bulldogs superstar duly dragged the smaller Power tagger into the goal square, outmarked him one-on-one and converted to give the visitors their first lead.
The match was the Bulldogs’ for the taking but Port, like they did against Sydney seven days earlier, found a second wind.
They finally solved the Bontempelli riddle and seized complete control of the arm wrestle with what is fast becoming a trademark late flourish.
FLEA FLYING AGAIN
Making his first appearance for the year, Weightman hit the highlight reels with his first touch of the footy.
After missing the first month of the season with a groin issue, Weightman showed no ill-effects of his injury when he soared majestically over Kane Farrell for a stunning mark-of-the-year contender at the seven-minute mark.
Weightman booted three of his side’s first five goals, finished with four and despite the final result, the Dogs’ forward line, problematic at times in 2023, undoubtedly looks better with his lively presence.
POWER GO SMALL-BALL
Almost immediately after the Bulldogs forged their first lead of the night, early in the third term, the Power pulled the pin on Lycett’s dirty night.
Port’s No.1 ruckman was kickless, rendered ineffective thanks to a combination of the slippery, wintry conditions and the mint form of English.
The Power activated the sub, replacing the lumbering Lycett with Jackson Mead.
With ruck duties subsequently shared by Charlie Dixon and Jeremy Finlayson,
Dixon won an important forward stoppage tap against English before the slick hands of Connor Rozee and Ollie Wines finished with Dan Houston’s successful bomb from 50m, which gave Port the lead during the third term. The Power looked slicker from the moment of Lycett’s exit.
Best
Port Adelaide: Butters, Rozee, Houston, Byrne-Jones, Wines, Aliir, Horne-Francis.
Western Bulldogs: English, Treloar, Bontempelli, Weightman, Johanissen, Daniel.
Cody Weightman celebrates a goal. Credit: Sarah Reed, Getty