Port Adelaide advanced into a Preliminary Final after managing to hold on and get over the line to defeat Hawthorn in a thriller before a bumper crowd of 52,012.
As if there wasn’t enough on the line, there was a bit of extra spice in the lead-up to this encounter following a message on Instagram by Hawks forward Jack Ginnivan. He posted that he would see his ex-teammate Brody Grundy of the Sydney Swans in two weeks as a barb that they would get through this match.
It didn’t take long for things to boil over between the two teams, as a strong Todd Marshall tackle on Blake Hardwick on the boundary led to a pretty intense melee.
Out to make a statement following their dismal showing against Geelong the week before, the hosts were really up for this from the off. Their high pressure paid dividends in the early stages, as they were able to get momentum behind them.
Embed from Getty ImagesThe visitors responded, though, in the second with that man Ginnivan amongst the scorers, and he took a moment to play the pantomime villain with his celebration.
Embed from Getty ImagesNick ‘The Wizard’ Watson (pictured above) has been excellent for the brown and gold in his first season at the club since coming in as Pick 5, and he showed his quality with two snags inside a minute to put his mob ahead for the first time in the evening.
Luke Bruest 300th
Both had spells in an end-to-end third quarter – the home side got back into a lead, although substitute Luke Bruest (pictured below), in his 300th AFL appearance, nailed the 549th major of his career late on to get them back within a kick heading into the final turnaround.
Embed from Getty ImagesThree goals in a row, early in the last term, looked to see the Power pull away but, once more, credit to Sam Mitchell’s troops who responded well to fightback, taking some calculated risks, and could even have won it with just 90 seconds remaining.
Unfortunately, having taken a contested mark, skipper James Sicily watched his goalbound 50-yard effort hit the post—just another example of the close margins in finals.
Embed from Getty ImagesThe siren was met with huge relief and jubilation, but the big talking point came in the aftermath when Port coach Ken Hinkley passed the Hawks huddle and gave some verbal the way of Ginnivan in response to that message he had posted.
That drew the ire of Sicily, who was quick to stick up for his player and became embroiled in quite an exchange that attracted the attention of the AFL.
Embed from Getty ImagesDuring his presser, Hinkley addressed the situation with an apology by saying “There was an incident after the game where I had some words with a Hawthorn player that I wish I hadn’t had in a moment that I shouldn’t have had. It was an emotional game, a big result, and there was stuff said during last week that I certainly didn’t enjoy, but I shouldn’t have let that moment get to me.”
He went on “I’ve now made it known to them through this that I shouldn’t have approached the moment that I did, but what was done during the week was done and I responded to it in an emotional state, which shouldn’t be the case.”
Hinkley fined for his actions
The 57-year-old was subsequently issued a ‘please explain’ for those actions and, following the investigation, has copped a $20,000 fine for “conduct unbecoming”.
In a statement, announcing their decision, General Counsel Stephen Meade stated “We understand it is a passionate game with a lot at stake for all clubs. However Ken made a decision to engage with opposition players post-match – a decision he has since admitted was the wrong one.”
“Ken has acknowledged that his emotions got the better of him in the moment, however as a senior coach his actions fell well below what is expected by the AFL.”
“As we reiterated last week, opposition officials and players inappropriately engaging each other is something we don’t want to see because of the potential to escalate and the example that it sets for football at lower levels and we are disappointed the moment took away from what was one of the great finals matches.”
‘Dead-eye’ Joe wins it for the Lions
Joe Daniher was the hero, booting two majors in a minute, as Brisbane pulled off one of the biggest comebacks ever to break the hearts of Greater Western Sydney.
They trailed by as much as 44 points at one point in the third quarter, but to their credit, they never gave up and somehow managed to find a way to get the job done.
Embed from Getty ImagesTo put the result into context, this was the joint second-biggest in AFL/VFL finals history and the first time it had been achieved since 1970.
The 30-year-old forward (pictured above) has received plenty of criticism during his career for his inconsistent goalkicking, but he certainly stood up when it mattered and held his nerve, with his 392nd and 393rd snags of his career, to write himself into Lions history.
Speaking to Channel 7, he said “Fantastic, we hung in there didn’t we! We looked gone a couple of times but did enough to not let it get too far out and we got there.”
“I was really proud of our forwards tonight, we had a couple of young guys up there who really stood up, gave us a lot of pressure and it was a terrific performance.”
Embed from Getty ImagesAsked what coach Chris Fagan (pictured above) said going into the last term, he replied “The message was not dissimilar to that of half-time. We put them under pressure but they kept going forward and Hogan was taking some good marks but we managed to stem the flow, kept at it, it was finals footy and eventually we got there.”
They will now face Geelong, who touched them up back in April (Round 6) and held them to their lowest score of the year, at the MCG in a Saturday twilight fixture.
Embed from Getty ImagesHowever, after this triumph, last year’s runners-up will certainly be full of belief and confidence in their quest to have another crack at winning a flag.
Giants out in straight sets
It’s a bitter pill to swallow for the Giants who had been so good this season, but a second consecutive last-term fade-out sees them exiting in straight sets at the pointy end.
Embed from Getty ImagesJesse Hogan (pictured above) kicked five goals, his biggest haul in finals, to finish with 77 and also make it a career season high as well as winning his first Coleman Medal. It also the highest tally ever by a player at the club, beating Jeremy Cameron’s effort in 2019.
Talking in the rooms, a dejected Josh Kelly said, “It went wrong in a few areas at the end. We have given up leads in big games in two weeks in a row. So, we probably didn’t handle those moments well enough. We are going to have to review it pretty hard, analyse those certain things; the group is shattered!”
“The main message is learning from it. We have got to except that we were not good enough this year. We had the belief that the group was good enough, in moments our best football stacked up so we have to be optimistic in that sense.”
He added “But, at the same time, realistic that it didn’t amount to what we wanted it to amount to, so very disappointing. It is a young group, an exciting group; we will come back hungry and ready to go again.”
Results
Port Adelaide 11.9 (75)
Hawthorn 11.6 (72)
GWS 15.10 (100)
Brisbane 15.15 (105)
AFL finals: Week 3 fixtures – Preliminary Finals
Friday 20 September – Sydney v Port Adelaide @ SCG (7.40pm AEST)
Saturday 21 September – Geelong v Brisbane @ MCG (5.15pm AEST)
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