PORT
The Power withstood a
After Jack Watts and Steven Motlop missed early shots for the home side, it was Charlie Cameron, playing at Adelaide Oval for the first time since leaving the Crows in the
It was eight minutes before the Power got some reward for its attacking dominance when Charlie Dixon marked off a long hook around the body from Jared Polec.
The big forward would play on and slot home the ball, and when Robbie Gray marked and kicked truly from 35 metres a minute later, Port Adelaide was in front.
The Power had more than double the number of shots and inside
Late goals from Todd Marshall and Chad Wingard, on the siren, helped the home side steal back the lead at the first break.
Brisbane started strongly in the second
Port, with its first inside 50 of the term after five minutes, had its first when Sam Gray found himself in space to run onto a ball over the top and into an open goal.
But the tide turned with the Lions starting to dominate the clearances and contested possessions.
Three straight goals, including Cameron’s third, had the visitors in front by 11 points, before Steven Motlop broke the momentum with his first, after marking about 40 metres out.
But the Lions weren’t done, continuing to look more desperate for the footy and kicking the next two to open up a 17 point advantage.
Sam Gray pinched
The game changed in the third term as the Power piled on seven goals to two including four in a row.
Motlop’s second a particular highlight as he showed off his pace to burst out of a pack and kick home with composure from 25 metres, while Brad Ebert’s first from outside 50 after a patient
A late goal to the Lions brought them to within three goals at the final change
And the game was on a
Eric Hipwood’s second goal of the final term had the Lions just five points down and it seemed Port Adelaide would rue a misguided Jack Watts handpass when Robbie Gray was running into an open goal, and a shot from captain Travis Boak which hit the post.
But the Power held on with dogged defence under extreme pressure for a five-point win, with Jared Polec and Dougal Howard marking deep inside 50 to continually repel the Lions’ surges.
The result keeps the Lions winless at Adelaide Oval in six attempts, and without a win in 2018, while the Power retains its unblemished record this season.
SCOREBOARD
PORT ADELAIDE 4.6 7.7 14.8 14.13 (97)
BRISBANE 4.0 9.6 11.8 14.8 (92)
Goals
S Gray 3, Motlop 2, Ebert, Marshall, Boak, Dixon, Watts, Westhoff, Dixon, Gray, Wingard
Best
Polec, S Gray, Powell-Pepper, Motlop, Hartlett, Wingard
Injuries
Crowd
36,363 at Adelaide Oval