DOWN by 10 points late in the final quarter, Port Adelaide’s hopes looked all but dashed with a minute to go against St Kilda.

But a stirring goal to Aaron Young with 58 seconds left on the clock, had the Power within four points.  

The win looked impossible, even with the Power throwing everything to push the ball forward.

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A boundary throw-in looked to be a genuine 50/50 with players flooding around the ball, but an impeccable tap from Paddy Ryder to Robbie Gray set the dual All-Australia with a mammoth roost with seven seconds to go.

Gray's goal put the Power two points ahead - a lead it clung to until the final siren.

It's also the goal that has kept the Power’s hopes of a top-four finals berth alive, with Melbourne losing to the Kangaroos earlier in the day to keep the Power at the fore of the charge for the double chance.

St Kilda was left to wonder what might have been, after seizing the lead in time-on of the final term through Luke Dunstan.

The rain-soaked game saw the Power lead at every change and the entirety of the game before that, but was suddenly left to chase with time ticking away.

Then Tim Membrey slotted his third for the night to extend that margin to 10 points.

The Saints looked home even in the final minutes, but the Power took every opportunity and were rewarded with the thrilling win – their eleventh for the year.

Port will now stand fourth on the ladder on percentage, with Geelong and Richmond still to play.

In a difficult game to assess owing to the conditions, Port will still have some concern over St Kilda’s ability to create opportunities forward-of-centre.

The Saints booted 3.12 for the first three quarters and could have led at various points in the game had they kicked straight.

Despite claiming the win, the Power will also look closely at how the Saints were able to kick 5.1 in the final quarter.

It’s an important win for Port Adelaide going into next Sunday’s Showdown 43 against crosstown rivals Adelaide.


SCOREBOARD

PORT ADELAIDE              2.3        3.5        5.7        9.9 (63)
ST KILDA                          1.3        2.8        3.12      8.13 (61)

Goals
Westhoff, Amon, Impey, Polec, Trengove, Dixon, Ebert, Young, R. Gray

PORTADELAIDEFC.COM.AU’S best
Ryder, R. Gray, Polec, Pittard, Hartlett, Amon

Injuries
Nil

Crowd
30,335 at Adelaide Oval

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