PORT ADELAIDE’s thrilling last-minute win over Adelaide in Showdown XLIV has been ranked as one of the games of the season by the AFL writers at The Age newspaper

The ultimate thriller went right down to the wire with Steven Motlop showing remarkable poise to steady and slot the winner on the run with just over 20 seconds remaining.

The win had looked unlikely until the Power mounted a second-half fightback with Robbie Gray booting five goal in the third quarter and finishing with six as the Power set up what seemed to be a match-winning lead.

Momentum swung and the Crows seemed to have stolen victory back when Mitch McGovern marked and goaled with less than a minute remaining, but the Power forced the ball forward where it ended up in Motlop’s arms and the former Geelong flyer did the rest.

Here is what The Age football writer Anthony Colangelo said of the game:

“These games – almost always buried away in twilight timeslots on pay TV – rarely fail to deliver,” he wrote.

“As his side trailed by one point, Port’s new recruit Steven Motlop kicked the winning goal with 27 seconds on the clock.

“Adelaide had hit the front seconds earlier, thanks to a Mitch McGovern mark and set shot, after trailing by 18 points early in the final term.

“The Power's Robbie Gray finished the match with six goals, as Ken Hinkley’s men began a mid-season charge.”

The Age writers nominated their top three games for the year in an article on Thursday.

Hawthorn’s one-point Easter Monday win over Geelong in which Hawks skipper Jarryd Roughed kicked a behind with just over a minute remaining to win the game was named second.

The Cats’ come-from-behind after-the-siren win over Melbourne in Round 18 was the other game on the list after Geelong had kicked eight goals to three in the final term to overcome a 29-point deficit and win.

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