Carlile performed admirably against the in-form Franklin, restricting him to three goals from 14 touches, but could only watch in awe when the Hawks match-winner dribbled home a left-foot snap from the boundary line early in the third quarter.
“I was spectating that one. I had a little smile on my face and was thinking, jeez that’s pretty good,” Carlile said after the game.
“Buddy’s a freak. He gets up the ground and can run all day. He’s a tremendous athlete and just a really good footballer. I did okay, but he’s still kicked three goals.”
“The guys up the field put a lot of pressure on the ball coming in and the kicks sat up, which gave guys like Troy Chaplin and Jackson Trengove a chance to come over the top and help me out.”
Port Adelaide trailed by 11 points at three-quarter time and appeared in trouble, with Nick Salter (calf), Paul Stewart (hamstring tightness) and Danyle Pearce (jaw) all carrying sore spots into the final term.
The Power got themselves in winning positions on several occasions during their nine-game losing streak, but were unable to maintain the effort long enough to record a win.
Carlile said caretaker coach Matthew Primus had implored the players to deliver a strong finish on Saturday afternoon.
“Matty had a good chat to us at half time and three-quarter time. He told us that it was all in our heads from that point on and just to keep running. To the boys' credit we really stuck at it,” Carlile said.
“Matty has brought a lot of discipline to the team. He said right from the start what he expects and what he’s not going to stand for. The boys have taken it on board and really run with it.”
