PORT ADELAIDE has won its third straight match, beating Melbourne at Adelaide Oval by ten points.
It was a trying game with much of the work done in the contest and the Power had to wait until the last quarter to get any sort of foothold in the match.
The game was pitted as two contested ball sides looking to prove their top four credentials and the early stages were tightly fought if low scoring.
Justin Westhoff took a big pack mark in the ninth minute but hit the post with his set shot from 25
Todd Marshall had a chance to boot the game’s first goal after marking but being hit late and receiving a
But like
It wasn’t until the 21st minute that the game saw its first goal when Mitch Hannan marked on the lead 40
It seemed to spark the visitors as they piled on the next two, the last after some luck with Dougal Howard fumbling the ball onto Christian Petracca’s boot in the goal square.
The Power faithful had to wait until after the siren for Brad Ebert to get his side’s first.
Playing his 150th club game, Ebert kicked truly from 50
Ebert had his second early in the second term before Chad Wingard was given a controversial mark and kicked his first major of the night to bring
The sides traded goals to McDonald and Power skipper Travis Boak before Robbie Gray forced the ball forward and Sam Gray chipped to Lindsay Thomas to give him a chance to put the Power in front at the main break.
His set shot seconds before the final siren drifted just wide to leave Port two points behind at
Sam Powell-Pepper was proving a menace in the midfield with a remarkable ten tackles to
What was a low-scoring contest opened up in the third
After
Robbie Gray provided a highlight with a dribbled goal, after a brave tap from Lindsay Thomas in the goal square and he had a second after a free kick.
After opening up a game-high 20-point lead, a goal to Charlie Dixon had the Demons’ margin back to eight before Tom McDonald slotted his third after playing on from a mark in the goal square.
But after
In front of 40,751 people – the biggest crowd to witness a match between the sides – the sides were going at it, with momentum swings that failed to deliver any real advantage.
After 20 goalless minutes, Lindsay Thomas found himself free inside 50 and took an uncontested mark before slotting home the set shot to bag his first and bring the Power to within two points.
When Sam Gray booted his first from a free kick 45
A goal to Justin Westhoff, his second, sealed the result as the Power broke a
Powell-Pepper was brilliant, finishing with 17 tackles, the highest by any player this AFL season,
SCOREBOARD
PORT ADELAIDE 1.3 4.6 8.7 11.9 (75)
MELBOURNE 3.5 4.8 9.9 9.11 (65)
Goals
R Gray, Ebert, Westhoff, 2 Dixon, Boak, Wingard, Thomas, S Gray
Best
Jonas, Wines Rockliff, Powell-Pepper, Ebert, Ryder, Clurey
Injuries
TBC
Crowd
40,751 at Adelaide Oval
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