AHEAD of their meeting in Round 17 of the 2018 AFL Premiership
The Power went into the Semi-Final in 2014 off the back of a clinical thrashing of Richmond in the Elimination Final a week earlier but knowing that a trip to Perth to take on Fremantle presented a different challenge, especially after the Dockers had lost to Sydney in the qualifying final.
The game started well for the visitors when Angus Monfries won a free kick and a 50-metre penalty to slot the first goal of the game.
From there the Power was under siege with the Dockers camped in their forward half for much of the first term but failing to make the most of their dominance on the scoreboard.
Hayden Crozier extended the lead to a game-high 31 points in the second term but the Power finally mounted a challenge just before
Chad Wingard’s second of the game cut the margin to 24 points at the main break and from there the Power steadily worked its way back into the contest with the next three goals
Robbie Gray dominated with four goals as the visitors turned a 24-point deficit into a two-point lead at three-quarter time.
The Power players could have dropped their heads though when the Dockers halted the momentum with the first goal of the last term inside the first 70 seconds.
It saw Port Adelaide into its first Preliminary Final since 2007 to set up another mouth-watering encounter against Hawthorn.
Hamish Hartlett finished with a game-high 33 disposals while Ollie Wines was magnificent with 26 touches and three goals. Wingard and Gray finished with four goals each.
FREMANTLE 3.5 6.11 8.13 11.17 (83)
PORT ADELAIDE 2.2 3.5 9.9 15.15 (105)
GOALS
Fremantle: Walters 3, Fyfe 2, Barlow 2, Crozier 2, Sandilands, Pearce
Port Adelaide: Gray 4, Wingard 4, Wines 3, Monfries, White, Polec, Schulz
BEST
Fremantle: Fyfe, Neale, Walters, Mayne, Mundy, Sandilands,
Port Adelaide: Gray, Wines, Wingard, Hartlett, Carlile, Westhoff
INJURIES
Fremantle: Silvagni (hamstring tightness) replaced in selected side by de Boer. Taberner (groin), Ibbotson (shoulder)
Port Adelaide: Jonas (hip)
SUBSTITUTES
Fremantle: Matt de Boer replaced Matt Taberner in the third quarter
Port Adelaide: Andrew Moore replaced Tom Jonas at half-time
Reports: Zac Dawson for striking Robbie Gray in the third term
Umpires: Margetts, Stevic, Schmitt
Official crowd: 42,338 at Patersons Stadium
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