A vintage final quarter from Lance Franklin wasn’t enough to drag the Sydney Swans over the line at Adelaide Oval, as Port Adelaide triumphed on Saturday evening by 10 points.
In what an arm wrestle all night, the Swans fired the first shots after quarantining for the week in Melbourne. However, Port worked their way on top in the contest to go into the final change with a 15-point lead.
The Power had kicked four of the last five goals as the Swans weren’t able to get dangerous inside forward fifty throughout the middle of the game.
That all changed in the last quarter however, as Franklin kicked the first three goals of the term.
And all three were magical. The first saw Franklin quicker to recover than those around him, bouncing up in a flash to grab the Footy and kick a low runner that gave the Swans some hope.
The second was ‘Buddy’ at his peak. A huge run-down tackle that everyone saw coming, except for Tom Jonas. He would kick the goal from 20 metres out, before getting out the back three minutes later to give the Swans the lead with a thirs straight kick.
It wasn’t enough in the end, as the Power’s Sam Mayes and Scott Lycett were able to kick big goals for the home side and keep the club within arm’s length of a top four spot.
Travis Boak proved he’s far from over the hill yet, as the 32 year-old was clearly the best player on the ground after half time after Swans tagger George Hewett kept the superstar to minimal influence in the first. It was his 151st win for the Power, now the clubs’ equal most successful player with Kane Cornes with 151 wins.
He finished with 30 disposals while Port Adelaide’s other midfield bull, Ollie Wines, had 29 possessions.
Luke Parker and Callum Mills battled valiantly for the visitors at the coalface, finishing with 64 disposals and 31 contested possessions between them.
Buddy’s edging closer to the top, the Power beat just their 2nd top eight team for the year, and a SANFL player stepped up when he was most needed.
Here’s everything you need to know!
Franklin takes number six:
Lance Franklin has now kicked the sixth most goals in AFL/VFL history, knocking off Richmond legend Jack Titus.
Entering the last quarter still one behind Titus, ‘Buddy’ wound back the clock to kick three amazing goals.
While Franklin has a knack for turning it up when the game and his team demand it, the individual accolades are certainly nothing to sneeze at.
Franklin is now 58 goals behind Gary Ablett snr in fifth spot and 84 behind Doug Wade in fourth. At 34 years of age, he’s still a chance to cover off these champions of the game.
Titus also spent an astonishing 30,380 days inside the top six of the AFL/VFL goal kickers list, a feat that has now been ended by Franklin.
Port break top eight hoodoo with Swans win:
Port Adelaide has faced growing criticism in the last month over their lack to go with teams higher than them in the ladder, and those in the top eight.
Before tonight’s match, the Power had played five matches against teams in the top eight, losing four of them. Their only victory in that space came by two points against Richmond, who are struggling to hold onto a finals’ spot.
On Saturday night, Ken Hinkley’s men went a little way to breaking that hoodoo by beating Sydney, and perhaps more importantly, responding when challenged by a good side.
They’re still yet to beat a team above them on the ladder, but Sydney might be their most important scalp to date and will give the team plenty of confidence as it heads towards the pointy end of the season.
The difference:
Sam Mayes woke up on Saturday morning thinking he was playing a game of SANFL footy.
He did that, playing a half and racking up 13 disposals before being yanked from the field to start as Port Adelaide’s medical sub.
It was a strange situation, made even stranger by the fact Mayes was eventually called upon in the last quarter when Trent McKenzie went off with a shoulder injury.
However, it didn’t fase Mayes, who - barring Franklin - had as big a last quarter as any. He had four touches playing in the forward line, but it was the goal that regained them the lead which Mayes will remember the match by.
Late in the fourth quarter, having already played a half of footy than day before cooling down and going again, the 27 year old was the hero for the Power.
What’s next?
The Power have put themselves in the top four with the win over Sydney, taking advantage of Geelong’s demolishment at the hands of Brisbane on Friday night.
They can begin to lock down their spot with a potential big win over the Hawks next week, in what will be former Port player Shaun Burgoyne’s 400th game.
In another sign of the times, the Swans are booked in to travel down to Geelong to play the Eagles.
After Saturday night’s result, the Swans’ spot in the eight will be vulnerable if they can’t come away with the win against what will likely be a full-strength West Coast outfit.
FULL SCORE
Port Adelaide: 4.3, 7.4, 10.6, 12.9 (81)
Sydney: 5.3, 6.6, 7.9, 10.11 (71)
GOALS
Port Adelaide: Dixon 2, Marshall 2, Boak, Lycett, Houston, Bergman, Rozee, Powell-Pepper, Farell, Mayes
Sydney: Franklin 4, Hayward 2, Papley 2, Gulden, Parker
BEST
Port Adelaide: Boak, Lycett, Houston, Dixon, Wines
Sydney: Franklin, Parker, Mills, Dawson, McInerney
INJURIES
Port Adelaide: McKenzie (shoulder), Dixon (foot)
Sydney: nil
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