Heartbreaking finish sees Power scrape past Saints
St Kilda has fallen agonisingly short to an under-fire Port Adelaide, going down by two points in a heart-racing conclusion at Marvel Stadium.
Port Adelaide’s triumph to snap its three-game losing streak has sadly spelled heartbreak for St Kilda, with the Saints down by two points in a dour and mostly deadlocked contest at Marvel Stadium on Sunday.
The Power led by a point in the heart-racing final minutes, with a holding the ball decision deep in its attack allowing Mitch Georgiades to consolidate the result and chew up crucial time to deny the Saints one last roll of the dice.
Wayward kicking in front of goal with a combined 26 minor scores affected both sides, however the weight of entries in the Power’s favour - despite the resolution of St Kilda’s defence - and dominance from centre bounces (5-13) proved the difference by the final siren, despite the siren-to-siren grind which saw the latter held goalless in the final term.
Jason Horne-Francis’ polish by foot (28 disposals) and the drive of Zak Butters from stoppage (five clearances) were central in the eventual result, while Jack Sinclair mustered 31 touches and Rowan Marshall led the the scoreboard with three goals.
With scores locked at 42 points apiece at the main break, second-gamer Logan Evans kicked true for the first time of the third quarter at the 19-minute mark to establish what would be an eventual match-winning buffer off the back of a Saints blunder from the kick-out.
Despite its ball movement visibly cleaner than previous weeks keeping the scoreboard contained after Port Adelaide bagged four on the trot in the opening, St Kilda’s clawing for scoreboard reward proved fast undone by its opposition’s ability to reply with majors of their own in quick succession.
Although the ball was camped in the Power's front half for considerable parts of the contest, Callum Wilkie was prolific in his milestone outing (surpassing the club's consecutive games record) with 25 disposals and eight intercepts to weather the storm, while Josh Battle was just as effective with nine intercepts of his own in the high-intensity moments. Port Adelaide's Aliir Aliir was proficient for his side with a game-high 10 intercepts and multiple clutch moments late.
Up the other end, Marshall served as tall target up forward and capitalised off the sleeker movement into attack, pairing early with late inclusion Tom Campbell who took the share of ruck duties. Campbell was later subbed midway through the third term, making way for Cooper Sharman who injected life into the forward line with a clean set shot of his own and assist to get Jack Higgins on the board.
Sharman's touch helped level scores by the eight-minute mark of the final term, however neither side were able to separate and allow some much-needed breathing room as the minutes ticked down. Skipper Jack Steele had a shot on goal with three minutes remaining and his side trailing by a point, however his shot was thumped into the behind post and no score eventuated.
More to come.
ST KILDA 3.3 6.6 6.10 8.12 (60)
PORT ADELAIDE 4.1 6.6 8.11 8.14 (62)
GOALS
St Kilda:
Port Adelaide: Narkle, Bergman, Lord, Mead, Butters, Horne-Francis, Evans, Finlayson
BEST
St Kilda: Sinclair, Marshall, Wanganeen-Milera, Wood, Wilkie
Port Adelaide: Horne-Francis, Butters, Farrell, Aliir, Drew, Rozee
INJURIES
St Kilda: Bradley Hill (hip)
Port Adelaide: Marshall (hamstring)
LATE CHANGES
St Kilda: Seb Ross replaced in selected side by Tom Campbell
Port Adelaide: None
SUBSTITUTES
St Kilda:
Port Adelaide: Will Lorenz (replaced Todd Marshall in the third quarter)
CROWD
18,052 at Marvel Stadium
