Pathetic Power
Another sorrowful chapter was added to Port Adelaide’s tale of finals woes with the Power crashing to yet another embarrassing September meltdown, hammered by Geelong by 84 points in Thursday night’s qualifying final.
It was Port’s fourth successive finals defeat – three of them at Adelaide Oval – a streak that stretches back to 2021. And it was their ugliest loss since their record-breaking 119-point defeat, also against the Cats, in the 2007 grand final.
Jason Horne-Francis had 18 disposals on a miserable night for Port Adelaide.Credit: AFL Photos via Getty Images
Beaten by the Power here in the qualifying finals in 2020 and 2021, Geelong turned the tables in emphatic fashion, feasting on Port’s plethora of panicky turnovers and poking repeated holes in the home side’s truly awful defence.
“It’s one of the poorer finals we’ve seen from a team in a while,” St Kilda great Leigh Montagna said on Fox Footy.
Co-commentator and Hawthorn legend Jason Dunstall was equally scathing.
“Their [Port’s] defence is horrible, and in attack they have only one method – kick long to a contest – and it ain’t working,” he said.
After a wobbly start, the Power rallied either side of quarter-time and looked a decent shout when Connor Rozee goaled on the cusp of half-time, before the Cats tore the hosts apart for the next hour, Port outscored 11 goals to one after half-time.
Butters battered
Zak Butters was subbed out at half-time.Credit: AFL Photos via Getty Images
Port’s dark night took a horror turn when Brownlow Medal prospect Zak Butters was substituted out of the match at the start of the third quarter with a rib injury.
The Power vice-captain appeared to cop the injury when dumped in a heavy tackle in the opening five minutes in the lead-up to the Power’s first goal through Ryan Burton.
Butters, who was crowned the league’s most courageous player by his peers for the second year running during the week, was below his best while accruing only eight disposals in the first half.
Captain Connor Rozee was more fortunate, shrugging off a right shoulder stinger in the closing minutes when he got caught up in a tangle while tackling Cats captain Patrick Dangerfield.
Cameron on song
Jeremy Cameron carried Geelong’s attack with four goals, including two from the absolute top shelf.
His first, a miracle snap from the north-western pocket over Aliir Aliir, had the Cats up and about early.
His second came late in the second stanza, a fumble, pick-up and bouncing effort that he celebrated wildly, inches away from a Port fan’s face on the south-western boundary.
Cameron had plenty of help at his feet from Geelong’s small crumbers, with Tyson Stengle slotting four and Gryan Miers and Shaun Mannagh three apiece.