Port Adelaide has bolstered its finals hopes with a gutsy 14-point win against Central District at Alberton Oval.
Nick Moore and Tom Anastasopoulos celebrate the victory. Image: Brock Pearson.
Port Adelaide has bolstered its finals hopes with a gutsy 14-point win against Central District at Alberton Oval. Despite only dropping the lead once, the Magpies withstood several Bulldogs advances right up to the last quarter, with a Lachie Charleson miracle goal sealing the victory.
It was a day of celebrations at Alberton Oval as Port Adelaide looked to honour the 30th anniversary of the club’s 1995 Premiership triumph against Central District. Players from that champion side joined the current Magpies pre-game, and then formed a guard of honour as the side ran out.
“It was great to have them there today and have them there as the boys ran out. It’s a significant day for the footy club. I think the boys used it as a little bit of motivation,” head coach Hamish Hartlett said.
Without key rucks Ivan Soldo (concussion protocol) and Dante Visentini (injury), it was Jeremy Finlayson who stood up to shoulder the ruck load in today’s game. And stand up he did, finishing with a staggering stat line of 30 disposals, two goals, 15 hitouts and a whopping 17 clearances.
“He was brilliant in the way he competed today. He was really positive and engaged throughout the whole match. He was helping his teammates out a lot, and clearly playing very, very well himself. It was an incredible performance,” Hartlett said.
Lachie Charleson celebrates one of his goals. Image: Brock Pearson.
While Finlayson was the star, there were multiple other stand-out performances that helped contribute to the win. Among them was mid-season recruit Ewan Mackinlay who finished the game with 21 disposals and a goal, with Hartlett praising his pace, work rate and ability to gel in the side since being drafted mid-season.
Christian Moraes (24 disposals, one goal) had a major impact after playing half a quarter in last night’s AFL game for the Power, and captain Nick Moore (two goals, eight tackles) displayed his characteristic grit and strength to lead the way.
Another storyline was provided by SANFL contracted top-up Josh Byrne who was the leading goalkicker on the ground, bagging three majors. Byrne, who has previously lined up in defence for the Magpies, only got the call from Hartlett yesterday while he was warming up for his local side, Broadview.
“It’s nice to have those contracted guys that have got some versatility and are really happy to play any role that they need to,” Hartlett said.
“After a really bad knee injury last year he’s worked his way back into playing some great footy at SANFL level again. I’m really happy for Josh. He’s a great guy to have around the place.”
Sunday’s victory puts the Magpies back in the top five, with two big weeks ahead against Glenelg and Norwood to determine whether Hartlett’s side will play finals footy.
“Aside from honouring the ‘95 flag, I think the most significant part of the pre-game motivation for us today was just the potential for us to play some football in September, being right on the precipice of finals there with a couple of other clubs,” Hartlett said.
Port Adelaide will take on Glenelg on Saturday at 2:10pm in their Round 18 fixture at the Bay.
Scoreboard
Port Adelaide 3.1 7.5 9.9 14.10 (94)
Central District 1.1 6.3 8.4 12.8 (80)
Goalkickers: Byrne 3, Finlayson, Charleson, Moore 2, MacKinlay, Moraes, Watkins, Weidemann, Williams.
Best: Finlayson, Watkins, Linke, McLennan, Lai, Moraes