Star West Coast defender Reuben Ginbey has been cut down by a quad injury as Port Adelaide snapped a four-game losing streak with a pulsating six-point AFL win at Optus Stadium.
In a nail-biting finish to Saturday night’s match, West Coast came from 22 points behind late in the third quarter to close the margin to four points with three minutes remaining.
(Getty Images)
The ball lived in West Coast’s forward line for most of the last quarter, and the Eagles had their chances to snatch the lead.
But Port were able to finally clear the ball from their defence in the final two minutes of the game, with Mitch Georgiades kicking a point after the final siren to make it a six-point win, 11.11 (77) to 10.11 (71), in front of 47,479 fans.
The result improved Port’s record to 4-8, while the Eagles slipped to 4-9.
But the biggest news of the match was the injury to Ginbey.
Ginbey had kept Georgiades goalless in the first half, but tore his quad while chasing the star Power forward 10 minutes into the third quarter.
The injury came just days after Ginbey re-signed with West Coast until the end of 2030, and just a week after Eagles coach Andrew McQualter said Ginbey was in All-Australian form.
Port midfielder Zak Butters racked up 27 disposals and seven clearances despite having to deal with tagger Brady Hough, while defender Esava Ratugolea tallied seven intercept marks in a masterful display.
Jason Horne-Francis kicked three goals for Port, while Jake Waterman kicked three for West Coast and defender-turned-forward Tom Cole kicked two.
AAP