Port Adelaide Takes Care of Hawthorn
Port Adelaide and Hawthorn opened up the semi-finals weekend with a clash at the Adelaide Oval. Port Adelaide, who finished second in the regular season were significant favourites against seventh ranked Hawthorn.
The match started slowly with the two sides combining for just 10 points in the first 20 minutes as Port Adelaide led 8-2. They were able to put through another goal and a behind before the end of the opening quarter to stretch their lead to 15-2.
Port Adelaide kept up their momentum early in the second quarter with another goal and three behinds. At this point it looked as though they might run away with the match leading 24-2 and with momentum heavily in their favour.
Hawthorn flipped a switch midway through the quarter however and fought back quickly. The Hawks put through three goals in just seven minutes to cut the lead to just four. After trading goals and Hawthorn adding a behind it looked as though they would go into halftime trailing by just three until a last-minute Willie Rioli goal stretched the Port Adelaide lead back to 36-27.
Hawthorn didn’t let this kill the bit of momentum they had gained from the quarter as they came out strong in the third. Nick Watson scored two quick goals to give Hawthorn their first lead of the game at 39-36.
Port Adelaide would bounce back with 14 unanswered points until Hawthorn put through a goal before the quarters end to make it 50-45 for Port Adelaide.
Early in the fourth quarter Hawthorn knotted the match at 51 apiece. Port Adelaide then poured it on over the next five minutes scoring three quick goals and seemingly taking control of the match.
Hawthorn wasn’t ready to give up yet however as they battled back and cut the lead to four with just minutes remaining. In the dying minutes James Sicily made a move forward but was unable to find a goal, settling for a behind which cut the lead to three.
This was as close as the Hawks got as just a minute later the full-time whistle blew with the score 75-72 in Port Adelaide’s favour.
Brisbane Stuns GWS in Comeback Win
The second of the two semi-finals featured Brisbane and GWS. The fourth ranked Giants were the home side at ENGIE Stadium against number five Brisbane.
Similarly to the other semi-final the match took a while to pick up as only ten points were scored in the first 16 minutes. Joe Daniher then put through a goal to give Brisbane a two-point lead before GWS scored 23 of the next 24 points.
Brisbane would fight back and cut the lead to 10 by the end of the quarter. Early in the second they cut the lead to just four until midway through the quarter GWS exploded again. Jesse Hogan scored a pair of goals and Toby Greene added one of his own as GWS led 55-34 at halftime.
As the second half began it looked as though GWS was running away with the match as they put through four goals and a behind and gave up only two behinds in the opening 15 minutes.
Brisbane then went on their own run, scoring 31 unanswered and cutting the lead to 13. As was the theme in this matchup, GWS quickly responded, putting through three goals and stretching their lead to 31 early in the fourth.
It was all Brisbane from that point forward. They would give up just two more behinds all game while scoring 38 points of their own to win 105-100 in spectacular fashion.
The AFL semi-finals did not disappoint as Port Adelaide and Brisbane won by a combined total of eight points between their matchups. These two sides now look toward the preliminary finals where Port Adelaide plays Sydney and Brisbane clashes with Geelong.
