Chad Wingard has starred in Port Adelaide Power's 94-76 win over the Fremantle Dockers, booting five goals.
Chad Wingard celebrates one of his five goals in the 18-point win. PIC SARAH REED. Source: News Corp Australia
PORT Adelaide has broken another hex after a last-quarter blitz led to an 18-point win against Fremantle at Adelaide Oval.
Two weeks after they broke a longstanding hoodoo against Geelong, Port's players pencilled in their first win against the Dockers since 2009 after six straight losses.
It was defensive, congested, crowded and messy until the game finally opened up in the last quarter.
Before that, Port had not managed to kick two goals in a row.
Jasper Pittard runs into Matthew Pavilich. PIC SARAH REED. Source: News Corp Australia
But the time Aaron Young slotted a set shot in the 17th minute they had banged on six in a row. The work was done.
There were three obvious sparks to the change of complexion in the game. Jackson Trengove went into the ruck after Brent Renouf was subbed off and was brilliant in his job in containing Aaron Sandilands. The way he crashed into his taller opponent was a match changer.
Port Adelaide Power coach Ken Hinkley and star Chad Wingard address the press following their side's win over Fremantle.
Kane Cornes went to Nat Fyfe, who had been outstanding for Fremantle, and managed to slow him down. And Chad Wingard made the forward line his personal centre stage. He had kicked five by the time was under lock and key and could easily have had another couple had it not been for a couple of misses.
Others muscled in on the game when it was there to be one, few more than captain Travis Boak and former captain Dom Cassisi, who were calm but unrelenting around the packs and helped set up goals from stoppages — something that had been a rarity in the first half.
Alipate Carlile tries to stop Matthew Pavlich. PIC SARAH REED. Source: News Corp Australia
For the bigger part, the game was a mess. Both teams were running like a toddler through a living room; as a spectator you were just waiting for a fall. In football, that means turnovers and they were plentiful.
One in the last line of defence led to a goal from Matt De Boer, who cashed in for the Dockers' first goal. But it was one of many.
Paul Duffield could be in trouble with the match review panel for a contentious bump on Chad Wingard.
One of the game's most controversial characters, tagger Ryan Crowley, spent the bulk of his time on Port captain Travis Boak and it made for a riveting duel. Like the match, it took time to settle.
Jay Schulz, who was leading the Coleman Medal race leading into this round, kicked Port's first from a tight angle in the forward pocket but Fremantle were mindful of him, making sure that at most time there was more than one of their players paying attention to his moves.
Lachie Neale and Dom Cassisi vie for the ball. PIC SARAH REED. Source: News Corp Australia
What Port Adelaide did exceptionally was keeping the ball in their forward 50; there was a passage when the Power were leading by two goals to one when they stayed in there for minutes, which seems like forever in a game of football.
But if Fremantle hasn't replicated last year's form, the Dockers are bringing the same amount of courage to matches. It was typified by a mark from backman Alex Silvagni, who crashed into teammate Nick Suban when taking a pack mark. Suban was helped off the ground but returned later.
The Dockers are also exceptionally hard workers; they manage to have outnumber the competition at contests and make good use of their spare players in the backline.
Tendai Mzungu was exceptional in that role against the Power. He roamed the backline, anticipated the play and kept running into the right spots. The amount of times he took a mark in the last line of defence would have been deflating for the Power midfield.
Chad Wingard celebrates his goal. PIC SARAH REED. Source: News Corp Australia
But it also had itself to blame: the forward entries came from a long way out and Schulz and the other forwards were rarely marking on an easy lead-up from a 30m kick.
Ruckman Matthew Lobbe was a late withdrawal for Port Adelaide after reporting a sore calf before the game which left Brent Renouf with the job of standing the game's biggest player in 211cm, 120kg Sandilands. By half time, the Dockers were leading the hit-outs by 27 to 19 and were 7-3 in centre clearances.
Fremantle Dockers coach Ross Lyon addresses the press following his side's loss to Port Adelaide.
What made it worse was Sandilands' form around the ground. He linked up, took off on the odd run worked from contest to contest. When 299-gamer Matthew Pavlich dribbled his first jail through in the second quarter it was the direct result of Sandilands' efforts.
Others stood out for Fremantle, among them Suban and Fyfe.
Then Port brought Trengove into the ruck, Wingard made it known that he was a central character and Cornes went to Fyfe.
Alex Silvagni and Jay Schulz collide. PIC SARAH REED. Source: News Corp Australia
PORT ADELAIDE: 13.16 (94)
FREMANTLE: 11.10 (76)
JESPER FJELDSTAD'S BEST PLAYERS
PORT ADELAIDE
Boak, Wingard, Cornes, Trengove, Wines, Hartlett, Cassisi
FREMANTLE
Fyfe, Mzungu, Mundy, Sandilands, Clarke, Suban, Johnson
