Australian Football

Match Report

When Justin Westhoff kicked Port Adelaide's 11th goal and gave the Power at the 16-minute mark of the third quarter of this match, Carlton's entire 2013 season hung by a thread. The Blues were 40 points behind, and if they lost, a win to either Adelaide or North Melbourne later in the round would have been enough to end the September dream.

As it turned out both the Crows and the Kangaroos did end up winning but, somehow, Carlton managed to pick itself up of the canvas half way through the third quarter and eventually claw back and record an amazing one-point win to take the Blues into the finals in Mick Malthouse's first season at the helm.

In the first half of the match, Port Adelaide dominated all aspects of the game. The Power scored four goals in each of the first two quarters and took into the long break a 32-point lead over the Blues, who had managed just three first-half goals. When Westhoff slotted that mid third quarter goal, there appeared to be no way back for the Blues.

But there was a way back. Carlton managed to cobble together two of the last three goals of the third term to reduce the difference to 29 and give the Blues some hope. Whatever Malthouse's three-quarter time message was, it worked, because Carlton came out full of running at the start of the final term. Skipper Marc Murphy goaled at the one-minute mark and Chris Yarran followed up with another two minutes later to cut the lead to just 16 points.

At the five-minute mark Eddie Betts chimed in with his second and it was "game on". Jeff Garlett joined the party with a goal at the 10-minute mark to reduce the margin to just four points and it appeared that Carlton would run all over the Power. An arm-wrestle ensued over the next eight minutes with neither side scoring a goal. Justin Westhoff broke the deadlock at the 18-minute mark with a brilliant goal from the boundary line to take the Power's lead back out to 11 points.

Still Carlton came. A behind to Nick Duigan was followed by a goal to Murphy and the 22-minute mark Tom Bell had a long shot from outside 50 which was shepherded through by Jarad Waite, giving Carlton the lead for the first time in the match. Soon after Bryce Gibbs kicked another, putting the Blues eight points ahead and it appeared that Carlton were home.

Yet there was one more twist in the tale. After Chad Wingard and Waite scored a goal for each team, Jay Schulz marked and goaled to bring the margin back to two points. Port then attacked again and with a minute remaining on the clock, the Power's Matthew Broadbent set sail with a long bomb that looked to be heading for a goal but it slammed into the post. With the margin just one point, the siren sounded soon after, delivering Carlton an amazing win and a place in the top eight.

The Blues will meet Richmond in next Sunday's First Elimination Final at the MCG, while Port Adelaide's season remains alive, despite finishing the minor rounds with two losses. The Power will take on Collingwood at the MCG in Saturday night's Second Elimination Final, their first final since losing the 2007 Grand Final to Geelong.

GOALS
Port Adelaide: Ebert, Schulz 4; Westhoff 2; Monfries, Boak, Logan, Young, Wingard
Carlton: Murphy 3; Garlett, Yarran, Betts 2; Simpson, Kreuzer, Gibbs, Curnow, Waite, Bell

BEST - AFL.COM.AU
Port Adelaide: Ebert, Cornes, Schulz, O'Shea, Colquhoun, Boak
Carlton: Murphy, Gibbs, Curnow, Walker, Betts, Yarran

BEST - SPORTAL.COM.AU
Port Adelaide: Ebert, Schulz, Cornes, Boak, Westhoff, Monfries, O'Shea
Carlton: Murphy, Gibbs, Betts, Garlett, Warnock, Walker

COACHES' COMMENTS
Ken Hinkley (Port): We play against a side where everything was there for them [to play for] and in the end they attacked us really hard, went after us and were able to score to easily in the last quarter which, if you looked at the first half, you would have thought couldn't happen, but sometimes that's what happens in a game of footy. We've had the opposite happen to us a number of times this year.

Mick Malthouse (Carl): We probably did steal it. But there were probably just enough signs just before half time, and then there were enough signs through the third quarter and once the door opened we were able to keep the pressure going. We can't afford to come into a final - and Port were sensational - and not be competitive. We have to analyse what took place. Was it stage fright? Was it over tense? We were getting slaughtered on the loose ball. To me that's either workload or you're tight. So there's a few things to look at, but we'll grow as a side because of this.

INJURIES
Port Adelaide: Robbie Gray (quad) replaced in selected side by Brent Renouf
Carlton: Scotland (quad) replaced in selected side by Nick Duigan

SUBSTITUTES
Port Adelaide: Lewis Stevenson replaced Sam Colquhoun at three-quarter-time
Carlton: Nick Duigan replaced Levi Casboult at half-time

UMPIRES: Nicholls, Meredith, Pannell

TELEVISION BROADCAST: Fox Footy

COMMENTATORS: Dwayne Russell, Gerard Healy, Jason Dunstall, David King