Australian Football

Match Report

Since the introduction of extra time for finals since 1991, only two finals had - until Saturday night - ever had to make use of the provision. In both cases, when North Melbourne defeated Hawthorn in 1994 and Collingwood overcame West Coast in 2007, the 'overtime' periods were largely 'fizzers', with the winners kicking three goals to nil to win comfortably in each case.

But the third instance, provided on Saturday night by Port Adelaide and West Coast at the Adelaide Oval, produced drama rarely seen in 121 seasons of V/AFL football. After the two sides had finished level on 60 points - Port a wasteful 8.12 to the Eagles' 9.6 - the Power looked like producing another one-sided extra-time affair, kicking the first two goals of the period. West Coast had other ideas, though, responding with two of their own, and with seconds left on the clock were within four points of Port. 

Those final seconds produced all the controversy and drama a final could ever ask for. With the ball deep in the Eagles' forward line, Luke Shuey was tackled by Port's Jared Polec and the umpire deemed that Polec had taken Shuey high. The Eagle was awarded a free kick, and the siren sounded soon after. With nerves of steel, Shuey calmly went back and slotted the goal, giving West Coast a two-point win that few football fans will ever forget.

And so came about the first ever V/AFL match to be decided in extra time and by a post-siren kick. It was a fitting end to a match that had had plenty of drama and momentum swings throughout. At one stage the Eagles looked to be heading for a huge win, their lead blowing out to more than five goals early in the second quarter. In the last term, the Power looked to have West Coast covered, leading by nine points with Charlie Dixon having a shot at goal. Dixon missed, leaving the door ajar for the Eagles.

Even the dying seconds of 'normal' time produced one of the most dramatic, controversial and heroic moments seen in finals. With scores level a long kick from Darcy Byrne-Jones could have put Port Adelaide ahead with any score, but Eagle defender Eric Mackenzie got a finger to it, and then picked it up as it looked to be rolling through for a behind. With Dixon hot on his hammer, Mackenzie picked up the ball and headed towards the point post, crashing into it as Dixon tried to force him through for a behind.

The ball fell from Mackenzie's hands and rolled out of bounds. A thrown-in was called. Was Mackenzie deliberately trying to achieve that result? Ask the West Coast fans and the Port fans and you will get a vastly different answer. A 'deliberate' call would have been controversial in the extreme. In any case, that call never came, and nor did any further score on the final 30 seconds of normal time, setting the scene for extra time and the dramatic post-siren goal from Shuey.

Earlier the Eagles burst out of the blocks, with three goals in the first eight minutes of the game - two to Jack Darling and one to Josh Kennedy - to race to a 19-point lead. Charlie Dixon settled the home side with a mark and goal to Dixon but a lovely long goal to Drew Petrie - who, with Sam Mitchell and Matt Priddis would be playing his last game if West Coast lost - gave the Eagles a solid 20-point lead at quarter time.

For Port, the second term could not have started in a worse fashion, with Luke Shuey - the man who would later 'steal' the match from them - kicking a running goal to put the Eagles 26 points clear. Dixon was proving a lone hand at the other end and his second goal after a free kick cut the margin back to 20, but further goals to Darling and Jamie Cripps had West Coast's lead out to 31 points and the Power were seemingly ay breaking point.

From there, though, the momentum began to shift. Dixon kicked his - and Port's - third goal after a handball receive from Chad Wingard, and the Power not only stemmed the flow of Eagles goals but began to hit the scoreboard regularly themselves. Dixon himself added two behinds, and then majors to Sam Gray and Brad Ebert had the home side back within 11 points and with the momentum going into the half-time break.

With the first goal of the third quarter looming as vital in the context of the match, both sides defended manically for the first 15 minutes, the two sides unable to score anything more than a behind each. When a goal finally came, it went Port's way to Chad Wingard with a kick off the ground after Dixon brought the ball to ground in a ruck contest. That goal brought the Power to within five points, and they had two chances to take the lead before three-quarter time, but Robbie Gray and Dixon both missed gettable shots, and the Eagles went to the last break three points ahead, 7.5 to 6.8. Port would later rue these and several other misses.

Defences ruled again in the early stages of the final term, each side adding just the one behind until Ollie Wines burst through and kicked a goal at the eight-minute mark to give Port the lead for the first time in the match. Barely two minutes later a snap from Sam Powell-Pepper found the mark and the Power led by nine points and looked to be heading towards a semi-final berth. Two minutes later again, Dixon marked and had a chance to kick a goal that would have made it very difficult for the Eagles, but he missed, and the tide turned soon after.

Priddis took a diving mark and kicked truly soon after, and a strong mark and goal to Petrie had West Coast back in front midway through the term. Petrie's goal was the last of the quarter. There were only two further scores, a behind via a missed shot from Travis Boak at the 18-minute mark, and another shot from Boak at the 25-minute mark that was closer but hit the post. levelling the scores. 

From there the final minutes were a frenzy, culminating in Mackenzie's heroics and the extra-time sensations. Port kicked 2.1 to 1.0 in the first period of extra time to lead 10.13 to 10.6 at the change of ends, and then added 0.3 to the Eagles 2.0 in the second period, West Coast's second goal giving them the match through Shuey after Wingard, Dixon and Boak had all missed shots, any of which would almost certainly have given the home side the win.

Shuey's winning goal was the icing on the cake of an outstanding performance that saw him lay 11 tackles to go with his 32 disposals. His teammate Jeremy McGovern was magnificent in defence, taking 15 vital marks and having 25 disposals, while Priddis (33 possessions, 10 tackles) was also a star in what eventually turned out not to be his last AFL match.

For Port, Dixon was almost the match-winner, with 23 touches ands three goals. Unfortunately that goal tally was accompanied by six behinds, any one of which would have altered the outcome. Robbie Gray (30 disposals, six tackles) and Brad Ebert (11 tackles, 22 possessions) were also excellent for the unlucky losers.

So the Eagles live to fight at least one more day. They will meet GWS at the Sydney Showground next Saturday. The Giants will start favourites, but they will go into the game without the injured Jeremy Cameron and Shane Mumford, so the result will be by no means a foregone conclusion. 

Port's heartbreaking season end will overshadow their season achievements for some time, but the Power have undoubtedly made significant progress this year, their 14 wins a big jump from 10 in 2016. But the pressure will be on them to go at least one step further in 2018.

GOALS
Port Adelaide: Dixon 3; S. Gray, Wines 2; Ebert, Powell-Pepper, Wines
West Coast: Darling, Kennedy 3; Shuey, Petrie 2; Cripps, Priddis

BEST - AFL.COM.AU
Port Adelaide: Dixon, Wines, Ebert, Powell-Pepper, Howard, R. Gray
West Coast: McGovern, Priddis, Petrie, Jetta, Shuey, Vardy

BEST - THE AGE
Port Adelaide: Dixon, R. Gray, Ebert, Wines, Hartlett, Wingard
West Coast: McGovern, Mitchell, Priddis, Gaff, Hurn, Shuey

INJURIES
Port Adelaide: Nil
West Coast: Nil

UMPIRES: Donlon, Deboy, Schmitt

TELEVISION BROADCAST: Seven Network

COMMENTATORS: Luke Darcy, Basil Zempilas, Matthew Richardson, Mark Soderstrom