SUMMARY
GEELONG star Tom Stewart is a massive late out for the Cats for Thursday night's qualifying final against Port Adelaide due to illness, with Oisin Mullin replacing him in the starting side.
Stewart was subbed out of the Cats' round 24 game against West Coast with a hamstring issue and the club insisted this week he would play. But the five-time All-Australian woke up sick on Thursday morning and was a late withdrawal when the final team was announced this evening.
Port Adelaide v Geelong at Adelaide Oval, 7.10pm ACST
LATE CHANGES
Port Adelaide: Nil
Geelong: Tom Stewart (illness) replaced in selected side by Oisin Mullin
SUBSTITUTES
Port Adelaide: Quinton Narkle
Geelong: Zach Tuohy
POWER v CATS Follow it LIVE
Stewart has been replaced by Mullin in the side, while veteran Zach Tuohy is the Cats' sub.
The Power are unchanged, with Quinton Narkle their sub.
Both these sides enter the finals in red-hot form.
Port has won eight of its past nine games, including the last six in a row, while the Cats have saluted in seven of their past nine. The Power begin September seeking their first Grand Final appearance in 12 seasons under coach Ken Hinkley but they'll have to get through the Cats, who missed the finals last year after winning the flag in 2022.
The prize of a home preliminary final is enormous, with the alternative being a road to the Grand Final through Sydney, where either the Swans or Giants will await.
Where and when: Adelaide Oval, Thursday September 5, 7.10pm ACST
WHAT HAPPENED THIS YEAR?
Round nine: Port Adelaide 15.11 (101) defeated Geelong 14.11 (95) at GMHBA Stadium
In one of the games of the season, Port Adelaide pulled off a successful raid at the Cattery in round nine, winning by six points. The game looked all but over at half-time when the Power led by 41 points, having led by as much as 49 midway through the second quarter, but Geelong roared home on the back of four goals from Tyson Stengle and Zach Guthrie's rebound from defence to close within a kick in the dying minutes. Willie Rioli also had four goals for Port, while Zak Butters (34 disposals, one goal) and Jason Horne-Francis (26 disposals, one goal) were brilliant for the Power.
THE STATS THAT MATTER
Port Adelaide
The Power's midfield muscle isn't a one-way thing, with Port Adelaide among the AFL's best teams for defending stoppage. The Power are ranked second for both conceding points from total clearances and centre clearances. Port also ranks in the League's top two for pressure factor, winning 13 of the 17 games when it applies more heat than the opposition.
Geelong
Defence has been one of the Cats' key improvements as they have enjoyed a form boost in the second half of the season. They've conceded just 75.6 points per game since round 16 – ranked sixth – compared to 105.1 points per games from round 7-15, which ranked them dead last. Contested possession is a watch for Geelong, though, as they rank 16th in the AFL for that differential.
IT'S A BIG WEEK FOR ...
Port Adelaide
Connor Rozee and Zak Butters are the club's captain and vice-captain respectively, but Jason Horne-Francis has emerged as the Power's No.1 gamebreaker in 2024. When there's a big moment to be won, the 21-year-old is nearly always part of it. He was magnificent against Melbourne in a must-win game at the MCG in round 22, and backed up with huge performances the next two weeks against Adelaide and Fremantle. His midfield teammates might average more possessions but none has the hurt factor of Horne-Francis, who is notching more than five clearances and two goals per game.
Geelong
These two teams look relatively evenly matched across the ground but Jeremy Cameron is a standout in the Cats' forward line who the Power don't have an easy, obvious match-up for. Jezza is in good shape, having booted 19 goals in the past four games, but remarkably he has only once kicked more than three goals in a final – way back in 2016 against Sydney. If Geelong is going to avenge Port's mid-season win at GMHBA Stadium, Cameron will need to get hold of a Power defence that Aliir Aliir, Brandon Zerk-Thatcher and old teammate Esava Ratugolea.
PREDICTION
Two brilliant teams in exceptional form, with stars all over the field who generally match up on each other well – and it was a single-digit margin the last time they played. When the tale of the tape is as close as this, finals can be decided by moments, and Port Adelaide should have enough firepower in the middle and up forward to prevail when the game is there to be decided. Butters, Rozee and Horne-Francis will have the edge in midfield and that will be enough to send the Power into a home prelim. Port Adelaide by 12 points.
