IT WAS 10 years ago against Hawthorn when Port Adelaide fell agonisingly short in a preliminary final that, on reflection, now represents the club's best chance yet of reaching a Grand Final under coach Ken Hinkley.
Trailing by 28 points at the 11-minute mark of the final term, Hinkley's Power surged to kick four unanswered goals at the MCG in a thrilling final in 2014 that saw them fall just three points short of a remarkable comeback win.
The club has played in 13 finals under Hinkley and also came close in a preliminary final against a Richmond team that was inspired by Dustin Martin in 2020 at Adelaide Oval.
But Port's exhilarating burst of fourth-quarter momentum at the MCG 10 years ago makes the 2014 preliminary final one that got away.
The thrilling match was memorable for Port's attacking approach in the final term as they threw caution to the wind and attacked every stoppage with a wave of running players that caused chaos from the defensive side.
They were attempting to chase down the biggest three-quarter time deficit in club history, but the Hawks emerged to kick two of the first three goals to start the fourth quarter and looked destined for their third straight Grand Final appearance.
Then Chad Wingard and Angus Monfries got rolling for the Power. First Monfries earned a free kick and converted his set shot when Josh Gibson took him out in a marking contest. Then Wingard marked deep in the pocket and slotted a skilful goal with a left foot banana.
Jared Polec cut the margin to just 10 points when he slotted a set shot from 55m, with the goal umpire's original call of touched overruled by a score review.
With four minutes left, the Power had everything going their way and looked the likely winners as Wingard won two disposals on the wing and sent the ball inside 50 to Monfries, who kicked the team's fourth straight goal.
Hawthorn had grown used to playing in close preliminary finals through its run at the top end of the ladder, losing to Collingwood in 2011 (three points), and beating Adelaide in 2012 (five) and Geelong in 2013 (five) to reach Grand Finals.
A missed set shot from Port's Andrew Moore from a difficult position meant the Hawks held their narrow lead, but with one minute left it took a desperate effort from champion Luke Hodge to make sure of the win.
Brad Ebert looked set to send the Power back into attack when Hodge lunged to smother his kick, with the dual Norm Smith medallist then winning a free kick with a follow-up tackle on Tom Jonas.
One last Port surge was thwarted by Brian Lake and Hawthorn was into another Grand Final, with Jarryd Roughead (six goals), Will Langford (29 disposals and 10 clearances) and Hodge (27 and 10 marks) among its best players.
Ten years and seven finals later, it remains the closest Port Adelaide has come despite regularly putting itself in a position to challenge.
