PORT Adelaide will have to wait until at least round five to record its first win of 2008 after going down to the Brisbane Lions by 20 points in front of 25,205 fans at AAMI Stadium.
The Power led by 47 points late in the third term, but the Lions piled on nine unanswered goals in the last quarter to clinch an unlikely victory.
Daniel Bradshaw, who had the better of Toby Thurstans, was the hero for the Lions with five goals including three in a match-winning last quarter.
Young defender Alipate Carlile controlled Jonathan Brown for three quarters, but also conceded two late goals as the Lions streamed easily out of the middle.
David Rodan (two goals), Steve Salopek, Chad Cornes (two goals) and Jacob Surjan (two goals) performed admirably in defeat, while Warren Tredrea also booted two majors.
Lions ruckman Jamie Charman (calf) was a late withdrawal before the game and Dean Brogan and Brendon Lade wasted no time in taking it to youngster Matthew Leuenberger.
The Power doubled the Lions’ possession tally in the first term and slammed on six goals to two.
Dom Cassisi got on the end of a clever Brogan handball to slot through the home side’s first and Warren Tredrea’s goal made it two in a minute.
Cassisi, Rodan, Travis Boak and Chad Cornes ran rampant as the Power extended their lead with a goal to Brogan.
Fans were hopeful of seeing Chad Cornes and Brown going head-to-head at some stage, but they probably didn’t expect the contest to take place in the midfield.
Brown was shifted into the centre square to try to stem the flow, but not even the bustling Coleman Medalist could halt Port Adelaide’s run.
Chad Cornes was aided by a lucky break when he was awarded a goal despite his 70m bomb cannoning into a flat-footed goal umpire.
Anthony Corrie battled hard for the inaccurate Lions and set up his team’s first goal through Daniel Bradshaw.
Port Adelaide responded with a goal to Kane Cornes, but Corrie’s first at the other end reduced the margin to 25 points at quarter time.
Rodan added to his 12 first-quarter touches with two goals in the second term.
Brown finally eluded Carlile and kicked a goal to bring the Lions back within 22.
Tagger Matt Thomas was a second quarter casualty, limping off with a foot injury, but he didn’t miss much of a spectacle in the following minutes.
The game turned into a scrap with both teams missing easy targets and pushing players behind the ball.
Wayde Mills, who was a late replacement for Charman, kicked a floating goal for the Lions, but the Power streaked away with two late majors.
Justin Westhoff took a brilliant drifting mark on the goal line and nailed his first and Danyle Pearce’s 45m shot after the siren extended Port Adelaide’s lead to 35 points at the main break.
The game opened up in the third term with both teams moving freely even as rain, which was not forecast, swept across AAMI Stadium.
The Power pushed out to a 40-point lead in the opening minutes with goals to Brett Ebert and Tredrea.
Simon Black briefly escaped Kane Cornes’ grasp and kicked a goal, which signaled the start of a shootout.
Michael Rischitelli, Brown and Jed Adcock tried to get the Lions back in the contest, but two goals to unlikely scorer Jacob Surjan and another to Steve Salopek put the Power 34 points up at three-quarter time.
Startled fans raced to shelter as a much-needed downpour hit West Lakes and the home side’s five-goal lead suddenly looked more than handy.
But the rain eased, the Power paused and the Lions slammed on successive goals through Tim Notting, Travis Johnstone, Cheynee Stiller and Bradshaw.
Rhan Hooper slotted through his first minutes later and suddenly the visitors had the lead for the first time in the game. Shaun Burgoyne scored a late one for the Power, but Bradshaw had the last laugh with three final quarter goals.
Port Adelaide 6.3 10.5 15.7
Brisbane Lions 2.2 4.6 9.10
GOALS
Port Adelaide: C Cornes, Tredrea, Rodan, Surjan 2, Cassisi, Brogan, K Cornes, Westhoff, Pearce, Ebert, Salopek, S Burgoyne
Brisbane Lions: Bradshaw 5, Brown 4, Corrie, Black, Rischitelli, Adcock, Notting, Johnstone, Stiller, Hooper, Mills
BEST
Port Adelaide: Rodan, C Cornes, Salopek, P Burgoyne
Brisbane Lions: Black, Johnstone, Bradshaw, Corrie, Power, Brown, Sherman
INJURIES
Port Adelaide: Thomas (foot)
Brisbane Lions: Charman (calf) replaced in selected side by Wayde Mills
Reports: Nil
Umpires: Margetts, H. Ryan, S. Ryan
Official crowd: 25,205 at AAMI Stadium
