HAWTHORN has inflicted more pain on a battling Port Adelaide, recording a comfortable 32-point win at AAMI Stadium on Friday night.
After scores were level at half time, Hawthorn kicked eight of the last nine goals of the game to run out 15.14 (102) to 10.12 (72) winners, securing their first victory over the Power in Adelaide for four years.
In a pleasing sign for coach Alastair Clarkson, the visitors were able to win without a big contribution on the scoreboard from star forwards Lance Franklin and Jarryd Roughead, who combined for three goals and were generally well held by Alipate Carlile and Jackson Trengove.
Clarkson said he was happy his side managed to pull away for the victory after trailing for much of the opening three quarters.
“We always have tight contests with Port Adelaide, and that’s the way it panned out,” he said.
“We had to grind hard. We knew it was going to be a tough tussle.”
Ruckman Brent Renouf proved an unlikely hero for the Hawks, kicking three goals before being substituted out of the game in the last quarter.
Port Adelaide's loss was compounded by a knee injury to dynamic onballer David Rodan.
Rodan injured his right knee, which was reconstructed in 2005, when his leg twisted awkwardly in a tackle early in the third quarter.
The midfielder has also had two LARS reconstructions on his left knee in the past 18 months.
Rodan was immediately taken down to the rooms and replaced on the ground by substitute Simon Phillips. The despondent star finished the game on the bench with his knee heavily iced.
Clarkson acknowledged that Rodan’s injury changed the complexion of the game.
“It could have been as simple as Rodan going down,” he said of the Hawks’ turnaround.
Port Adelaide’s Robbie Gray and Daniel Motlop kicked the first two goals of the third quarter to give the home side a handy break, but - whether they were hurt by the loss of Rodan's spark at the clearances, or deflated by their popular teammate's latest injury setback - their intensity dropped away after he was helped from the ground.
Chance Bateman (six possessions and a goal), Sam Mitchell (seven touches) and first-gamer Isaac Smith (eight touches) stepped up, and the Hawks slotted three straight goals in time-on to snatch a six-point lead heading into the final change.
The Power fell away in the final term, managing only one goal as Hawthorn booted five, two coming from substitute Shane Savage in an impressive cameo performance.
Port Adelaide’s final-term blues continued an unwanted trend for Matthew Primus’ men, who have now been outscored 34 goals to 12 in the last quarter this season.
Despite conceding an early goal, the Power started the game purposefully, showing the intensity and resilience the football world expected of them after their lacklustre performance against North Melbourne last weekend.
During the week, Primus encouraged his players to take the game on, and they followed his instructions in the opening term by moving the ball quickly through the corridor.
The work-rate that had been questioned in losses to the Kangaroos and Gold Coast returned, and the Power ran hard to pressure the Hawks into error.
Rodan, Hamish Hartlett and Dean Brogan combined to give Port Adelaide an advantage at the stoppages, and the home team piled on another three unanswered goals to jump to a 16-point lead halfway through the quarter.
Mitchell and Liam Shiels helped Hawthorn stifle Port Adelaide’s momentum late in the term, with the home side gifting the Hawks both goals with 50m penalties.
The two teams went goal-for-goal in the second term, which ended with the sides locked at 7.7 (49) apiece at the main change.
The Power trapped the Hawks in their defensive half for the first 15 minutes of the quarter, but also struggled to kick straight at the northern end, adding 2.6.
Again, Hawthorn took control in the latter stages of the quarter, with goals to Renouf and an otherwise quiet Franklin levelling the scores.
Despite his disappointment with the loss, Port Adelaide coach Matthew Primus said he couldn't fault the endeavour of his team.
"I can't question their effort, intensity or ability to stick to our structures and how we wanted to play tonight," he said.
"The way we went about our footy was very good. If we play like that we'll win some games of footy and clubs will actually respect the way we go about it."
Hawthorn 3.5 7.7 10.11 15.14 (102)
Port Adelaide 5.1 7.7 9.11 10.12 (72)
GOALS
Hawthorn: Renouf 3, Franklin 3, Savage 2, Mitchell, Shiels, Whitecross, Sewell, Hodge, Bateman, Smith
Port Adelaide: Gray 2, Pearce, Ebert, Westhoff, Pittard, Hartlett, Schulz, Motlop, Hitchcock
BEST
Hawthorn: Mitchell, Shiels, Renouf, Bateman, Sewell, Birchall, Roughead
Port Adelaide: Hartlett, Pearce, Brogan, Rodan, Chaplin
INJURIES
Hawthorn: David Hale (back) replaced in selected side by Tom Murphy
Port Adelaide: David Rodan (right knee)
SUBSTITUTES
Hawthorn: Brent Renouf replaced by Shane Savage in the final quarter
Port Adelaide: David Rodan (right knee) replaced by Simon Phillips in the third quarter
Reports: Nil
Umpires: Nicholls, Ryan, Armstrong
Official crowd: 21,819 at AAMI Stadium
The views in this article are those of the author and not necessarily of the club.
