AFL Preliminary Finals 2014: Hawthorn vs. Port Adelaide Score and Recap
Hawthorn got the better of Port Adelaide in this AFL Preliminary Finals clash, eventually running out 97-94 winners in a dramatic game at the MCG. The result was confirmed here by the Hawthorn Twitter account:
Jarryd Roughead scored six goals for the Hawks on their way to victory, in a match Power started and finished in scintillating fashion. Hawthorn will now face Sydney Swans in the AFL Grand Final.
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Ahead of the game, Hawks assistance coach Brendon Bolton claimed that the team had been focusing on the defensive side of their game after a much improved tackling display against the Geelong Cats in their last outing, per hawthornfc.com.au:
"We’ve tried to improve little aspects of our whole defensive action, not just tackling.
It was really pleasing that in a big game, our tackle numbers were positive – we had a really balanced game in applying pressure and using the ball well.
"
But despite onus clearly being on defensive solidity, the Hawks didn’t start this clash with the cohesion required for such a big game, as it was Port Adelaide who began with more positive intent.
Travis Boak notched the first points of the game, and while goals from Roughead and Will Langford pushed Hawthorn into a 12-9 lead, it was Port who always looked the stronger side in the opening term.
Clearly unflustered despite falling behind, Port came roaring back, and goals from Angus Monfries and Robbie Gray moved the Power into a 26-15 lead; at the end of the first term, Port held a 12-point advantage over Hawthorn. The Power players were putting their bodies on the line too, as we can see here courtesy of their Twitter account:
Hawthorn are a quality outfit though, so it was no surprise when they established a foothold in the match after the first break.
They scored the first two goals of the second term to move to within one point of Port, and when Matt Suckling slotted superbly on the run, it was Hawthorn who found themselves in front at 33-28. The Hawks' Twitter account knew it was a significant spell in the match:
But a strike from Jay Schulz just seconds later restored Power’s advantage, before another from Jake Neade gave Port Adelaide some breathing room. Hawthorn came back through Roughhead once again though, reducing the deficit to just one.
The Port players were getting a little unhappy with the officiating at this point, with good reason too, according to Ben Wise:
Nonetheless, there was no denying which team was in the ascendancy at this stage, as Hawthorn asserted a vice-like grip on the game. Isaac Smith kicked Hawks into the lead after excellent work from Jordan Lewis and another sublime strike from Roughead pushed their lead to 10 points. At the halfway stage, Hawthorn had seemingly turned things around.
The Port Adelaide Twitter account broke down the numbers for us at the mid-point of an absorbing battle:
The third term began much in the same vein, as Hawthorn continued to dominate. A fourth and fifth goal from Roughead early on pushed the Hawks out into a 22-point lead, and there was a very real danger that this tie could slip away from Port. But the blistering start from Hawthorn seemed to sharpen Power minds.
Indeed, the deficit was reduced to just 10 points in double-quick time, as two goals in two minutes from Monfries and Justin Westhoff cut the lead to just 10 points.
But it was Hawthorn who would finish the third period the stronger, as a goal from David Hale and a sixth from Roughead pushed their side into a 23-point lead with just one period remaining. And although Port Adelaide were able to snatch the first score in the final term, there seemed to be little doubt that a team of Hawthorn's quality would see this one out.
And they looked as though they were going to do exactly that as Smith and Jack Gunston scored goals to that looked to have rubber stamped Hawks' final spot. But complacency creeped into Hawthorn's game in the latter stages and they crumbled.
A stunning blitz from Port Adelaide saw four goals scored and an extra point added in the space of nine minutes, moving Power to within just three points of a toiling Hawks side. And although they looked dead on their feet by this stage, Hawthorn eventually clung on to take the victory and a spot in the Grand Final.
Roughead was the star of the show for Hawks, and his virtuoso display was a pleasure to watch. The accuracy he possesses in that left foot is startling, and ahead of the Grand Final, you can guarantee he'll be a player for Sydney to keep close tabs on.
But after a late defensive capitulation, there will be major concerns for Hawks supporters; if they play like that in the final showpiece, then Sydney are a side that could post a pretty embarrassing score against them.
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