Port Adelaide pip Collingwood in thriller
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Chad Wingard slotted three goals as Port Adelaide held on for a slogging three-point win over Collingwood on Thursday night to revive their AFL finals hopes.
Port triumphed 9.12 (66) to 9.9 (63) at a rain-soaked Adelaide Oval, the loss coming with additional cost for Collingwood.
The Magpies could possibly lose Taylor Adams to suspension after the midfielder had dropped a knee into the head of Port’s Justin Westhoff.
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In an unsavoury third-term incident, Adams had Westhoff pinned beneath him as the pair wrestled and the Collingwood onballer lowered his right knee in the side of the Power player’s head.
Westhoff was a central character in Port’s sixth win of the season to keep them within reach of the top eight.
The 199cm Westhoff roamed far and wide, collecting 26 disposals, while teammates Ollie Wines (33 touches), Travis Boak (28 possessions) and Robbie Gray (two goals) were prominent.
The Magpies, secure in the top eight despite their sixth defeat, were brilliantly served by Adams (36 disposals) and stalwarts Scott Pendlebury (26 disposals) and Dane Swan (33 possessions).
The first half swung wildly: Port dominated, then Collingwood stormed back into the game.
The Power held the visitors scoreless until the 19th minute and kicked 5.3 to 1.1 in an opening blitz.
But the tide rapidly turned in the second stanza as Collingwood scored four unanswered goals – the last, a stunning 45-metre checkside on the run from Adam Oxley, levelled the scores.
A late Angus Monfries goal helped Port to a seven-point halftime lead before both sides kicked two goals in a third term marred by Adams’ indiscretion.
Port held an 11-point buffer at the last change and Wingard soon stamped his influential game with his third goal for an 18-point break.
The gallant Magpies responded with a pair of goals but Port prevailed in a frantic finish.
-AAP