Port counts cost of bruising win over Saints

Injury-hit Port Adelaide was left counting the cost of Friday night’s courageous win over dogged St Kilda, with star skipper Connor Rozee, Aliir Aliir and Sam Powell-Pepper all failing to see out the scrappy contest.

With a Showdown against Adelaide up next, Rozee (hamstring), Aliir (concussion) and Powell-Pepper (knee) were unable to see out the clash.

Port led by 21 points when Charlie Dixon slotted his fourth goal eight minutes into the final term, but goals to Jack Sinclair and Jack Higgins set up a nervous final five minutes for home fans.

But Ollie Wines snapped truly in traffic with three minutes left to seal an eventful win.

Rozee landed awkwardly during a third-quarter spoiling attempt and got up from the ground grabbing his right hamstring.

The skipper was treated for approximately five minutes before returning to the field, but watched the last quarter from the bench with ice applied.

Aliir was subbed out of the game at halftime with a concussion and Powell-Pepper will undergo scans after suffering a knee injury early in the third quarter.

The bullocking forward immediately grabbed at his right knee after landing awkwardly in a marking contest and was helped to the bench by trainers.

Amid the carnage, Zak Butters enjoyed an eye-catching 100th career game, with Wines, Jase Burgoyne and Willem Drew willing helpers, as the undermanned Power improved to a 5-2 record with a 13th win from the past 14 clashes with St Kilda.

Sinclair was enormous for the Saints, who suffered a third loss in a row that drops Ross Lyon’s side to a 2-5 record.

OPENING NUMBER

The Saints had managed a total of two goals from their past three first quarters, while conceding 15, but the switched-on visitors surpassed that number in a quick start to lead by seven points at the first break.

The Power had seven more inside 50s, but lost its first opening term of the season thanks to some shocking kicking at goal that yielded 1.8, Mitch Georgiades and Powell-Pepper each booting two behinds.

Georgiades added another to his tally early in the second quarter, but Powell-Pepper split the middle soon after to spark the Power.

Port was 0-5 from set shots before Dixon converted from a mark that resulted from a costly turnover, with the home side reeling off three unanswered goals to fire up fans dismayed by the disjointed early display.

SLINGIN’ HIGGINS

Higgins will come under match review scrutiny for a dangerous second-quarter tackle on Aliir that saw the Power star leave the game with a concussion that will rule him out of the looming Showdown with Adelaide.

The St Kilda forward grasped Aliir’s left arm and slung him to the ground, with the defenceless defender’s head and shoulder crashing to the turf.

“He pinned his arm and slung him to the ground … that’s definitely trouble,” Hawthorn premiership great Luke Hodge said on the Channel 7 coverage.

RUNNING BARREL

A scrappy first half was crying out for a highlight and Houston and Willie Rioli combined superbly to deliver it.

Dashing down the western wing in the second quarter, Houston let loose a breathtaking torpedo that spiralled 70m into the forward 50 where Rioli brought it to ground.

The livewire took possession, slipped over, bobbed up, made a defender miss, went the other way, danced between two opponents and snapped a brilliant goal off his right boot.

POWER 1.8 6.9 9.13 11.16 (82)

SAINTS 3.3 5.5 8.6 11.6 (72)

PHELAN'S BEST POWER: Butters, Drew, Houston, Burgoyne, Wines, Dixon, Farrell. SAINTS: Sinclair, Wanganeen-Milera, Windhager, Wilkie, Wilson, Bonner, Marshall.

GOALS POWER: Dixon 4, Rioli 2, Wines, Rozee, Powell-Pepper, Georgiades, Byrne-Jones. SAINTS: Owens 2, Higgins 2, Cordy, Sinclair, Sharman, Phillipou, Hill, Caminiti, Membrey.

INJURIES POWER: Rozee (hamstring), Aliir (concussion), Powell-Pepper (knee). SAINTS: Nil.

UMPIRES: Haussen, Meredith, Williamson, Heffernan

40,306 at ADELAIDE OVAL

PLAYER OF THE YEAR

JASON PHELAN’S VOTES 

3 Butters (PA)

2 Sinclair (StK)

1 Drew (PA)