Source :- PERTH NOW NEWS
West Coast fans left Optus Stadium disappointed with a heart-stopping six-point defeat to an embattled Port Adelaide they expected to beat on Saturday night.
But it is the thought of Reuben Ginbey potentially spending an extended stint on the sidelines with a quad injury he sustained in the third term of the 11.11 (77) to 10.11 (71) loss which will keep them up at night.
Ginbey was the talk of the town after his incredible performance in the win against Essendon on Sunday night which led to calls for a berth in the All-Australian team.
The news of a three-year contract extension for the 21-year-old future captain was meant to be celebrated in front of his loyal supporters.
Instead, he was left punching the turf in the goal square as his chase down of Power forward Mitch Georgiades ended in disaster, with his quad giving way on a cold night in Perth to put the rest of his season now in doubt.
It was the salt in the wounds for an Eagles outfit who simply didn’t meet the standard they’d set for themselves over the past month which had brought plenty of optimism.
Everyone knew the method Port Adelaide were going to employ if they were win on their trip West, but it didn’t help West Coast stop it from eventuating.
The first task for the Eagles was to stop Zak Butters and Jason Horne-Francis from tearing them apart in the midfield.
As expected, Brady Hough got the tagging job on Butters, while the Eagles relied on Harley Reid to get the better of fellow No.1 draftee Horne-Francis in a head-on-head battle.
Butters simply wore Hough down over four quarters to finish with 27 disposals and seven clearances, while Horne-Francis (18 disposals, four clearances and three goals) out pointed Reid (25 disposals and six clearances).
When going forward the Eagles had to ensure Power defender Aliir Aliir didn’t dominate and while Jake Waterman kept him honest, it was Esava Ratugolea who stood up.
The veteran took advantage of Jobe Shanahan’s inexperience, out positioning the talented teenager on several occasions to be the biggest obstacle between West Coast and scoring.
And up the other end of the ground all eyes were on the battle between Ginbey and Georgiades, which was going West Coast’s way until disaster struck.
A bonus for the visitors was a standout performance from ruckman Jordon Sweet (37 hit-outs, seven clearances and 16 touches), who got the better of counterpart Bailey Williams who had been one of the form big men of the past month.
Eagles veteran Tim Kelly (26 disposals and six clearances) continued his excellent form, while first-year sensation Willem Duursma (22 disposals and a goal) had another strong performance.
The Eagles were lucky early that the Power couldn’t kick straight, with the home side’s defence breaking down from the opening bounce as Port Adelaide scored nine times from 14 entries.
The most impressive feature of Port Adelaide’s game was the pressure and physicality which had become West Coast’s trademark over the past month.
If you wanted a sign that the Power had come to play in an uncompromising fashion it came at quarter time when Butters refused to take the hand of Reid who offered to help him off the ground.
The second term was worse for the Eagles, who were sloppy when they had the ball in hand which wasn’t often enough as it regularly slipped through their fingers.
Port Adelaide were far from slick, but they were cleaner than the home side which was all they needed to be to continue their dominance.
The Eagles’ first half could be summed up in one play when Waterman dropped a straightforward mark in the goal square costing them a certain goal against the run of play.
Waterman’s two goals for the term kept the Eagles within striking distance on the scoreboard even though they looked far from convincing on the slippery Optus Stadium turf.
Had Port Adelaide been a better side they would’ve put the Eagles away in the third term.
But every time they looked like would give themselves some valuable breathing space a slip in concentration would open a chance for West Coast to hit back.
Come the final term the challenge for the Eagles was had they matured enough to go from surviving to thriving to get a fifth win for the season.
Waterman missed a straightforward set shot early, before a snap from Malakai Champion hit the post.
The home crowd was just about pleading for a goal and Waterman finally delivered to not appease them but bring them to life.
It was nothing on the noise that erupted when Tom Cole kicked his second of the night, slotting a set-shot from beyond 50m.
West Coast missed several chances to back it up with a match-winner and the four consecutive misses would come back to haunt them.
And while Port Adelaide couldn’t kick the sealer, they held on to end a four-game losing streak and claim arguably their best win of the season.
PORT ADELAIDE 3.6, 6.7, 10.9, 11.11 (77)
WEST COAST 3.0, 5.2, 8.5, 10.11 (71)
Goals –PORT ADELAIDE: J Horne-Francis 3 J Berry 2 T Cochrane C Durdin M Georgiades T Marshall C Moraes J Sweet. WEST COAST: J Waterman 3 T Cole 2 B Allan W Duursma B Hough J Shanahan E Yeo.
Best –PORT ADELAIDE: E Ratugolea Z Butters J Sweet J Horne-Francis D Byrne-Jones J Richards. WEST COAST: T Kelly T McCarthy J Waterman W Duursma B Allan T Cole.
Injuries – PORT ADELAIDE: J Lai (concussion). WEST COAST: R Ginbey (quad).
Umpires: N Jankovskis C Jones N Brown P Rebeschini. Crowd: 47,479 at Optus Stadium.
