AFL

Port Adelaide
17.10.112
Essendon
7.9.51
Full Time

Match Tracker

Port Adelaide
Essendon
Q1
7.4.46
1.4.10

    Port Adelaide Events

  • 5 mins - Goal, T.Boak
  • 8 mins - Goal, C.Dixon
  • 10 mins - Behind, C.Dixon
  • 11 mins - Behind, J.Westhoff
  • 13 mins - Goal, A.Young
  • 14 mins - Goal, C.Dixon
  • 19 mins - Goal, R.Gray
  • 21 mins - Behind, A.Young
  • 22 mins - Goal, B.Ebert
  • 30 mins - Goal, K.Amon
  • 32 mins - Behind, J.Toumpas

    Port Adelaide and Essendon Events

  • 2 mins - Behind, R.Crowley
  • 3 mins - Rushed Behind
  • 16 mins - Rushed Behind
  • 20 mins - Goal, J.Daniher
  • 24 mins - Behind, P.Ambrose
Q2
11.5.71
4.6.30

    Port Adelaide Events

  • 2 mins - Goal, J.Polec
  • 5 mins - Behind, B.Ebert
  • 6 mins - Goal, A.Young
  • 13 mins - Goal, J.Westhoff
  • 27 mins - Goal, A.Young

    Port Adelaide and Essendon Events

  • 9 mins - Behind, M.Stokes
  • 10 mins - Goal, J.Daniher
  • 17 mins - Goal, N.Kommer
  • 23 mins - Behind, J.Daniher
  • 24 mins - Goal, P.Ambrose
Q3
14.8.92
4.7.31

    Port Adelaide Events

  • 2 mins - Goal, K.Amon
  • 4 mins - Goal, C.Dixon
  • 15 mins - Behind, B.Ebert
  • 21 mins - Behind, C.Dixon
  • 26 mins - Behind, T.Boak
  • 28 mins - Goal, D.Byrne-Jones

    Port Adelaide and Essendon Events

  • 24 mins - Behind, O.Fantasia
Q4
17.10.112
7.9.51

    Port Adelaide Events

  • 1 mins - Behind, R.Gray
  • 7 mins - Goal, R.Gray
  • 9 mins - Behind, J.Neade
  • 14 mins - Goal, J.Westhoff
  • 28 mins - Goal, O.Wines

    Port Adelaide and Essendon Events

  • 3 mins - Behind, A.Cooney
  • 12 mins - Goal, B.Goddard
  • 17 mins - Goal, J.Merrett
  • 22 mins - Goal, N.Kommer
  • 27 mins - Rushed Behind

Scorers

Port Adelaide
Essendon
Goal Scorers Port Adelaide Essendon
Goals and Behinds Dixon (3.2), Young (3.1), Gray (2.1), Westhoff (2.1), Amon (2.0), Ebert (1.2), Boak (1.1), Byrne-Jones (1.0), Polec (1.0), Wines (1.0), Neade (0.1), Toumpas (0.1) Daniher (2.1), Kommer (2.0), Ambrose (1.1), Goddard (1.0), Merrett (1.0), Cooney (0.1), Crowley (0.1), Fantasia (0.1), Stokes (0.1)

Team Statistics

Port Adelaide
Essendon

Statistics

Port Adelaide Essendon
Goals 17 7
Behinds 10 9
Scoring shots 29 19
Goals/scoring shots 59 37
Disposals 393 385
Port AdelaideGoal Scorers
Players D K M H CP T FF FA HO CL
B.Ah Chee 20 5 3 15 14 4 1 2 2 4
K.Amon 13 11 5 2 2 2 1 0 0 0
T.Boak 22 9 2 13 6 4 2 2 0 2
M.Broadbent 27 14 8 13 9 1 0 1 0 1
D.Byrne-Jones 14 7 1 7 2 1 0 0 0 0
C.Dixon 12 10 5 2 7 0 2 1 0 0
B.Ebert 18 9 4 9 8 6 1 4 7 3
R.Gray 30 11 1 19 22 2 1 1 0 12
S.Gray 20 12 6 8 5 5 2 3 0 0
J.Hombsch 11 8 6 3 2 0 0 0 0 0
J.Impey 14 5 3 9 4 1 0 2 0 0
T.Jonas 16 8 5 8 5 5 0 0 0 0
M.Lobbe 7 5 2 2 3 4 2 0 27 3
J.Neade 15 5 2 10 6 3 1 0 0 1
J.Pittard 29 20 9 9 1 2 0 1 0 0
J.Polec 23 13 4 10 8 6 2 0 0 1
P.Stewart 10 3 2 7 5 4 1 0 0 0
J.Toumpas 28 12 5 16 12 1 0 0 0 3
J.Trengove 7 3 2 4 1 0 1 2 0 0
J.Westhoff 14 9 7 5 5 2 1 1 4 2
O.Wines 25 4 1 21 15 9 0 4 3 6
A.Young 18 9 4 9 7 2 0 0 0 0
EssendonGoal Scorers
Players D K M H CP T FF FA HO CL
P.Ambrose 16 9 9 7 3 3 0 0 2 0
M.Baguley 16 8 5 8 3 0 1 0 0 0
M.Brown 9 5 2 4 2 5 0 1 0 0
A.Cooney 26 15 4 11 10 3 0 1 0 7
R.Crowley 14 9 4 5 4 1 1 0 0 1
J.Daniher 11 8 6 3 3 0 2 0 1 0
M.Dea 20 10 4 10 7 4 2 0 0 0
O.Fantasia 23 9 5 14 8 7 0 0 1 4
M.Gleeson 17 8 5 9 5 4 3 2 0 1
B.Goddard 22 10 4 12 7 8 2 1 3 4
J.Gwilt 20 13 3 7 3 2 2 1 0 0
M.Hartley 11 5 2 6 3 4 0 1 0 0
J.Kelly 29 15 6 14 12 2 2 0 0 1
N.Kommer 8 3 3 5 4 2 2 1 0 0
K.Langford 14 7 6 7 6 7 0 0 0 2
M.Leuenberger 11 4 3 7 5 4 1 4 33 2
A.McDonald-Tipungwuti 16 6 3 10 5 8 0 1 0 0
J.Merrett 7 1 0 6 4 2 1 3 0 1
Z.Merrett 28 15 9 13 9 8 1 1 0 3
D.Parish 21 5 1 16 10 4 1 0 0 2
M.Stokes 19 9 3 10 6 2 1 1 0 1
D.Zaharakis 27 16 4 11 11 7 2 0 0 8

Match Details

Port Adelaide
Essendon
START TIME
7:50PM
WEATHER
Partly cloudy
VENUE
Adelaide Oval
Umpires
Andrew Stephens, Troy Pannell, Leigh Fisher

AFL season 2016: Early blitz gives Port big win over Essendon

Port Adelaide 7.4 11.5 14.8 17.10 (112) Essendon 1.4 4.6 4.7 7.9 (51)
GOALS: Port Adelaide: Dixon 4, Young 3, Amon 2, Ebert, White, Westhoff, R. Gray, Boak, R. Gray, Byrne-Jones, Wines. Essendon: Daniher, Kommer 2,Ambrose, Goddard, Merrett.
BEST: Port Adelaide: R. Gray, Broadbent, Pittard, Polec, Wines, Boak. Essendon: Leuenberger, Kelly, Zaharakis, Cooney, Merrett, Daniher.
UMPIRES L. Fisher, A. Stephens, T. Pannell.
CROWD 44,601 at Adelaide Oval.

More Sport Videos

Port Adelaide record big win over Essendon

Prized recruit Charlie Dixon leads an early blitz as Port Adelaide hammers Essendon by 61 points.

Adelaide Port Adelaide responded to the hell and brimstone that coach Ken Hinkley delivered pre-match and crushed Essendon's hopes with a dominant seven-goal first quarter. Game all but over.

So intent was Hinkley to inspire his men into something better that he called his players back when they started to run down the race before the game to deliver one final message.

Out of reach: Brad Ebert of the Power tries to grab the ball as Matthew Stokes of the Bombers blocks his way.
Out of reach: Brad Ebert of the Power tries to grab the ball as Matthew Stokes of the Bombers blocks his way. Photo: Getty Images

But as much as it was a welcomed response to last week's poor effort against Adelaide, with all their ferocity and charging from the back lines, they weren't entirely convincing. For most part it was a scramble, especially early, with Port gladly seizing on the Bombers' inability to make the ball stick in their hands at first touch and lay the crucial tackles.

Port's 4.1 second quarter should have sealed their fate much earlier, and despite dominating the play in the third when they restricted Essendon to a solitary behind, the Power added only 3.3.

Advertisement

Essendon made Port's recovery process easier than it should have been because their skills simply evaded them as the match progressed, but they weren't punished enough.

This match will be beamed to two million Chinese in coming days, and many will probably switch off after the opening 15 minutes, leaving them wondering what the heck this was all about. There were 15 obvious free-kicks until this stage, netting Port 3.1; grossly inadequate disposals and players running aimlessly.

Robbie Gray of the Power evades a tackle.
Robbie Gray of the Power evades a tackle. Photo: Getty Images

The qualitative study is difficult to assess, with Port missing Chad Wingard, Hamish Hartlett, Jay Schulz and Alipate Carlile, but then sides are always measured by their depth. And then there are the 12 absent Bombers.

However, as ugly as this game was for most part, the bottom line was that Port did what was required to take a vice-like grip  well before half-time.

Essendon weren't good enough to expose the pressure Port had placed on themselves in the lead-up, and  allowed them to regain some semblance of the find-the-gaps and run style that we expected earlier. Like the other 17 clubs, they're in a work-in-progress mode and will be better for the run. Charlie Dixon was one of the many who lifted, and his workrate was excellent. Melbourne recruit Jimmy Toumpas also relished in the opportunity to work his way into better form.

Overall, Port worked harder compared with the opening rounds. They plugged the gaps and found teammates more often; they didn't defend so far up the ground and were not caught out so badly allowing the opposition to charge freely. As promised, they dared to take the game on from the back lines. There were numerous players who rediscovered their run and fight for the ball, especially Jared Polec, whose run, class and penetrating kicking has been sorely missed. 

Essendon were beaten well, but not shamed; they didn't lack courage. The decision-making process wasn't always right, and poor execution robbed them of opportunities. Matthew Leuenberger was outstanding in ruck, while Joe Daniher did well against two or three opponents, and his sensational mark over Jasper Pittard midway through the second quarter will sway the Chinese from switching to an old Bruce Lee re-run.

It was surely frustrating for coach John Worsfold to see his team match or clearly beat Port in most areas for the most part including clearances, contested possessions and tackles, only to get hammered with a soul-destroying clear deficit with the inside-50s.

While Essendon face a tougher challenge against Geelong  next Saturday, just how much quality form Port have rediscovered will be clearer  when they face GWS  on the Sunday. 

For Hinkley's sake, the Power fans won't switch to the old Bruce Lee movies then either.