Merrett incident could shake up Brownlow; Super Saturday lives up to the hype as Hawks, Bombers, Suns, Crows win

Reilly O’Brien’s expert tap at the centre bounce found Adelaide captain Jordan Dawson, who found space for virtually the first time all night, having been curbed by the tagging efforts of Miles Bergman.

Fogarty dropped a chest mark from Dawson’s long kick but Rankine was in the perfect spot to volley it through off the deck, and followed it with a head-rubbing celebration.

The Power were down by 22 points but not out. They dominated territory down the stretch but were undone initially by a string of behinds.

Darcy Byrne-Jones broke the spell with a goal and Jeremy Finlayson followed with his third and suddenly the gap was four points.

Jason Horne-Francis exploded out of the centre square and into attack where Keane, bravely running backwards into oncoming Finlayson, pouched what turned out to be the game-saving mark deep in defence.

Following the clash, Keane spoke about just how hellbent he was on winning the footy at such a crucial moment.

“I’ll tell you what was going through my mind – I’d left [Jeremy] Finlayson free to kick a goal just 30 seconds before, and I said, the next time the ball comes in, I’ll have to do everything I can to get the ball in my hands, and it fell into my lap,” Keane told Fox Footy.

He added that the Crows’ defence continues to grow, and they’ve based their game on bravery and going in hard for the footy.

“I like to think we would put our heads where other people wouldn’t put their shoes,” Keane said.

Earlier, Thilthorpe was the key difference between the two rivals.

He booted three goals, and racked up 10 marks – including five contested – and 10 score involvements.

In the face of Port’s ascendancy in most statistical areas, Thilthorpe’s brutal efficiency in attack was single-handedly keeping Adelaide in the driver’s seat.

The Power were brave, having endured a hellish week – a 90-point pasting by the Western Bulldogs in Ballarat followed by the fallout from the Willie Rioli controversy, the goalsneak standing out the match before being suspended for a game by the AFL for making a series of alleged threats against rival players.

Port coach Ken Hinkley pulled the first shock move when Miles Bergman, normally a running defender, started in the middle to run with Brownlow Medal prospect Jordan Dawson. It proved a masterstroke, Bergman winning the match-up handsomely.

Captain Connor Rozee claimed the Showdown Medal for his brilliance across half-back, while Zak Butters was a beast in the centre-square from quarter-time onwards.

Port won the inside-50 count 22-9 in the fourth term, but their profligacy in attack – especially compared to Adelaide – hurt their bid for a miracle comeback as the Crows crept ahead 29-28 in the AFL’s hottest, most hostile rivalry.

Tom Liberatore was relentless with 35 possessions, 10 tackles and 10 clearances. You will see few better performances this season, let alone in the hot, slippery conditions in Darwin.

The Dogs’ record falls to 5-4 but they are still right in the mix for finals.

“The turnover stuff was pretty extreme – we gave them over 70 points from possession gains, some of those, give the Suns credit for [them], but others were when we were just not good enough,” Bulldogs coach Luke Beveridge said post-game.

“James O’Donnell down back had one of the best defensive games I’ve seen for a while.

“To be 28 points down and keep grinding, and give ourselves a look at it with three minutes to go – that is worthwhile acknowledging.”

Rioli – whose family has strong ties to Darwin footy with one of the stands named after Maurice Rioli – said it was emotional to play just his second AFL game in the Territory.

“It’s pretty emotional, to be honest. I have a lot of family here and I played a lot of my junior footy here with guys like Ben Long and some of the other indigenous boys like Malcolm Rosas and Joel Jeffrey – it’s amazing to get back here,” he said.

“We played the Dream Time game [with Richmond] here in 2020 and to get back here for more games this year in front of family and friends, it’s amazing.”