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Robbie Gray produced a quarter for the ages as Port Adelaide came from 31 points down to post a 22-point win over Fremantle in Saturday night’s AFL semi-final at Patersons Stadium.
Port Adelaide’s flag hopes were on life support after Fremantle skipped out to a 46-15 lead late in the second quarter.
The margin would have been far greater if not for the Dockers’ wayward kicking in front of goal.
With Travis Boak hardly touching the ball in the first half, Port Adelaide required a special effort from someone else – and it was Gray who obliged.
Gray booted four goals in the third quarter to give his side the lead, before Ollie Wines booted two goals in a frenetic final term to ensure the Power held on for the 15.15 (105) to 11.17 (83) triumph in front of 42,338 shocked fans.
The win booked Port Adelaide a date with Hawthorn in next Saturday’s preliminary final at the MCG, while Fremantle were left to rue a season that promised so much but delivered little.
Wayward goalkicking cost Fremantle in last year’s grand final loss to Hawthorn, and it cost them a crack at this year’s flag as well.
The Dockers were all over Port in the opening half, but their return of 6.11 kept the Power in the contest.
Gray finished with four goals from 21 possessions, while Chad Wingard (four goals), Wines (three goals) and Hamish Hartlett (33 disposals) were also influential.
The Dockers suffered a massive pre-match blow when Alex Silvagni (hamstring) was ruled out, with the former rookie joining fellow key backmen Luke McPharlin (calf) and Michael Johnson (back) on the sidelines.
It left only Zac Dawson as a recognised key defender, and the former Saint performed admirably on Power forward Jay Schulz (one goal).
However, Dawson is in danger of missing the start of next year after he was reported for a clumsy spoil that collected Robbie Gray high.
The run-and-stun game plan that served Port Adelaide so well last week was nowhere to be seen in the opening half as Fremantle’s frenetic pressure set the tone.
Fyfe was influential with two early goals, while Lachie Neale had the ball on a string on the way to 15 first-quarter possessions.
When Port Adelaide skipper Boak fires, the Power normally win.
But with Boak held to just four possessions by Ryan Crowley in the first half, the Power were forced to adopt a damage control approach as Fremantle launched wave after wave of attack.
However, Fremantle’s waywardness in front of goal quickly became an issue as chance after chance went begging.
Even Michael Walters – arguably Fremantle’s finest kick – was suffering a case of the yips, with the 23-year-old booting three consecutive points within the space of four minutes during the second quarter.
Stephen Hill, Matt Taberner, Nick Suban, Chris Mayne and Matthew Pavlich also missed gettable goals in the first half, meaning a lead that could easily have been around 45 points was only 24 at the long break.
Even that gap seemed too much to overcome for the Power given their inept first-half display.
But Gray had other ideas, with the star forward booting four goals in the third term to turn the match on its head.
Fremantle briefly threatened to steal the match back with two early goals in the final quarter, but Wines replied with two of his own to send his side through to the preliminary final.
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