After a heart-stirring comeback in the Balfours Showdown 30, the Power returned to AAMI Stadium for Round 5, taking on new boys on the block, the Gold Coast Suns, in their first journey to Adelaide for an AFL match.
The Power made two changes to a winning side, with Paul Stewart ruled out with injury at selection, replaced by Jason Davenport, while ruckman and stand-in captain Dean Brogan was a late withdrawal, replaced in the selected side by Dan Stewart. Troy Chaplin, having enjoyed a great game against the Crows, was the captain for the day.
The Suns welcomed the return of their captain, Gary Ablett, and made a host of changes to the side that - despite losing by 15 goals -was extremely competitive against Melbourne the week before, winning the first quarter in their history as they outscored the Demons in the third term.
Starting on the bench for the Power were Cameron Hitchcock, Matthew Broadbent, David Rodan and Jason Davenport. Brett Ebert started in the middle, with Dan Stewart winning the first ruck contest, and Jacob Surjan playing forward booting the ball inside 50 where the ball immediately rebounded forward for the Suns.
In an encouraging sign for the Power it was cut off by Trengove who gave it to Hartlett who played a one-two then moved it forward through Ebert, with Matt Thomas earning a free inside 50 - he kicked into Ablett as man on the mark and the ball was turned over.
The Suns worked the ball forward where Matera, showing all the skill of his uncle Phil, dribbled one through from the boundary after two Power players went up in the ruck contest against one another. They won the centre clearance where a free kick was awarded to Matera, but O’Shea cut off the forward movement with a nice mark. Too many targets were being missed early, with ball movement quite sloppy from both sides, but the tackling from the Power was excellent early.
Hartlett was busy early, delivering the ball high into the 50, where the Suns rebounded but pressure from Surjan forced an errant kick, with Chaplin finding Motlop, who booted the Power’s first goal after a nice contested mark.
An amazing goal from Brennan saw the Suns score a miracle goal after he put it on the outside of his boot and it drifted over the line. Suns continued to win the contested ball, with Dixon missing everything with another shot on goal.
Chad won a free after getting a shove in the back, but his delivery into the forward 50 was wayward, with the Suns winning the ball back, before Matera turned the ball over to Westhoff, who centred it for Hartlett.
A brilliant sidestep by Hartlett at the 15 minute mark gave the Power a chance to go forward again, but Stewart missed a shot on goal, with the ball going out on the full. As the Power’s defensive pressure caused turnovers, the Power got it in a goalscoring position once more but Motlop’s kick drifted across the face.
The Power again caused the Suns to turn it over, with Motlop unselfishly centred it to Surjan, who kicked the goal to put the Power in front for the first time today. Port immediately won the clearance and Boak took a strong contested mark, drilling the goal.
A clever piece of play from Ebert went unrewarded as the ball was rushed over the line for the Power’s first point of the day. The defensive wall that the Power set up across half forward was working well, with the ball turned over repeatedly allowing repeated scoring opportunities for the home side - they just couldn’t put it between the big sticks. Eventually Motlop scored a lovely goal after being told to play on despite believing that he’d taken a mark inside 50 following some nice work from Ebert and Westhoff.
A miss on the siren to Hitchcock after winning a holding the ball call saw the Power leading 5.3.33 to 2.2.14 at quarter time, with the Power’s pressure around the contest increasingly and getting better as the game went on throughout the first term.
QUARTER TIME: 5.3.33 to 2.2.14 Goals: Motlop 2, Hartlett, Surjan, Boak. Possessions: Ebert 9, Hartlett 8, O’Shea 8, Trengove 8, Westhoff 8, Chaplin 7, Surjan 7.
The second term begun much as the first ended, with the Power winning clean possession from the centre bounce with Gray stealing the ball from Ablett. Ebert was ridden in the back by Hunt, and he made certain of the goal. Rischitelli got one back for the Suns after Chad was called for holding the ball despite the pill being knocked from his grasp rather than the tackle impeding him.
Hartlett continued to look a class above, using his body brilliantly in a marking contest before passing it in field low and sharp to Rodan. The ball was forced out of the forward 50 then a Suns error pushed it out, with Hitchcock missing a running shot at goal as it cannoned into the post. The Power again used defensive pressure to force turnovers, with Chad taking another strong mark and driving it home.
Hard tackling continued to be a feature of the Power’s resurgence in 2011, with Chaplin laying an absolute pile-driver at the 10 minute mark of the quarter right on the member’s wing. Matera eventually responded for the Suns with another terrific snap around the body, with man mountain Smith out-bodying Carlile to take a strong mark then kick the goal to reduce the margin to 13 points.
Gold Coast continued to put the pressure on the Power with a number of scoring opportunities, but Stewart took a strong mark at the 16 minute mark to get the ball to Ebert, with the ball eventually worked forward to Surjan. He made no mistake, booting his second for the game. Smith continued to impress for the Suns, but he missed a running shot at goal - he’s scarily good for such a young big man. Matera continued to excite but couldn’t put scoreboard pressure on the Power.
The Power started to use the ball much more short as the quarter progressed to help maintain possession - Hitchcock ended with a shot on goal but it failed to make the distance from just on 50, and it was rushed through for another point. Finally a fantastic assist from Motlop after receiving the ball from Gray saw Hartlett snap his second goal of the game in the 26th minute as the quarter drew to a close.
HALF TIME: 9.5.59 to 5.6.36. Goals: Motlop 2, Surjan 2, Hartlett 2, Boak, Ebert, Cornes. Possessions: Chaplin 14, 7 marks, Hartlett 14, O’Shea 13, Trengove 13, Carlile 12 and 6 marks, Westhoff 11 and 5 marks.
Winning a free from the centre, Thomas pinpointed Gray at the 50, who then set up Motlop who made no mistake booting his third for the game. Gray won the next clearance and hit up Thomas with some excellent run and spread, but he couldn’t get the pass cleanly to Motlop. Gray’s influence around the top of the 50 arc and moving into the midfield continued early in the third, and some clean hands by Pittard got the ball to Boak who kicked it high forward where Westhoff took a one-hander at the 4 minute mark of the term, making no mistake with the goal.
Gold Coast’s pressure went up enormously, and McKenzie got reward for the Suns with a clever goal. The ball continued to too often be kicked out on the full when under little pressure, with the Suns’ pressure much better as Smith continued to be a big threat around the ground, with Rischitelli getting another goal for them after a free kick against Stewart when he took the ball directly out of the ruck when the ball fell well short in the throw-in.
His heroic 4 goal performance the previous week was terrific, but David Rodan was the sub this week, making way for Jason Davenport. After some scrappy play the Power were finally able to work the ball through the middle of the ground and Stewart was the beneficiary, leading strongly, marking in front of his eyes, then drilling the goal.
Daniel Stewart had the opportunity to kick the next goal after pushing hard forward with Motlop gifting the ball to him after the Power executed a quick breakaway after a brilliant clearing defensive kick from Surjan found space on the outer wing. Stewart missed with the set shot. Hard running by Davenport saw him drill the ball to Gray, run on, and get the ball back for a set shot opportunity, and he kicked truly.
Some exciting run out of the backline from Pittard saw Cornes take a strong contested mark, with the ball forwarded to where Motlop was scragged, earning a free, and booting the goal. The Suns continued to press, with Ablett increasingly influential, rallying to be down by just 28 points at three-quarter time.
THREE-QUARTER TIME: 14.7.91 to 9.9.63. Goals: Motlop 4, Surjan 2, Hartlett 2, Boak, Ebert, Cornes, Westhoff, Stewart, Davenport. Possessions: Chaplin 19 and 8 marks, Hartlett 18, Motlop 16, Carlile 16 and 6 marks, O'Shea 15, Salopek 15, Trengove 15, Westhoff 15 and 9 marks, Surjan 14, Ebert 13, Broadbent 13.
The Suns won the clearances early in the last term, with Dixon taking a spectacular mark and reducing the margin to 22 points within the first 2 minutes of the final term. A big roost by Stewart inside 50 saw Trengove pick the ball up whilst on the ground, stand up, and snap the ball over his shoulder for a much-needed goal.
Davenport unleashed a monster tackle to stop the Suns momentum, then Surjan laid another big one moments later as they streamed forward in a vital display of defensive intensity. The Suns tall players were starting to have great effect, with Dixon hauling down a big mark and making no mistake to get the margin back to 22 points. Matera immediately got another, and all of a sudden it was under 3 goals the difference at the 10 minute mark of the final term.
The Suns continued to win contested ball while the Power made a heap of handling errors, giving up possession far too easily. The Suns continued to impress as everything seemed to go their way, with Bennell winning a free and kicking truly to make it a 9 point margin at the 16 minute mark of the final term. The Suns continued to press with a snap around the corner hitting the post, then another miss reducing the margin to 7 points at the 19 minute mark of the final term.
Ablett continued to wow, as he gave the ball to Matera who made no mistake - all of a sudden it was a 1 point game as time-on began. Port worked the ball up the outer wing after the Suns won another clearance and Stewart took a terrific contested grab at the 22 minute mark, just outside 50, but missed the long shot at goal. As the ball moved forward through Hartlett, Motlop worked terrifically hard 3 on 1 to get the ball out of bounds in the forward pocket.
The Suns rebounded but Westhoff kicked it forward to Hartlett just outside 50, and the kick completely slewed off the side and out on the full. The Suns worked the ball down the outer wing but Fraser missed the opportunity to give the Suns the lead. Somehow the Power failed to clear the goalsquare and Russell gave the Suns the lead.
The Suns continued to press brilliantly then a huge mark by Westhoff just prior to the final siren gave the Power a chance to win the game…he missed.
Round 5, 2011, saw history created as the Suns won their first game in the AFL as the Power gave up a 40 point lead at the 28 minute mark of the third quarter to see them lose by 3 points.
Goals: Motlop 4, Surjan 2, Hartlett 2, Boak, Ebert, Cornes, Westhoff, Stewart, Davenport, Trengove.
Disposals: Hartlett 23, Chaplin 22 and 9 marks, Pittard 20, O'Shea 19, Trengove 19, 5 marks and 8 hit-outs, Carlile 18, Motlop 17 and 8 marks, Salopek 17, Westhoff 17 and 10 marks, Broadbent 16 and 6 marks, Surjan 16.
Best: Hartlett, Motlop, Westhoff, Surjan.
Crowd: 21,287
