Emerging striker Todd Marshall has scored four goals to help Port Adelaide win two points over a gallant Gold Coast in an AFL thriller.
The Power triumphed from 13.15 (93) to 13.13 (91) in an exciting Sunday twilight game at Adelaide Oval.
After losing their first five games of the season, the Port now only has one win out of the top eight in 12th place.
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“It was a fantastic football game,” Port coach Ken Hinkley said.
“From 0-5, it’s a pretty brave effort to keep pending.”
The Suns, who are looking for a place in the opening final, are eleven with the same number of victories – seven – as the Power.
“We had a chance to win it,” Gold Coast coach Stuart Dew said.
“But in there, there’s a good story for us that we keep coming … they don’t give up.”
Marshall’s goal was crucial to Port’s victory, while teammates Riley Bonner (30 eliminations), Dan Houston (30 touches) and Ollie Wines (27 possessions) were the main winners of the ball.
Gold Coast’s Touk Miller was excellent with 30 rebounds and 10 tackles, co-captain Jarrod Witts had 41 hits, and Izak Rankine and Mabior Chol threw three goals.
Chol was also involved in two flash points in the second period when he scored two goals only because those results were nullified in the review when the audio evidence showed contact with the stick.
Kane Farrell of Port was also denied a goal in the second quarter with a long-range attempt when replays showed the ball had not completely cleared the line – the depth of which is determined by the padding of the pal- as it was played by a Suns. defender.
Port increased 18 points in the fourth and five at the break, extending their lead to 11 early in the third season, when Charlie Dixon made a brilliant shot with his left foot from near a limit for his 300th goal. of the AFL.
But the Suns scored four of the next five goals, the last of which, a smart Rankine major in the race from a tight angle, gave the visitors a seven-point cushion.
That lead disappeared when Port’s Connor Rozee scored two goals in two minutes, with Power hitting the front again in the fourth lead of about 15 minutes of action.
Jeremy Finlayson and Port Marshall converted the goals in the end to increase their team’s lead to 13 points in the three quarters of time, 12.11 to 10.10.
The Power only added one more goal, another from Marshall, in a frantic final as the Suns scored three majors.
Gold Coast’s Nick Holman’s last goal put them two points down with a tic over two minutes to go, but Port held on for a vital victory.