It’s the AFL’s fairytale run against the club most desperate to avoid more finals heartbreak as Port Adelaide hosts Hawthorn in the Second Semi Final.
The Power (2nd in home & away, lost qualifying final to Geelong by 84 points) are desperate to rebound from last week’s faceplant. They are otherwise staring down a second consecutive September where they finished in the top four, but failed to win a final.
The Hawks (7th in home & away season, won elimination final over Western Bulldogs by 37 points) are looking to complete the greatest in-season turnaround ever. They were the third team to go from 0-5 or worse to the finals, but neither of the prior sides went as far as making a preliminary final.
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One positive sign for Port Adelaide is the history of teams who get smashed in qualifying finals rebounding one week later.
Under the current top eight format, AFL teams who lost a qualifying final by 50+ points are 11-0 in their semi-finals, the most recent being Geelong in 2017 (lost QF by 51 points, won SF by 59 points).
While Ken Hinkley firmly denied the claims in his press conference on Thursday, it has been reported he will part ways with the club if Port Adelaide loses and suffers a second consecutive straight sets exit.
These sides met once this season, with the Power coming back from 41 points down (and 28 points down at three-quarter-time) while kicking two goals in the final minute to win by a point.
Tonight’s winner will face Sydney in the First Preliminary Final next Friday night at the SCG, while the loser will be eliminated.
This match gets underway at 7:40pm AEST/7:10pm ACST from Adelaide Oval.
Watch it live on Fox Footy (channel 504), streaming on Kayo or via Hubbl from 6:50pm AEST/6:20pm ACST.
Follow Port Adelaide v Hawthorn in the Second Semi Final in our live blog below!
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