Hornet heroics lift Power in thriller; ‘selfish’ Dixon addresses confrontation — 3-2-1

Port Adelaide has triumphed dramatically over Fremantle in an exhilarating finish, defeating the Dockers 9.12 (66) to 9.9 (63) at Adelaide Oval on Saturday night.

Despite trailing by four points at the final change, the Power kicked three goals to Freo’s two in the fourth stanza to claim a crucial four points and move to 4-1 on the season.

On the other hand, the Dockers have been consigned to back-to-back losses following their heartbreaking loss last weekend at Gather Round.

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Ken Hinkley’s match committee welcomed back stalwarts Ollie Wines and Sam Powell-Pepper in place of Jeremy Finlayson (suspension) and Travis Boak (injured).

Neil Erasmus came in for his first game of the season, replacing the injured Michael Frederick.

Saturday night represented Port’s third match on the trot on home turf.

The 3-2-1 …

3. LATE HORNE-FRANCIS HEROICS LIFT POWER OVER FREO

Fremantle has suffered back-to-back heartbreaks at Adelaide Oval, with Jason Horne-Francis kicking the winner as Port Adelaide came from behind to stun the Dockers in a thriller on Saturday night.

Justin Longmuir’s men returned to the scene of their dramatic Gather Round heist at the hands of Carlton and walked away empty-handed once again, despite having their noses in front late.

Andrew Brayshaw put his side nine points up with just over six minutes remaining with a superb snap in traffic, only for Charlie Dixon to take a towering mark and boot his second a minute later.

Then Horne-Francis held his nerve to give the home side the lead from a set shot with a little over three minutes left, with the Power hanging on to improve to a 4-1 record and make it seven wins from seven clashes against Fremantle at the venue.

Ken Hinkley threw Horne-Francis deep forward late in the final term, and fair to say it paid enormous dividends for the victorious Power.

The blonde-haired midfielder’s snapping major capped a three-goal-to-two final quarter from the Power to claim an unlikely win after Fremantle appeared the better side for a large portion of the evening.

— with NCA Newswire’s Jason Phelan

2. ‘SELFISH’ DIXON ADDRESSES HINKLEY CONFRONTATION

In an intriguing piece of vision, veteran Port Adelaide forward Charlie Dixon and senior coach Ken Hinkley were seen engaging in heated discussion at quarter-time.

While the topic of conversation was unclear, it was obvious to all observing that there was some sort of disagreement between the pair.

“Maybe a few problems for Port Adelaide,” Hawthorn legend Jason Dunstall told the Fox Footy broadcast.

“At quarter-time, Charlie and Kenny, I don’t (think) they’re seeing eye-to-eye.”

Added 287-game Saint Leigh Montagna: “Whatever he’s saying, Charlie Dixon doesn’t seem too pleased. (He might be) saying ‘well, if you can’t win the contest, Charlie, you might need to be a decoy today’.

“I don’t think Charlie would appreciate that, so I reckon he’ll be keen to improve that one-on-one contest and not let Alex Pearce beat him as often as he did.

“Look, he’s fired up. That’s scary … ‘Kenny’ might’ve just poked the bear.”

Dixon, of course, kicked the first goal of the second quarter, with the cameras immediately panning to Hinkley.

However, after that, the 33-year-old key forward was largely unsighted as Pearce blanketed the veteran.

At half-time, Ricciuto circled back to the eyebrow-raising incident, noting the rarity for such an interaction to occur.

“Well, this just doesn’t happen,” he told Fox Footy.

“I have not seen it in Ken Hinkley’s reign, where these two have had a chat like this – or with anyone, to be quite honest.”

Speaking after Port Adelaide’s win, Dixon confessed his “selfishness”.

“He (Hinkley) just wanted me to do a little bit better, I guess,” Dixon told Fox Footy post-game.

“I wasn’t too happy; I wanted a bit more of a chance. But that was my selfishness where I thought I could have a little bit more of a crack, where he needed me to do more of the team stuff.”

Dixon finished Saturday evening with two goals from just seven disposals and two marks.

1. PEARCE ‘DOMINATED’ DIXON BATTLE, ADDS TO EPIC SEASON

Fremantle skipper Alex Pearce has continued his tremendous start to the season, eclipsing his direct opponent, Charlie Dixon.

Pearce wasn’t just influential in an intercepting, one-on-one capacity — he also had a significant hand in the Dockers’ offensive chains as a run-and-gun distributor.

The long-haired backman’s matchup with Dixon was a story in itself for most of the evening.

“It was always going to be a big duel, a pivotal duel between Dixon and Pearce — and it’s been that tonight,” Adelaide icon Mark Ricciuto told Fox Footy.

“(Pearce is in the) best form of his career and, right now, would be an All-Australian full back, the way he’s going about it.

“10 disposals in the first quarter and 14 for the (first) half, you can’t get much better than that from full back. Gave a bit of run and dash as well, so it’s a great performance.

“He just looks fit and he’s in great form as a result of that. He’s got more leg speed than (Dixon).

“He’s just playing fantastic footy, and he’s one of the reasons why the Dockers are a much better side.”

Speaking after Port Adelaide’s win, Dixon acknowledged Pearce got the better of him.

“He dominated me all night, to be honest,” Dixon told Fox Footy.

“He’s a big, strong man, and I struggled all night on him. I didn’t know what to do.

“I love the battle, though. You want to play against the best and he’s one of the best, so I like that challenge.”

Pearce finished with 20 disposals, 12 contested possessions, 13 intercept possessions and four marks.

PORT ADELAIDE vs FREMANTLE — AS IT HAPPENED

There were no late changes for either side, with Jackson Mead (Port Adelaide) and Neil Erasmus (Fremantle) named the starting subs.

Jye Amiss snagged the game’s first goal from a set shot after a tug of war for the first 10 minutes.

The Power led by seven points at quarter-time.

“It’s been a pivotal matchup, hasn’t it?” Hawthorn legend Jason Dunstall said of the Charlie Dixon-Alex Pearce matchup.

“Alex Pearce has been absolutely brilliant, we’ve seen a number of contests one-on-one, and you can see Pearce and Dixon pushing and shoving.”

Dunstall noticed Dixon and Port coach Ken Hinkley having words at the first change.

“Maybe a few problems for Port Adelaide. At quarter-time, Charlie and Kenny, I don’t know that they’re seeing eye-to-eye,” Dunstall said.

Added Leigh Montagna: “Whatever he’s saying, Charlie Dixon doesn’t seem too pleased, so I’m not sure whether he’s saying ‘well, if you can’t win the contest, Charlie, you might need to be a decoy today’.

“I don’t think Charlie would appreciate that, so I reckon he’ll be keen to improve that one-on-one contest in the second quarter and not let Alex Pearce beat him as often as he did.

“Look, he’s fired up. That’s scary … Kenny might’ve just poked the bear.”

Said Adelaide great Mark Ricciuto: “That’s a genuine chat, that one. I haven’t seen that before between those two.”

Dixon’s response? He kicked the first goal of the second term and celebrated fiercely!

However, Fremantle quickly gained the second-quarter ascendency, with Josh Treacy booting three goals in the term alone. Dockers by seven late in the half.

In a low-scoring affair between two top-of-the-table sides, it was Fremantle that led by a straight kick at the main change.

Circling back to the Dixon-Hinkley incident, Ricciuto said it was a very rare sight to see during Hinkley’s Power tenure.

“Well, this just doesn’t happen,” he told Fox Footy at half-time.

“I have not seen it in Ken Hinkley’s reign, where these two have had a chat like this – or with anyone, to be quite honest.”

The third quarter was another that comprised minimal scoring — a booming Miles Bergman major was answered by a Tom Emmett set shot goal. Dockers by four points with six minutes remaining in the third stanza.

A Matt Taberner set shot at the 21-minute mark was answered by a stirring Willie Rioli snap — four-point game with two minutes left in the third quarter.

The Dockers took a slender four-point lead into the final change. Could another thriller be on the cards?

A straight Jye Amiss set shot early in the fourth quarter extended Freo’s lead to 10 points, but a Zak Butters response kept it within a goal.

However, with six minutes remaining, an Andy Brayshaw goal pushed Freo’s lead to nine points to make things extremely difficult for the Power.

A sensational mark and set shot goal by Charlie Dixon reduced Port’s margin back to two points with under four minutes left.

Goal Jason Horne-Francis! A brave call to throw the young star deep forward has paid dividends! A neat snapping goal after a contested mark. Port by four points, less than two minutes remaining in the game.

The Power held on, downing the Dockers by three points after an enthralling conclusion to a thrilling Saturday slate of games.

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