Round 16 – Hawthorn v Port Adelaide: Shaun Burgoyne’s 400th

 

 

 

It was my Saturday off from the commitments of being team manager of my beloved Boyne Island Tannum Sands Saints’ A-grade team.

 

It was the bye weekend in the AFL Capricornia competition as all players enjoyed a break on what was a dreary and rainy Saturday across Central Queensland’s glorious coastline and points westward inland into Biloela that makes up the Capricornia Region.

 

So my mind tracked toward Saturday night’s Hawthorn Hawks against my team Port Adelaide in Melbourne, the current COVID-19 hub.

 

“This is a real danger game,” I said to myself in a cliche kind of way.

 

I had fond memories of Shaun ‘Silk’ Burgoyne streaming into an open goal in the third quarter of the 2004 AFL Grand Final.

 

The goal put Port 60-48 up in that decider as I was then high up in the Great Southern Stand downing Carlton Draughts in a hurry!

 

“The Hawks will be up-and-about to celebrate Port’s premiership hero Silk’s 400th game…won’t be surprised if the Hawks get up,” I thought.

 

“They beat Sydney in Sydney and knocked off GWS last weekend.”

 

It was a weekend of upsets after the Gold Coast Suns potentially ended Richmond’s triple flag tilt on Thursday night.

 

And the Giants beat ladder leaders Melbourne Demons at the MCG!

 

Saturday night was no upset as things did not go to script for Silk’s side.

 

Burgoyne deserved so much better.

 

The three-time Hawks’ premiership star was the first Indigenous player to reach the 400-game milestone.

 

However his old club smashed the hapless and hopeless Hawthorn in the first half and the Power led by 48 points after Mitch Georgiadis left Burgoyne, who lost his footing, in his wake to kick the opening goal of the third quarter.

 

Port Adelaide withstood a Hawk challenge to win 13.9 (87) to 7.11 (53).

 

Charlie Dixon booted four goals while young key forward Todd Marshall kicked two as the visiting Port Adelaide continually waltzed out of the centre square with Ollie Wines and Karl Amon prominent at Melbourne’s Marvel Stadium.

 

It was not like Hawthorn had a poor midfield.

 

It had quality players in James Worpel, Jaeger O’Meara, Liam Shiels, Brownlow Medallist Tom Mitchell in the centre square.

 

When Connor Rozee drew the ire of Mitchell and a subsequent downfield free to Dixon, the Hawks lost the plot.

 

Rather than cheering Burgoyne whenever he was near the ball, most of the focus by the majority of the Hawthorn faithful was to jeer Rozee whenever he did his thing with it.

 

Port did lose emerging forward-mid Kane Farrell with a suspected season-ending knee injury and he was replaced with medical sub Marty Frederick.

 

The latter made an immediate impact when he sidestepped Burgoyne to slot through a super goal.

 

Wines, albeit somewhat wasteful by foot, likely has more Brownlow Medal votes in this match after he collected 43 possessions and Travis Boak continued his masterful season.

 

Scott Lycett was immense in ruck with his bullocking work at ground level a feature, Mile Bergman was all class with his clean skills while defensive trio Aliir Aliir, captain Tom Jonas and Trent McKenzie got it done again in the back half.

 

Hawthorn, inspired by Jonathon Ceglar’s marking, did respond to close the deficit to 22 points mid-way into the final quarter.

 

However Sam Mayes and Rozee put the icing on the cake in a game that finished with a memorable touch as Hawthorn’s triple premiership player Sheils and Boak chaired Burgoyne off the ground.

 

Port Adelaide coach Ken Hinkley said several of the regular stars will return in coming weeks including one that was touted by some pundits as the best player in the AFL before he injured his ankle against Richmond.

 

“Zak will push for next Thursday. He got through the [SANFL] game well on Saturday. I’m not being in any way disrespectful to the competition, but Zak Butters is an AFL player every day of the week, he just needed to get a game under his belt to give him confidence that he can play,” Hinkley said Butters’ possible inclusion for the Power for the top-four blockbuster against Melbourne Demons at Adelaide Oval this Thursday night.

 

“He won’t be perfect if he comes in next week or the week after, but he’ll be there, making us better for every week that he’s in the team.

 

“[Duursma will] play next week in the SANFL, all things being equal, and we’ll be really pleased to have him back as well.

 

“Tom Clurey (broken jaw), Jackson Mead (spleen), played in the SANFL today, we had Zak playing in the SANFL today, so we’re starting to get some of our pieces back.

 

 

HAWTHORN          1.4    1.5    4.8    7.11    (53)
PORT ADELAIDE    3.2    8.5    9.7    13.9    (87) 

 

GOALS
Hawthorn: Breust 2, Howe, Worpel, Koschitzke, O’Brien, O’Meara
Port Adelaide: Dixon 4, Bergman 2, Marshall 2, Mayes 2, Frederick, Georgiades, Rozee

 

BEST
Hawthorn: Worpel, Mitchell, Hardwick, Bramble, O’Meara
Port Adelaide: Wines, Byrne-Jones, Boak, Amon, Jonas, Dixon

 

INJURIES
Hawthorn: Nil
Port Adelaide: Farrell (knee)

 

SUBSTITUTES
Hawthorn: Hanrahan (unused)
Port Adelaide: Frederick (replaced Farrell)

 

 

 

 

 

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