A Robbie Gray-inspired Port Adelaide has pinched a crucial win, holding off lowly Collingwood by one point in a dramatic finish at the MCG.
In other AFL matches on Sunday, Essendon proved too strong for North Melbourne with a 72-point win at Docklands, while Greater Western Sydney defeated West Coast by 16 points at Giants Stadium.
The Power looked nowhere near the premiership contender they have been touted to be for most of their clash against the Magpies, but came alive with four final-quarter goals.
Trailing by 13 points at the final change, and by as much as 26 during the second term, the Power hit the lead for the first time at the 18-minute mark of the last quarter.
Sam Powell-Pepper, who capitalised on a diabolical John Noble error, and star midfielder Ollie Wines then slotted goals and appeared to have put the result beyond doubt with only minutes left.
But the Magpies were not done with as youngsters Beau McCreery and Caleb Poulter quickly booted goals to cut the lead to a single point.
It was too late as the Power desperately hung on 8.11 (59) to 8.10 (58) for their seventh win of the season.
Gray proved to be the match winner for the Power, with three goals in a match where scoring proved difficult.
Collingwood booted the first four goals of the match and the Power’s first major did not come until 14 minutes into the second term when Gray slotted the first of his back-to-back goals.
If it were not for defender Aliir Aliir, Port would have been in even more trouble early as the former Sydney tall continually intercepted Collingwood’s forward-50 entries.
Ruckman Brodie Grundy was exceptional, playing a major role in the Magpies early charge, dominating the clearances and slotting two goals.
Taylor Adams made an impressive return from injury for the Magpies, while Power veteran Robbie Boak was outstanding with 29 possessions.
Port Adelaide is back at home in round 11 to host Fremantle, while the Magpies tackle premiership contenders Geelong at the MCG on Saturday.
Bombers show no mercy against Roos
AAP: Daniel Pockett
)Darcy Parish and Zach Merrett ran riot as Essendon produced a dominant first half to lay the groundwork for a comfortable win over North Melbourne.
The Bombers set the tone early and while they fell marginally short of coach Ben Rutten’s stated aim to piece together a consistent four quarters, they were never seriously challenged.
Out-of-contract midfielders Parish (36 disposals and 11 clearances) and Merrett (31 disposals and two clearances) underlined their value in stellar performances alongside Andrew McGrath (31 disposals and five clearances).
Peter Wright, Harrison Jones and Anthony McDonald-Tipungwuti (three each) were among seven multiple goal kickers for Essendon in the 22.9 (141) to 10.9 (69) win.
It gave the Bombers consecutive victories for the first time under Rutten and improved their season win-loss record to 4-6, leaving them just one win outside the top eight.
A horror day for the Kangaroos seemed like it got worse when star ruckman Todd Goldstein went down with a right ankle injury moments before three-quarter time.
Goldstein twisted the joint as he landed from a centre bounce ruck contest and was immediately helped off the field, but was assessed in the changeroom and reappeared for the final term.
Nick Larkey limped off with a similar complaint in the final quarter and returned after a brief stint on the sidelines.
The Kangaroos had entered the match brimming with new-found confidence, invigorated by their first win of the season against Hawthorn in round nine.
But they were blitzed early when Merrett stamped his authority with 14 disposals as Essendon piled on six first-quarter goals.
The Bombers were in the zone at both ends, with Jones snapping a superb goal from the pocket and Nick Hind setting the bar for desperation with a chase-down on Cam Zurhaar that prevented a certain goal.
Cam Zurhaar took a huge mark when he climbed onto Laverde’s back on the wing and plucked another, minutes later, close to goal as North enjoyed a brief patch of ascendancy in general play during the third quarter.
Wright left the field under the blood rule with a cut above his left eye from Goldstein’s attempted spoil late in the match.
Taylor Garner kicked three goals for the Kangaroos and Ben Cunnington finished with 34 disposals and nine clearances.
Giants score spirited win over Eagles
AAP: Brendon Thorne
)An undermanned Greater Western Sydney has dug deep to record arguably its most meritorious win of the season, a 16-point triumph over West Coast at Giants Stadium.
The Giants’ injury crisis plunged to a new low when they were forced to omit star forwards Toby Greene (shoulder) and Jesse Hogan (calf) for the clash.
But Josh Kelly starred as stand-in skipper in the absence of Greene and Stephen Coniglio, while his teammates scraped together a winning score in a pulsating contest.
Recalled forward Zach Sproule, ruckman Matt Flynn and second-year midfielder Tom Green each kicked two goals to help their side prevail 13.15 (93) to 11.11 (77).
Key forward Jeremy Finlayson, returning from a one-week ban, booted a match-high three goals.
At the other end of the ground, young defenders Sam Taylor and Jack Buckley did an exceptional job to help restrict power forwards Josh Kennedy and Jack Darling to a combined two goals.
The match was in the balance until speedster Bobby Hill kicked consecutive goals to hand the Giants a match-high lead of 16 points with three minutes remaining.
Taylor, Buckley and teammate Jacob Hopper all limped off in great discomfort during the second half but returned to the fray.
Kelly (25 disposals, seven clearances, eight tackles) led from the front when it came to pressure and poise, inspiring his team to lay 32 more tackles than the Eagles.
Namesake Tim Kelly tallied a match-high 15 contested possessions and eight clearances for West Coast, while ruckman Nic Naitanui had eight clearances and 34 hitouts.
The loss, coming as premiership captain Shannon Hurn became the club’s all-time games recordholder, extended West Coast’s concerning away record in 2021.
Adam Simpson’s side are undefeated in Perth this season but are now 1-4 from games outside Western Australia.
AAP
