Port Adelaide and Brisbane will advance to the AFL Preliminary finals. The weekend saw two teams, the GWS Giants and Hawthorn, exit the AFL finals.
Port Adelaide v Hawthorn
On Friday night, Port Adelaide had the better of Hawthorn by only three points, winning 75-72 at Adelaide Oval in front of a crowd of 51,000.
Mitch Georgiades starred for the home side with three goals, as Port held off Hawthorn to advance to their fourth Preliminary Final since 2012 under coach Ken Hinkley.
The AFL fined Hinkley $20,000 for taunting Hawthorn’s Jack Ginnivan on the field following his side’s win.
Next week, Port Adelaide will play the Swans – who they’ve beaten in every one of their last eight encounters – at the SCG for a place in the AFL Grand Final.
GWS Giants v Brisbane Lions
On Saturday night, the Brisbane Lions showed composure to reel in a 44-point Giants lead, winning the match 105-100 and earning their place in the Preliminary Final against the Geelong Cats next Saturday.
Joe Daniher broke GWS hearts with two goals in the final four minutes to seal the win for the Lions.
GWS will be looking for answers after successive losses in this finals series. The team led their games 90% of the 240 minutes they played, but couldn’t convert that to victories.
Now, the Brisbane Lions will turn their attention to Geelong at the MCG, where they will have the opportunity to make a second consecutive grand final.
