Charlie Dixon did a rare thing on Sunday. He played a near flawless game, as a big man, in the wet.
He was the only tall forward able to tame the wild conditions at Ballarat's Mars Stadium to kick five goals, meaning his Port Adelaide Power beat an enthusiastic Western Bulldogs side by 44 points to capitalise on slip ups by two of their top four rivals earlier in the round.
Roar Power: Charlie Dixon reacts after kicking a goal for Port against the Bulldogs at Mars Stadium in Ballarat.
Photo: AAP
Dixon excelled by marking kicks that many others couldn't, taking three important grabs inside 50 in the first three quarters, when the contest was hot, in a game where the rain and most of all the wind caused havoc. The victory meant Port Adelaide shot back into the top four ahead of GWS.
Steven Motlop, Chad Wingard and Sam Powell-Pepper were clean in possession over four quarters for the Power. They didn't have many touches – but when they did it sometimes looked as though they were playing in different conditions to everyone else.
The Dogs cracked in around the ground and had some particularly impressive periods of defence as Port pushed forward. But their classier players like Marcus Bontempelli (playing his 100th game) and Hayden Crozier drifted in and out of the game, making it hard for them to support clearance-king Jack Macrae.
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Jason Johannisen was continually targeted by Port Adelaide. His main opponent in the forward line was Darcy Byrne-Jones, but when he got close to stoppages the likes of Port's Ollie Wines employed plenty of bumping and pushing to put him off his game. Bulldogs coach Luke Beveridge persisted with Johannisen in the forward line as he has done most of the season, which seems odd given that position – particularly in this game – didn't allow him to use him sharp overlap and run.
A positional change wouldn't have made much of a difference anyway though, because Port's class was more damaging on the day. The Dogs ended up looking like the side they are, one who had won one game in 11 matches.
Evasive action: Chad Wingard looks for a way through the pack of Bulldogs.
Photo: AAP
Beveridge's men had a strong wind at their backs in the first quarter and made the most of that by kicking the opening goal, and by enjoying the early running. Both sides valued territory at all costs in the cold and slippery conditions, roosting the ball forward at all costs.
However Port led at quarter time despite kicking against that gust. They had more players who were clean with the ball, most notably Sam Powell-Pepper, who played like it was dry. Jack Watts' low snap set shot wasn't spoiled on the line when it should have been, and after Jackson Trengove converted a 50m penalty to respond for the Dogs, the Power took the lead on quarter time thanks to a contest made by Charlie Dixon and a snap from Justin Westhoff.
The rain let-up in the second quarter, but its effects didn't. Water sat underneath the grass causing to players slip and slide while trying to control the soggy ball. Remarkably, almost all of the play in the opening half took place on the far side of the field.
High Ryder: Port Adelaide ruckman in top spot against Bulldog Jackson Trengove.
Photo: AAP
The game was essentially one big school-ground "Markers Up" style contest, as both sides chose to attack up and down the boundary line. The Power in particular seemed scared of the corridor, while the Dogs occasionally tried to head through the middle. Port didn't take advantage of the wind, like the Dogs the quarter before, with two goals apiece scored in the second term. The Dogs defended desperately but the Power played with very little dare which didn't help.
Port kicked the first three goals of the third term, two of them to Dixon and another to Byrne-Jones, but it was all Doggies after that. Especially with inside 50s. But the Dogs, with the wind at their back could only manage one goal, via a Josh Schache set shot.
By the last quarter the water had soaked into the ground, and Port Adelaide began to play a more assured and possession-based brand of football. Dixon booted what was effectively the sealer early in the final term, his fourth goal, from a set shot on the boundary line.
The match finished on a nice high for the Power, with Kane Farrell kicking a goal from the boundary on debut, his first in AFL football.
WESTERN BULLDOGS 2.0 4.0 5.4 5.4 (34)
PORT ADELAIDE 2.2 4.4 7.6 11.12 (78)
GOALS – Western Bulldogs: Trengove 2, Wallis, Greene, Schache
Port Adelaide: Dixon 5, Watts, Westhoff, Motlop, Wingard, Gray, Farrell
BEST – Western Bulldogs: Trengove, Macrae, Hunter, Dunkley
Port Adelaide: Dixon, Polec, Ebert, Wingard, Motlop, Wines
INJURIES
Western Bulldogs: Roughead (head)
Port Adelaide: Hombsch (left knee)
Reports: Nil
Umpires: Stephens, Pannell, Glouftsis
Official crowd: 6,450 at Mars Stadium in Ballarat.
VOTES
C Dixon (Port Adelaide) 8
J Macrae (Western Bulldogs) 7
J Polec (Port Adelaide) 7
S Motlop (Port Adelaide) 6
L Hunter (Western Bulldogs) 6
