Carlton have escaped the most painful of heartbreak after Port Adelaide’s win over Fremantle sealed their spot in the AFL finals.
Earlier on Sunday, the Blues let slip the chance to seal their spot in the eight beyond all doubt with a win over St Kilda, who kicked a match-winning goal with seconds left in the game to keep Fremantle’s season alive.
But the Dockers were unable to pick Carlton’s pocket and jump them into eighth spot, going down to the Power 9.13 (67) to 13.9 (87) at Optus Stadium in the final game of the home and away season.
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It sets up a mouth-watering set of elimination finals in a fortnight’s time, where Brisbane will host Carlton at the Gabba and the Western Bulldogs will welcome Hawthorn to Marvel Stadium after they booked their tickets to September action with a win over GWS.
Port’s win also means they have sealed second spot on the ladder and rights to host a qualifying final against Geelong.
Cross-town rivals Sydney and GWS will do battle in the other qualifying final at the Swans’ SCG.
A huge roar went up around Optus Stadium before the Dockers-Power clash when St Kilda’s Jack Higgins scored a goal with 12 seconds remaining to secure victory over Carlton.
But the Dockers couldn’t complete their part of the equation, with two final-quarter goals from former West Coast Eagle Willie Rioli helping Port secure the 20-point victory in front of 45,322 fans.
Sunday’s match was also crucial for Port, given a loss by about four goals would have allowed Geelong to leapfrog them into second spot.
Port star Ollie Wines racked up 31 disposals and six clearances in his 250th game, Zak Butters had 27 possessions, while Jason Horne-Francis kicked two goals from 20 possessions and Rioli slotted three majors.
Andrew Brayshaw racked up 32 disposals and five clearances for the Dockers, while Hayden Young tallied 10 score involvements among his 19 possessions, but he spent most of the final quarter on the bench after sustaining a knock to his calf.
The win came at a cost for Port Adelaide, with defender Kane Farrell set to miss the start of the finals after injuring his left hamstring in the second quarter.
Fellow defender Aliir Aliir sent a huge scare through the camp when he also went down in the second quarter, but he was able to return to the field after receiving treatment on his ankle in the rooms.
The Power suffered a late pre-match blow when Charlie Dixon was ruled out with illness.
Port Adelaide won the inside-50 count 18-11 in the first quarter but Fremantle made the most of their chances to open up an eight-point lead.
The roles were reversed in a pressure-filled second quarter, with Fremantle spraying 2.6 in comparison to Port Adelaide’s 4.3 as the visitors hit the lead.
A stunning one-handed mark from Nat Fyfe at the top of the goalsquare with just seconds remaining in the half ensured the margin was only one point at the long break.
The Power twice skipped away to 15-point leads in the third quarter, with Fremantle’s ill discipline off the ball handing the visitors a goal from point-blank range late.
But Sam Sturt’s late snap reduced the gap to nine points at the final change.
Dockers forward Patrick Voss floated across the pack to take a big mark early in the final term to reduce the margin to three points, but Caleb Serong missed the chance to put Fremantle in front when his shot on the run faded.
Rioli’s low mark helped Port extend the margin back out to nine points, and he popped up again late to kick the sealer.
– With AAP
