Port, Hawks set for fiery re-match to end Gather Round
The likelihood of Port Adelaide's clash with Hawthorn being incident-free is in the same neighbourhood as the AFL refunding Ken Hinkley his $20,000 fine.
In other words, those chances look to be nil.
The AFL may well be guilty of hypocrisy, by sanctioning Hinkley for his taunting of Jack Ginnivan and then making the Power-Hawks re-match the feature game of Gather Round.
But it's also a marketing no-brainer.
Even as last year's epic Adelaide Oval semi-final was ending - and probably around the same time that Hawks captain James Sicily was looking daggers at Hinkley - SA Premier Peter Malinauskas and AFL chief executive Andrew Dillon were discussing the 2025 Gather Round schedule.
And they quickly agreed it had to feature this re-match as the centrepiece.
Ginnivan, always the provocative small forward, had posted on social media before the semi-final he would see Sydney ruckman Brodie Grundy "in 14 days", meaning the preliminary final.
Immediately after Port's three-point win, there was drama on the field as Hinkley gestured to Ginnivan he was flying nowhere.
Sicily, the Hawks captain and a player notorious for his white-line fever, then let Hinkley know his thoughts and for a brief moment it looked like tempers might boil over.
Hinkley quickly apologised in the Port rooms and Hawks coach Sam Mitchell strongly defended Ginnivan at his post-game media conference.
And here we are.
Hawthorn, clearly, will start favourites even without star midfielder Will Day, who is injured again.
They have kicked on from last year's barnstorming run and are unbeaten after four games.
Port, by contrast, are spluttering and lost last week despite Essendon kicking a wasteful 9.18.
Few people know more about hype than AFL commentator Nathan Buckley given his extensive Collingwood history, and he summed up the scenario neatly.
"The only way they (Hawthorn) lose is if they get caught up in all that other 'b......t," he said this week at a Gather Round function.
If - and privately Port people concede it's a big "if" - their gun midfielders Zak Butters, Connor Rozee and Jason Horne-Francis all fire together, then they're a chance.
It's more likely that whatever drama happens, especially early in the game, Butters will be in the thick of it.
Put simply, too much has to go right for Port Adelaide.
But they will not die wondering given the obvious motivations and the Power are well-known for rising to the occasion in the Adelaide Oval cauldron.
As Buckley notes it is a matter of how well Sicily, Ginnivan and their teammates deal with the occcasion.
Whatever happens the AFL are on a winner that is worth far more than Hinkley's $20,000 fine.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Yahoo
6 hours ago
- Yahoo
One down, one up as McRae lauds Daicos double-act
If one Daicos doesn't get you, the other one will. Collingwood star Nick Daicos had his usual sharp impact blunted by a tight tag from rebadged Melbourne wingman Ed Langdon in the King's Birthday thriller. But older brother Josh stepped up in a best-afield display, tallying a game-high 34 disposals from half-back in the Magpies' 11.6 (72) to 10.11 (71) victory at the MCG. "It's a nice duo, isn't it?" Collingwood coach Craig McRae said of his super siblings. "Josh has had an enormous year. He starts on the bench and he just looked like a different player to everyone else when he came on. "Everyone was fumbling, but not Josh. I'm really happy for him. "He's worked really hard on his game, he's never played backline before and he's working really hard to be the best player he can be. "Right now everyone's seeing that." Daicos pounces on the turnover and Long hits the scoreboard 👏#AFLDeesPies — AFL (@AFL) June 9, 2025 Langdon wore Nick Daicos like a glove from the outset and frustrated the Pies' Brownlow Medal fancy, who had just seven touches in the first half. Daicos had another seven in the third quarter and almost had a major say in the last, when he kicked one goal from a 50 metre penalty and missed another set shot when Langdon conceded a free kick. Langdon had just four disposals himself and raised eyebrows with some of his close-checking tactics, but McRae conceded the hard-running Demon played his role well. "I thought Nick was well handled today," McRae said. "They did a great job on him and Nick fought through it, but Langdon would've had the honours." The physical battle between Langdon and Daicos sparked a series of spotfires between players from both sides in the first half. McRae felt it was a "nil-all draw" in the way his players looked after Daicos in slippery conditions that made for a hard-fought contest. "There were times when we could've done a few things different, but it's a different game right now," McRae said. Not to be outdone by his sons, Collingwood legend Peter Daicos stood out dressed as Heath Ledger's iconic Joker in the pre-match Big Freeze fundraiser. The Magpies' fifth straight win gave them an 11-2 record on top of the ladder at their mid-season bye.
Yahoo
7 hours ago
- Yahoo
Pies hold on in King's Birthday thriller against Dees
Collingwood held on for a tense one-point win over Melbourne in an epic finish to their King's Birthday blockbuster as Demons stars Max Gawn and Steven May clashed on the final siren. The Magpies led by 20 points in the third quarter but fell behind early in the last term, before Dan McStay kicked the final goal of an 11.6 (72) to 10.11 (71) victory at the MCG. Both sides had further chances to score but Gawn's snap at a boundary throw-in narrowly missed and a set shot by Koltyn Tholstrup fell short as the Demons fell agonisingly short. Melbourne captain Gawn's shanked kick from the back pocket with 30 seconds left fell in the lap of Collingwood's Will Hoskin-Elliott, and the Pies iced the game. Gawn and May were then involved in a heated conversation on the siren, with the captain pushing his teammate away. Almost a year to the day since last season's injury nightmare, Demons star Christian Petracca returned to the same stage with 26 disposals and five clearances. But it was some of Collingwood's stars who shone brightest as the ladder leaders made it five wins on the bounce and improved their record to 11-2 ahead of a mid-season bye. Jeremy Howe (26 disposals) was brilliant in defence, Josh Daicos (34) stood up in the middle and McStay kicked two important goals. Pendles' candy 🤝 McCreery's rocket #AFLDeesPies — AFL (@AFL) June 9, 2025 Nick Daicos kicked one goal from 19 disposals as he dealt with a tight tag from rebadged Melbourne winger Ed Langdon. The Demons (5-8) had their chances as Bayley Fritsch and Kysaiah Pickett kicked three goals each. Pickett put Melbourne in front briefly in the final quarter and Clayton Oliver (30 disposals, nine clearances) worked hard. The Demons dominated centre clearances (16-7) and overall clearances (39-29), and had a 54-45 advantage in forward entries, but couldn't make it count. Langdon wore Daicos like a glove from the outset and their tussle was central to multiple spotfires throughout a tight first half. Two Pickett goals bookended three straight Collingwood majors in the second quarter, his first a fortuitous hack off the deck from 45 metres. But the Demons managed just 2.4 for the term - to Collingwood's 4.0 - despite dominating the inside-50 count (21-9). The Magpies, who enjoyed an 18-11 advantage in free kicks in the first half, led by eight points at the main break after Tim Membrey slotted a set shot on the siren. Fritsch twice trimmed the margin to a solitary point with brilliant snaps in the final term, either side of a Nick Daicos goal on the end of a 50m penalty. And Pickett put Melbourne in front with another snap before McStay sent the Magpies ahead for the last time. Collingwood's victory extended their recent dominance of Melbourne to 11 wins in 13 meetings.
Yahoo
19 hours ago
- Yahoo
Bomber faces match review scrutiny for high bump
Essendon onballer Sam Durham is facing AFL suspension for what has been criticised as his "black-and-white" high bump on Carlton opponent Adam Cerra. There was also plenty of commentary on Saturday night about why the Blues took so long to take Cerra off the ground for a concussion assessment after the incident. Cerra was left with a black eye after his collision with Durham early in the second term of the 11.12 (78) to 11.4 (70) win to the Blues at the MCG. The Carlton midfielder was bent over contesting a ground ball when Durham, also low to the ground, collected Cerra with a heavy bump. While a doctor went onto the ground to check Cerra, it was another 14 minutes before the player was taken off for a concussion assessment. He was cleared and played out the game. Michael Voss and Brad Scott have addressed Sam Durham's bump on Adam Cerra.#AFLBluesDons — AFL (@AFL) June 8, 2025 "We probably took quite a cautious approach and did the HIA (head injury assessment), so we followed that through," Carlton coach Michael Voss said. "I would have thought the incident is more the conversation for me. "It's pretty black-and-white - you just can't do that any more. "He (Cerra) seems fine ... but this is one part of ongoing checks for the player." Durham was among Essendon's best as they recovered from a poor start to pile the pressure on Carlton. But he is certain to come under match review scrutiny for the Cerra bump. "It will be what it will be ... there's nothing I can do about it," said Essendon coach Brad Scott. "Imagine being a player now ... I understand all the challenges in the game around health and safety, but players probably have a more difficult job now in terms of duty of care to their opponents than they've ever had. "Durham is a 'go ahead'-type player and as hard at the ball as anyone, and that's really what we encourage him and our players to do."
