Match

Port Adelaide vs North Melbourne

Commentary / 26 Apr 2025

Pre Game

00:00
Port Adelaide has won its last three games against North Melbourne by an average of 66 points.

Quarter 1

00:00
Q1 is now underway.
00:18
Jase Burgoyne wins the first centre clearance of the match. The Power have lost the centre clearance count by three on average - ranked 16th.
00:54
SCORE GOAL - Power (Mitch Georgiades)
01:22
The Power strike first with a goal launched from centre bounce. Port Adelaide have scored 19 points on average from this source in the last two weeks - ranked fifth.
03:54
SCORE BEHIND - Kangaroos (Finn O'Sullivan)
05:25
Luke Davies-Uniacke has won 35.7% of his possessions in a contested manner this season – the lowest percentage of his career. He has double-figure contested possessions in one of six games. Today, he has started with two disposals, both won in a contested manner and have been clearances.
08:43
SCORE BEHIND - Power (Ollie Lord)
10:05
Port Adelaide's efforts have been outstanding to start, laying 13 tackles early whilst the Kangaroos have only laid two. Both teams have been outtackled on average in matches this season.
10:12
SCORE GOAL - Power (Darcy Byrne-Jones)
12:53
SCORE GOAL - Kangaroos (Tom Powell)
13:39
North Melbourne get their first goal through Tom Powell with it being launched from a forward 50 stoppage. This has yielded the Kangaroos 7.2 points per game - ranked eighth.
14:36
SCORE GOAL - Power (Ollie Lord)
18:24
SCORE BEHIND - Kangaroos (Paul Curtis)
19:52
Kangaroos Interchange - Finn O'Sullivan off due to an injury.
19:53
SCORE GOAL - Kangaroos (Paul Curtis)
19:54
Paul Curtis has been busy early, collecting a game-high seven disposals, of which four have been won in a contested possession, 168 metres gained and a goal.
21:56
SCORE BEHIND - Power (Ollie Lord)
23:10
SCORE BEHIND - Kangaroos (Nick Larkey)
23:41
The Kangaroos have been able have three intercepts in their attacking midfield zone, and have scored 1.1 (7) from such chains. On the flipside, the Power have only had one intercept in this zone and have not scored.
24:28
SCORE GOAL - Power (Willie Rioli)
25:11
Willie Rioli capitalises in from of goal with a goal launched from a kick-in. Port Adelaide are averaging the second-fewest points scored from kick-ins this season.
27:27
SCORE GOAL - Power (Sam Powell-Pepper)
29:00
SCORE GOAL - Power (Connor Rozee)
29:21
Connor Rozee's positional change to backline hasn't taken away from his scoring power. He has now scored four goals since this change (Rounds 5-7) after only scoring two goals in the first four rounds as a midfielder.
30:58
SCORE BEHIND - Power (Kane Farrell)
33:15
SCORE GOAL - Power (Darcy Byrne-Jones)
35:00
SCORE BEHIND - Kangaroos (Luke Parker)
35:04
Port Adelaide's pressure was evident, as they registered a pressure factor of 219 compared to North Melbourne's 181.

Quarter 2

00:00
Q2 is now underway.
00:28
The Kangaroos were able to win the contested possessions by seven in the first term, but were unable to get the ball to the outside as they trailed the uncontested possessions by 33.
02:45
SCORE GOAL - Kangaroos (Colby McKercher)
03:18
Colby McKercher converts in front of goal early in the piece. He has a contested possession rate of just 18.2% this season – the lowest of any Mid-Forward in the AFL.
04:30
SCORE BEHIND - Power (Sam Powell-Pepper)
06:23
Power Interchange - Josh Sinn off due to an injury.
08:43
Zak Butters has been electric so far, collecting a game-high 14 disposals (86% efficiency), three clearances, three tackles and five score involvements.
09:32
SCORE BEHIND - Kangaroos (Jack Darling)
11:13
SCORE GOAL - Kangaroos (Tristan Xerri)
11:19
North Melbourne have been slowly working away at the margin, kicking 2.1 (13) to 0.1 (1) in the second term. They have had three more inside 50s and three more clearances in comparison to Port Adelaide this term.
15:40
SCORE BEHIND - Power (Mitch Georgiades)
17:34
When going inside 50, the Power have been able to find nine marks in comparison to six from the Kangaroos. They have been able to take their chances from marks inside 50, with Port Adelaide scoring 5.2 (32) and North Melbourne scoring 1.4 (10) from this source thus far.
21:08
The big targets for both teams haven't been able to take their chances in from of goal so far. Match Georgiades has been targeted a team-high four times, has taken three marks inside 50 but has scored 1.1 (7) from three shots at goal. Nick Larkey has been targeted a team-high five times, has taken two forward 50 marks but has scored 0.1 (1) from two shots.
21:53
SCORE GOAL - Power (Jason Horne-Francis)
23:19
SCORE GOAL - Kangaroos (Luke Parker)
24:33
In his milestone match, Luke Parker has been a shining light for his new team. He has collected a team-high 13 disposals (four more than the next most for his team), six contested possessions, 201 metres gained and a goal.
24:50
SCORE GOAL - Power (Joe Richards)
30:19
North Melbourne has struggled to move the ball out of their defensive 50, with only three of their 20 chains in this zone resulting in inside 50s. In contrast, the Power have had six of their 16 defensive 50 chains result in entries and have scored two goals from such chains.
33:34
SCORE GOAL - Kangaroos (Paul Curtis)
35:01
SCORE GOAL - Kangaroos (Nick Larkey)
36:07
Late into the second term and Cameron Zurhaar is still yet to have a disposal despite playing 87% of game time. Darcy Tucker is also yet to have a disposal.
37:51
Despite a fightback from North Melbourne, Port Adelaide's pressure didn't waiver. They registered a pressure factor of 207 and won the tackle count by five for the term.

Quarter 3

00:00
Q3 is now underway.
00:13
North Melbourne are leading the centre clearance count 10-7 after losing this ledger by 10 last week against Carlton.
05:12
Connor Rozee has taken a game-high four intercept marks as well as having a game-high 378 metres gained.
08:59
Tristan Xerri has been dominant in the ruck against Jordon Sweet, winning the hitouts by three and the hitouts-to-advantage by seven, as well as the Kangaroos winning the clearances by 13 when these two have been ruck opponents.
11:47
SCORE GOAL - Power (Jeremy Finlayson)
12:00
12 minutes into the third quarter and the substitute Jeremy Finlayson registers the first score of the term. This goal was launched from a forward 50 intercept, which Port Adelaide have only scored from 39% of the time this season - the worst conversion in the league.
15:41
SCORE BEHIND - Kangaroos (Cameron Zurhaar)
16:29
SCORE BEHIND - Kangaroos (Cameron Zurhaar)
17:11
The Power have had a clear intent to move the ball by foot this term, having a kick-to-handball ratio of 2.13. In comparison, the Kangaroos have a kick-to-handball ratio of 0.77 in the third quarter.
18:32
SCORE BEHIND - Power (Sam Powell-Pepper)
20:13
Harry Sheezel has been lively this term, collecting a quarter-high 12 disposals, nine handball receives and 186 metres gained.
20:43
Power Interchange - Zak Butters off due to an injury.
23:28
SCORE BEHIND - Power (Ollie Wines)
24:03
SCORE GOAL - Power (Joe Richards)
24:30
Rewarded for their forward half dominance, the Power strike through Joe Richards. They have had 60% of the term spent in their forward half, as well as leading the inside 50s 15-6.
27:36
SCORE GOAL - Kangaroos (Paul Curtis)
27:40
Paul Curtis kicks his third of the match, equaling him with Nick Larkey for the most goals scored this season for North Melbourne.
30:16
SCORE GOAL - Kangaroos (Cameron Zurhaar)
30:36
After a quiet first half, Cameron Zurhaar has given himself opportunities in front of goal, kicking 1.2 (8) and gaining nearly 200 metres for the term.
32:37
SCORE GOAL - Kangaroos (Luke Davies-Uniacke)
34:26
Darcy Byrne-Jones gives the Power some leg room with a late goal. He has kicked a team-high three goals today.
35:51
SCORE BEHIND - Power (Willem Drew)
36:45
North Melbourne withered the margin down to just six points at one stage, but the margin sits at 13 points going into the final change. All of the Kangaroos' scores for the term were launched from their attacking midfield zone. 32.5% of their scores this season have come from this zone - the fifth highest portion in the league.

Quarter 4

00:00
Q4 is now underway.
02:28
SCORE GOAL - Power (Mitch Georgiades)
02:56
The Power have taken a mark from 24.8% of their inside 50s – ranked second. They have taken a mark from 23% today and have scored 6.3 (39) from such marks.
04:39
SCORE GOAL - Kangaroos (Cameron Zurhaar)
06:04
With the game on the line, the Power have won the first four clearances of the last quarter, with one of those clearances leading to a goal.
06:41
SCORE GOAL - Kangaroos (Jack Darling)
10:06
After struggling to move the ball from their defensive 50, both of North Melbourne's goals this term have come from defensive 50 intercepts.
11:08
SCORE BEHIND - Power (Ollie Wines)
13:23
SCORE BEHIND - Power (Willie Rioli)
14:05
Since Round 4, the Kangaroos have conceded a total of 240 points in the second half – the most in the competition. They have conceded 29 points in the second half so far and have trimmed the margin down to nine points.
14:37
SCORE BEHIND - Kangaroos (Jacob Konstanty)
16:15
SCORE BEHIND - Kangaroos (Cameron Zurhaar)
17:35
The Kangaroos have retained five of their seven entries this term and have scored from 57% of their inside 50s. In contrast, the Power have retained two of their eight entries and have scored from 33%.
18:44
SCORE BEHIND - Power (Rushed)
21:46
Ollie Lord has stood up in today's match, kicking two goals and being involved in a game-high nine scores for the Power.
24:44
SCORE GOAL - Kangaroos (George Wardlaw)
25:07
George Wardlaw gives his team a glimmer of hope with a goal from a tight angle. He has laid a team-high six tackles and has assisted two goals in just 62% of game time.
26:03
SCORE BEHIND - Power (Rushed)
27:37
SCORE BEHIND - Kangaroos (Nick Larkey)
30:56
SCORE BEHIND - Power (Mitch Georgiades)
32:25
The Power prevail by nine points after a late resurgence from North Melbourne. They dominated field position, having seven more inside 50s. They were able to find targets inside 50, taking 15 forward 50 marks and scoring 7.4 (46) from marks.