Port Adelaide honour Travis Boak with milestone victory

Port Adelaide champion Travis Boak was able to sing the song on Sunday to commemorate his milestone performance because Port Adelaide accomplished enough.

The 35-year-old from Victoria’s Surf Coast played in front of family and friends in the 30-point victory at the MCG after playing his 300th game behind closed doors at Marvel Stadium during the coronavirus outbreak in 2021. The following week, he beat the record for most games played by Kane Cornes.

After playing in at least two finals in three of the previous four seasons, Boak decided last year to return in 2024, making him just the 23rd player in VFL/AFL history to achieve the feat. He will be looking to assist Ken Hinkley’s team in making another deep run in September.

The Power are 2-0 so far in 2024 and will play three straight games at the Adelaide Oval, beginning on Saturday night with Melbourne.

After a valiant but short-staffed defense that was without Josh Gibcus, Nathan Broad, and Tylar Young failed to handle Port Adelaide’s towering trio of forwards, Richmond coach Adem Yze is still looking for his first victory.

Charlie Dixon scored 2.3 goals, Jeremy Finlayson finished with two, and Todd Marshall scored four goals from nine marks. In addition, Darcy Byrne-Jones placed three of his own.

Zak Butters and Connor Rozee, potential Brownlow Medal contenders, weren’t in peak form, but remained active throughout the game, with Butters contributing 34 disposals, 13 score involvements, and seven clearances, while Rozee managed 28 disposals and four tackles. Kane Farrell also provided significant drive from the back half, tallying 26 disposals and 604 meters gained.

Richmond quickly gained momentum with Tom Lynch scoring the opening goal in under a minute. However, Port Adelaide had numerous opportunities early on but failed to capitalize, scoring 3.7 from seven marks inside 50, missing several set shots they should have converted.

Shai Bolton emerged as a key player in the second quarter, dominating the field and setting up Marlion Pickett for two goals, helping the Tigers establish a lead of 17 points at one stage and 11 points at halftime.

Despite a lackluster first-half performance, Port Adelaide displayed their potential as premiership contenders in the second half, scoring the first four goals within the initial nine minutes and asserting their dominance with a seven goals to two quarter.

However, just as the game seemed to be slipping away, Liam Baker scored two goals in the final 90 seconds of the third quarter, including one after the siren, narrowing the margin to just seven points and giving the Tigers a renewed sense of hope.

Unfortunately for Richmond, their resurgence was short-lived.

The Power scored four goals in less than ten minutes for the second consecutive quarter, with Jeremy Finlayson, Todd Marshall, and Darcy Byrne-Jones each scoring their third during the run.

After scoring just five goals in the first half, one of Port Adelaide’s favorite sons had a day to celebrate with seven goals in the third quarter and six goals in the fourth.

RICHMOND 3.2 7.8 11.11 13.14 (92)
PORT ADELAIDE 3.7 5.9 12.12 18.14 (122)

GOALS
Richmond: Baker 3, Mansell 2, Bolton 2, Taranto, Ross, D.Rioli, Pickett, Lynch, Balta
Port Adelaide: Marshall 4, Finlayson 3, Byrne-Jones 3, Dixon 2, Mead, Houston, Evans, Drew, Butters, Bergman

SUBSTITUTES
Richmond: Judson Clarke substituted for Sam Banks in the fourth quarter
Port Adelaide: Dylan Williams substituted for Lachie Jones in the third quarter

Crowd: 30,254 spectators at the MCG