Port Adelaide will look to bounce back from a disappointing loss to Geelong when they host Hawthorn at Adelaide Oval on Thursday night.
The Power have essentially had two different kinds of result this year – close losses to teams who are just above them, or smashing wins over those who are below. Last week for example they fell short by just two points against Geelong, with a controversial decision against Charlie Dixon drawing the ire of their fans. On the other hand, their fixture beforehand, was a smashing win over the Gold Coast Suns in Shanghai, showing just how far they are above the teams on the lower level of the ladder.
Hawthorn’s form has also been up and down this year – on some weeks they can remind you of the Hawks of old, on others they seem only old and tired. In Round 10 they had a smashing and highly unexpected win on the road against Sydney, which was all the more remarkable given they had some major outs. Of course, it was a thriller – the game only concluded with a goal less than two minutes before the siren from Hawks skipper Jarryd Roughead, while Lance Franklin kicked five on the other side. The Hawks have shown they could certainly still beat any opposition on their day, but it does seem unlikely they’d have such a performance two weeks in a row.
Both teams must be fairly happy with their performances last week as they head into this clash with unchanged line-up’s.
It’s worth noting that the Hawks are travelling interstate for the second week in a row, and Port have been in pretty good form at home this year. Port should get a big win here which makes the $1.80 by 40+ points a good bet.
