Saturday, 18 September 2004 Lions into fourth grand final Brisbane 12.12 (84) Geelong 10.15 (75) BRISBANE 3.3 6.4 9.10 12.12 (84) GEELONG 3.5 5.8 8.12 10.15 (75) Goals: Brisbane: D Bradshaw 4 M Voss 2 N Lappin J Brown A Lynch T Notting J Akermanis B Caracella. Geelong: K Kingsley 2 C Ling 2 C Gardiner 2 G Ablett 2 P Chapman J Corey. Best: Brisbane: M Michael L Power N Lappin D Bradshaw C Johnson S Black. Geelong: J Hunt B Graham C Ling D Milburn T Harley D Johnson. Umpires M James H Kennedy C Rowe. Official Crowd: 55,768 at the MCG. 10:16:17 PM comment [ ] trackback [ ] G! • My Hobbies WEEK 3, Preliminary Finals WEEK 3, Preliminary Finals, Friday-Saturday, September 17-18 FIRST PRELIMINARY FINAL SECOND PRELIMINARY FINAL Friday (n), Football Park, 8pm EST Saturday (n), MCG, 7.30pm EST Port Adel 14.10-94 v St Kilda 13.10-88 Brisbane Lions 12.12-84 v Geelong 10.15-75 10:11:01 PM comment [ ] trackback [ ] G! • My Hobbies Brisbane Lions beat the Cats Brisbane 12.12 (84) Bradshaw 4, Voss 2 Geelong 10.15 (75) Kingsley, Ling, Gardiner, Ablett 2 The Lions booted 6-goals-to-5 in the 2nd half - after leading by 2 points at half-time - to beat the Cats by 9, advancing to their 4th-straight Grand Final 10:05:16 PM comment [ ] trackback [ ] G! • My Hobbies Success - moved to tablet I have recently become the happy user of a new Tablet PC Today I migrated my blog to the new system and this will be my first new post. 8:03:05 PM comment [ ] trackback [ ] G! • My Interests Port defeat Saints to reach first grand final PORT ADELAIDE 4.0 8.3 10.8 14.10 (94) ST KILDA 4.5 7.5 10.9 13.10 (88) Goals: Port Adelaide: W Tredrea 3 B Lade 2 G Wanganeen 2 D Brogan K Cornes J Carr D Cassisi S Dew R James J Mahoney. St Kilda: F Gehrig 5 N Riewoldt 3 L Ball 2 N Dal Santo B Voss H Black. Best: Port Adelaide: R James W Tredrea K Cornes D Brogan B Lade J Mahoney S Burgoyne. St Kilda: L Hayes R Harvey S Powell F Gehrig N Riewoldt N Dal Santo. Umpires: B Allen S McLaren S McInerney. Official Crowd: 46,978 at AAMI Stadium. Port Adelaide is into its first ever AFL grand final after beating St Kilda by six points in a heart-stopping preliminary final at AAMI Stadium tonight. A despairing lunge by Power defender Shaun Burgoyne at the feet of Saint Brent Guerra with less than a minute to play saved a certain goal and preserved a 14.10 (94) to 13.10 (88) victory for the home side. Port will meet the winner of tomorrow night’s Brisbane-Geelong preliminary final to decide the 2004 premiership, and after an extraordinary record of success in the SANFL competition, the Power will get a chance to win its first flag in the big time. Carrying the weight of its ‘finals choker’ tag into the match, Port started slowly but prevailed in a nerve-wracking second half when the lead changed hands several times and the margin was never more than two goals in either sides’ favour. An amazing snap goal from former captain Gavin Wanganeen put Port six points up after 21 minutes of the final quarter, and they hung on with grim determination in a frantic final few minutes. It appeared the Saints would draw level at the very death when Guerra - a former Port player - raced toward a loose ball in the goalsquare, only for Burgoyne to dive at full length to block the ball in the manner of a soccer goalkeeper. Port then soaked up the final seconds until the final siren which sent the home crowd into delirium. The loss ended an extraordinary season for St Kilda which broke a club-record winning streak to start the season, but who tapered away in the run-in to the finals. Well aware that Port Adelaide very rarely loses a match when it leads at quarter-time, St Kilda knew it had to begin well to unsettle opponents and silence a 50,000-strong crowd. They did so, dominating play early and delivering full forward Fraser Gehrig the two goals he needed to bring up 100 for the season within just ten minutes of the first quarter. But the subsequent ground invasion by fans to mark the milestone came at the worst time for St Kilda, as Port - already 14 points down - were able to gather their thoughts for a few minutes and immediately hit back with two quick goals. The Saints had little reward for their first quarter dominance, holding a slender five-point lead at quarter-time, but importantly they had prevented a Power confidence boost. Port had been hanging in only by their forward efficiency and ruck dominance, but the game evened up in the second quarter and at half-time the home side was in front by four points and the game was shaping as a September classic. With the game in the balance, the half-time break provided an opportunity for players of both sides to ponder the grand final berth on offer, and that was perhaps reflected in an error-riddled third quarter. Scoring opportunities were at a premium, and that suited the visitors more than Port, which was in unfamiliar territory having recorded an average winning margin of 55 points in home games this year. Lenny Hayes was providing