The Sydney Swans have suffered a heartbreaking two point loss to Port Adelaide on Saturday night at the SCG.
Ollie Florent had a chance at goal on the final siren, in the same spot Lance Franklin kicked his 1000th goal just over 12 months ago, but his kick fell just short leaving the Swans 9.10 (64) to Port's 9.12 (66).
The last kick might take some time to get over, but don't forget the wind. It didn't take away from a career night for Ollie Florent. The 24-year-old amassed a career-high 33 disposals, 888 metres gained, nine score involvements, eight inside 50s and a goal to be one of the best players on the SCG.
The Swans had a 20-point lead in the final term but the Power snatched the lead when Jeremy Finlayson kicked the third of his three goals with 90 seconds left on the clock after taking a juggling mark.
Sydney also suffered a double injury blow from the match after losing the McCartin brothers during the match. Paddy McCartin was the comeback story of 2022, but the 26-year-old's long-term health will be the focus in the coming days after he suffered another knock.
McCartin exited the game inside 10 minutes following a moment where his head hit the ground in a contest with Todd Marshall. It left him unable to get to his feet without support from two trainers and saw him stumble the 15 metres to the interchange bench.
Tom McCartin's night then ended before half-time after he failed a head injury assessment following a collision on the far wing.
The Power conceded the first four goals of the game and the contest looked almost over before Sam Powell-Pepper's wobbly snap was confirmed via goal review 17 minutes into the second quarter. By half-time, scores were level after Finlayson, Zak Butters and Jason Horne-Francis kicked goals.
Finlayson gave Port Adelaide the perfect start to the second half to maintain the momentum, kicking his second from outside 50 after pinning Peter Ladhams holding the ball. The Power matched everything Sydney threw at them, before Florent kicked Sydney's first goal for 45 minutes halfway through the second quarter to level the scores.
From there, Warner almost singled-handedly changed the game. He exploded out of the centre on multiple occasions, purred out of other stoppages, finding targets inside 50 and then a high-quality goal to put the Swans 14 points up.
After collecting 10 coaches votes for a massive round one performance against Gold Coast, expect the 21-year-old to collect most, if not all, on offer from Longmire and Hinkley, after bouncing back from a patchy fortnight.
But it wasn't enough to secure four premiership points for Sydney, even when it looked like they had pinched victory, not once but twice.
With just under three minutes remaining, Nick Blakey made Port Adelaide pay for two errors. First Horne-Francis conceded a sloppy high free kick on Chad Warner. Then Charlie Dixon conceded a 50m penalty for kicking the ball over Blakey's head.
The Swans now sit 2-2 and head to Adelaide for Round 5's Gather Round to face Richmond on Friday night.
SYDNEY 3.2 4.6 7.10 9.10 (64)
PORT ADELAIDE 0.3 4.6 5.8 9.12 (66)
GOALS
Sydney: Warner 2, McDonald, 2, Papley, Ladhams, Florent, Blakey, Heeney
Port Adelaide: Finlayson 3, Rozee, McEntee, Marshall, Powell-Pepper, Horne-Francis, Butters
BEST
Sydney: Warner, Florent, Ladhams, Blakey, Parker
Port Adelaide: Butters, Aliir, Duursma, Finlayson, McKenzie
INJURIES
Sydney: P.McCartin (concussion), T.McCartin (concussion)
Port Adelaide: Nil
SUBSTITUTES
Sydney: Robbie Fox (replaced Paddy McCartin in the first quarter)
Port Adelaide: Darcy Byrne-Jones (replaced Junior Rioli in the fourth quarter)
Crowd: 31,686 at the SCG
