Hawthorn have held on to defeat Port Adelaide by three points after Mitch Georgiades missed a tough set shot in the final minute.
In what Channel 7 expert Kane Cornes called the “game of the year”, the Hawks survived an almighty scare from a plucky Power side that were long odds to challenge one of the premiership favourites.
The Power were trailing by 10 points with only a few minutes left, but Lachie Jones gave his side a sniff with a monster goal to reduce the margin to just four.
Know the news with the 7NEWS app: Download today
Port carved out one final chance through Georgiades, but his tough set shot from 45m out drifted wide and the Hawks safely saw out the final 30 seconds.
Hawthorn debutant William McCabe emerged as an unlikely hero with a clutch set shot from 50m out on the a tight angle to level the scores midway through the final term.
Mitch Lewis then gave his side the lead before the Hawks spurned a number of opportunities to put the game to bed.
But despite Port’s best efforts, they fell just short of a monumental upset.
Nick Watson finished with five goals in a standout performance, but came to the bench late with a potential thumb injury.
Captain Jai Newcombe stood up in the midfield, while Jarman Impey and Conor Nash also had strong games.
For Port, Zak Butters and Jason Horne-Francis were sensational in dragging their side back into the contest after conceding the first four goals inside five minutes.
The Power had won five of their last six against the Hawks, but the home side looked set early for a quick kill.
Hawthorn kicked the first four goals in seven minutes and led by 25 points.
Port were being smashed at the clearances and Watson benefitted, kicking three goals in the opening term.
But the Power managed to stem the bleeding and booted three goals to trail by 26 at the first break. Given Hawthorn’s domination for much of the opening quarter, it was a good result for Port.
The game then spectacularly flipped in the second quarter as Butters started to have more influence.
With Todd Marshall marking everything in defence, Georgiades and newcomer Jack Whitlock were awesome as key marking forwards for the Power.
Port kicked six goals to just two behinds and led by nine points at the main break.
Hawthorn did not manage a goal from late in the first quarter until eight minutes into the third – with Watson kicking them.
He added his fifth a minute later as the Hawks hit back to level the scores at three-quarter time.
– With AAP
