ADELAIDE ruckman Sam Jacobs has produced a record-breaking 61 hit-outs as the Crows thumped Port Adelaide by 58 points at AAMI Stadium on Saturday night.
Adelaide had winners all over the ground with Jacobs the standout, his 61 hit-outs the most recorded since Champion Data started compiling statistics.
The Crows had an unlikely attacking hero, with Ricky Henderson filling the hole left by injured pair Kurt Tippett and Shaun McKernan with six goals.
Tippett copped a knock to the head in the first quarter and took no further part while McKernan was subbed out in the second quarter after he suffered a suspected fractured jaw, but the Crows were irresistible on their way to a 17.14 (116) to 8.10 (58) win.
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After the victory, Sanderson praised his star ruckman.
"Showdowns are special, they require special efforts from individuals and the team, and I did put it on 'Sauce' in front of the team that we did need something special from him in the second half," Sanderson said.
"To his credit he stayed on the ground the whole time, didn't come off, they tried going third up against him as well and that didn't work. ?
"I don't want to embarrass him because he's sitting right next to me, but it was a pretty special game from the big fella."
The Power made their move early in the third term with Brett Ebert and John Butcher scoring the first two goals to slash the margin to 18 points.
But the Crows had the answers with two goals to Brodie Martin, who was subbed on for McKernan, and another two to Henderson stretching their lead to 36 points at three-quarter time.
Port needed the first goal of the last quarter to maintain any faint hope of a comeback, but Henderson booted his sixth to slam the door shut on their cross-town rivals.
Port coach Matthew Primus said his side had to learn from the experience.
"I'm as frustrated as anybody is working at this club or supporting this club," he said.
"We're certainly not where we want to be at, but we are going to continue to believe in this group.
"That's easy to say after a win and harder to say after a loss, but we are going to continue to keep believing in this group and pushing them to high standards and expecting them to play at a better level week in and week out.
"This is disappointing, especially against our arch rivals who we hate to lose to, but it's happened, and we're going to learn from it."
PORT ADELAIDE 2.1 4.6 7.8 8.10 (58)
ADELAIDE 5.2 9.6 13.8 17.14 (116)
GOALS
Port Adelaide: Stewart 4, Wingard, Boak, Brett Ebert, Butcher
Adelaide: Henderson 6, Martin 3, McIntyre 2, Dangerfield, Douglas, Knights, Porplyzia, Sloane, Tippett
BEST
Port Adelaide: Stewart, Boak, Pfeiffer, Brad Ebert
Adelaide: Jacobs, Thompson, Henderson, Rutten, Talia, Vince, van Berlo, Dangerfield
INJURIES
Port Adelaide: David Rodan (hamstring) replaced in selected side by Jackson Trengove
Adelaide: McKernan (head knock), Tippett (head knock)
SUBSTITUTES
Port Adelaide: Ben Jacobs replaced Chad Wingard in the third quarter
Adelaide: Brodie Martin replaced Shaun McKernan (head knock) in the second quarter
Reports: Nil
Umpires: Margetts, Dalgleish, Bannister
Official crowd: 34,829 at AAMI Stadium
The views in this article are those of the author and not necessarily those of the AFL or its clubs
