Travis Boak’s back injury dampens commanding Port Adelaide victory
Port Adelaide has taken home a 69-point victory over Essendon on Friday night, but it may come at a cost, with a star veteran subbed out.
Power games record holder Travis Boak left Adelaide Oval in agony during the second quarter, after Bomber Jake Kelly landed on his back while attempting a tackle.
He was assessed by club physios before being taken down to the rooms, where he was then removed from the rest of the match.
Before he was subbed off, Port coach Ken Hinkley remained positive on the 352-gamer’s condition.
“He just hurt his back a little…I’m pretty optimistic he’ll come back,” Hinkley said on 7 at halftime.
Apart from the dampener on the injury front, the Power charged home to their third win of the year, after dropping a key home game against Melbourne last week.
For the Bombers, their night went from bad to worse with confirmation that youngster Archie Perkins, who was subbed off in the final term, had suffered a hamstring injury.
It came after the club received another heartbreaking blow before the Gather Round match, with injured defender Jordan Ridley suffering a quad setback that may rule him out for the foreseeable future.
For the Power, Connor Rozee (36 disposals, three goals) and Jason Horne-Francis (31 disposals) dominated, while Darcy Byrne-Jones and Jeremy Finlayson booted three goals each.
Rozee and Horne-Francis shared 15 clearances in the win.
“It was nice to put together four quarters, I see some guys growing in confidence,” Rozee said post-match on 7.
“We’re letting players just utilise their strengths,” Horne-Francis added.
Mitch Georgiades also made a solid return from his ACL injury that ruled him out of the 2023 season, booting two goals in game 50.
It was his first game in 349 days.
“It’s extremely challenging and there’s a lot of bumps along the way. But it’s rewarding in its own way,” Georgiades said on 7 post-win.
“The last five months I’ve been on fire, so I can’t wait to keep on going.”
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