WALYALUP star Luke Jackson produced a commanding ruck performance to drive an important 49-point win against Yartapuulti, with the Dockers crushing the Power in the second half at a wet Optus Stadium on Saturday night.
The win could come at a cost, however, after half-back Cooper Simpson suffered an AC joint injury and captain Alex Pearce collided with Power forward Darcy Byrne-Jones in an incident that will draw match review scrutiny.
DOCKERS v POWER Full match coverage and stats
The Dockers saw off a high-pressure start from Yartapuulti and an avalanche of inside 50s, keeping the game tight through their efficiency before getting on a roll after half-time to win 15.10 (100) to 7.9 (51).
Jackson was a force in the ruck again as the No.1 man, controlling the stoppages with 38 hitouts and then impacting at ground level with 21 disposals, eight clearances, six inside 50s and a high-quality set shot goal from the pocket.
His impact kept the midfield competitive through the first half and allowed Caleb Serong and Andrew Brayshaw to work through opposition attention and then emerge as influential players in the second half.
Serong was curtailed by Willem Drew in the first half but was outstanding after the main break, finishing with a team-high 29 disposals (18 contested) and 12 clearances.
First-year forward Murphy Reid was all class in the front half, finishing with four goals and 18 disposals, with his full range of kicks on display again as he continues an excellent debut season.
The win moves the ninth-placed Dockers to 6-5 ahead of a road trip to take on Gold Coast next Saturday before a bye and then three consecutive matches at Optus Stadium that could set their season up against North Melbourne, Essendon and St Kilda.
The Power, meanwhile, are now floundering at 4-7 and in 15th spot following another poor second half as they failed to match the Dockers' intensity and strength in the contest after the main break.
Yartapuulti played the wet conditions well early and brought a high-pressure game to Optus Stadium, getting numbers to the contest and dominating field position in the first quarter.
When Simpson left the field in the opening minutes after a heavy collision with Logan Evans, the Dockers were on the back foot and struggling to contain hot Power forward Mitch Georgiades, whose two early goals gave his team a 10-point lead.
The Dockers had limited opportunities, but classy forward pair Isaiah Dudley and Reid kicked back-to-back goals late in the term to give the team a three-point lead at the first break.
There was plenty of pressure on the Dockers' backline as the midfield match-ups went in Port's favour, but the group held up well as the team continued to take its chances, with Matt Johnson and Michael Frederick kicking excellent goals out of front-half stoppages.
There was already plenty of heat in the game, but tempers flared after Pearce and Byrne-Jones collided, with the Power forward running with the flight of the ball and Pearce attacking the contest and then making heavy contact.
It is not clear if Pearce made high contact to Byrne-Jones, but the Power forward’s head did appear to hit the turf with force.
There were small spotfires and the teams tangled again at half-time as they came from the ground with the Dockers eight points clear.
The home side made its move in the third term and punished some ill-discipline from the Power, who gave away two 50m penalties that directly resulted in goals to Sam Switkowski and then Pearce among a run of four unanswered goals.
Reid booted his third off the ground in the goalsquare after Dudley placed the ball perfectly in his path, while Jackson was rewarded for his outstanding work-rate when he marked in the pocket after a tangle with Dante Visentini and converted a brilliant set shot.
Pat Voss extended the lead to 38 points in the opening minute of the final quarter with a set shot from 50m, with late goals to Dudley and Shai Bolton a perfect chance for the Dockers to celebrate Sir Doug Nicholls Round as the club remains undefeated as Walyalup.
Pearce collision will draw attention
The incident that left Darcy Byrne-Jones with concussion will be an interesting case for the Match Review Officer on Sunday. The Power's Rory Atkins placed his kick inside 50 and both Byrne-Jones and Pearce had realistic plays on the ball as it dropped between them in the second quarter. The Power forward was running with the flight, however, and left himself open, while Pearce was more protected as he crunched into his opponent. Pearce had every right to attack the contest, but how he positioned himself and whether he followed through with a marking attempt will be debated.
Young Docker's setback
Cooper Simpson put his body on the line early on Saturday night, attacking a groundball and turning his body as Port's Logan Evans cannoned in front the other direction. Simpson, who has been crucial to the Dockers' ball movement from half-back for the past two weeks, came off second best and looks to have suffered a serious AC joint injury, leaving the Dockers without one of their better ball-users. Rather than shuffle tagger Corey Wagner to his previous half-back role, the Dockers used substitute Bailey Banfield in defence, with the 27-year-old highlighting his versatility by performing in the role.
Power off in the second half
Three times now in the past month, the Power have fallen away after half-time and conceded big scores, with Saturday night's most recent example coming in wet conditions. Against Geelong last week they conceded 12.10 after half-time, and against the Western Bulldogs in round eight it was 12.8, kicking only two goals themselves after the main break in each of those games. On Saturday night, they allowed Walyalup to boot 9.4 after half-time, again only kicking two goals themselves. There are personnel issues for the Power, particularly in the front half. But their ability to compete once games get out of reach is becoming a serious issue.
WALYALUP 3.3 6.6 10.8 15.10 (100)
YARTAPUULTI 3.1 5.4 5.6 7.9 (51)
GOALS
Walyalup: Reid 4, Dudley 2, Switkowski 2, Johnson, Frederick, Pearce, Jackson, Voss, Amiss, Bolton
Yartapuulti: Georgiades 3, Rioli 2, Finlayson, Bergman
BEST
Walyalup: Jackson, Reid, Serong, Chapman, Wagner, Clark
Yartapuulti: Wines, Rozee, Georgiades, Rioli, Atkins
INJURIES
Walyalup: Simpson (AC joint)
Yartapuulti: Byrne-Jones (concussion)
SUBSTITUTES
Walyalup: Bailey Banfield (replaced Cooper Simpson in the first quarter)
Yartapuulti: Hugh Jackson (replaced Darcy Byrne-Jones at half time)
Crowd: 40,466 at Optus Stadium
