- Pat Voss provoked Port fans after scoring during final term
- Fremantle staged a dramatic last-term comeback to win
Fremantle Dockers player Patrick Voss has fired up footy fans with a very cheeky celebration after kicking an important goal during Saturday night’s thriller.
Fremantle staged a dramatic last-term comeback to pip Port Adelaide by six points and climb into the AFL’s coveted top four.
Dockers skipper Alex Pearce took a soaring pack mark and goaled with less than a minute remaining, giving his side a precious 13.14 (92) to 13.8 (86) victory.
Freo were 14 points down early in the last quarter but booted four of the last five goals.
Voss was in impressive form and put Freo up by three during the final quarter and went straight to the Adelaide Oval crowd afterwards to shush them and wave goodbye.
Speaking following the match, Pearce said he was worried about the impression Voss might have had on some Port fans.
Patrick Voss (pictured) performed a cheeky celebration after kicking an important goal during Saturday night’s thriller
Voss shushed and waved goodbye to the Adelaide Oval crowd
‘Hopefully we can just escort him into the bus and hotel without the Port fans getting into him,’ Pearce said.
‘He’s good for footy, he’s a bloke that you love playing with. He brings so much passion and energy and he’s good for the game.
‘He’s probably a bit like (Hayden) Ballantyne to be honest … most people that don’t go for Freo want to punch him, but we all want to kiss him.’
Teammate Caleb Serong said he wasn’t sure about the celebration.
‘I don’t know about the wave, only a point up and still a few minutes left, he can put that one away I think,’ he told Fox Footy.
Freo jump from sixth to fourth ahead of games against Brisbane (home) and Western Bulldogs (away) in the run to the finals.
Fremantle withstood a massive fright from 11th-placed Port, who logged a season-best eight-goal quarter.
Port were bossed by Fremantle in the opening term as the visitors scored 4.5 to 0.4.
Alex Pearce (pictured) said he was worried about the impression Voss might have had on some Port fans
Voss had an excellent match for Freo, kicking late goals during the narrow victory
But the Power violently turned the tide with an unheralded second quarter of 8.1, including seven goals in a 16-minute patch.
Spearhead Mitch Georgiades scored the first major seven minutes into the term. By the 23rd minute, Port had turned a 26-point deficit into a 10-point advantage.
Georgiades added another in a spree including a Jack Lukosius stunner featuring a clever ground-ball tap, a dummy and a checkside from a tight angle.
The burst also included Aliir Aliir’s first goal in 112 games for the Power. His strike after a 50m penalty gave the home side an 8.5 to 7.9 edge at halftime.
‘Clearly, the second quarter was as good as we have played for some time,’ Port coach Ken Hinkley said.
‘It was nice to actually see that from a quite a young side out there … executing under some pressure against a side who is in the top four.’
Port twice stretched their lead to 15 points in the third term.
And twice, Freo’s 21-gamer Murphy Reid reduced the margin with eye-catching goals, highlighted by a remarkable bouncing effort from a boundary line.
The Power lost Lukosius to a calf injury late in the third quarter but held an eight-point buffer at three quarter-time, 11.8 to 9.12.
The home side went 14 points up when Willie Rioli goaled early in the last before Freo finished with a flourish, with Voss scoring two goals before Pearce became the unlikely match-winner.
