Fresh off a 55-point dismantling of Sydney in their elimination final clash, the Hawks traveled to Adelaide Oval rank underdogs against a Power side that finished the season in third position.
The Hawks made just the one change, bringing in Luke McCabe for Bill Nicholls, as they looked to progress past the second week of the finals for the first time since their 1991 premiership.
QT: Port Adelaide got the fast start with Jarrad Schofield swooping on a loose ball and sending through the first goal of the game.
Hawks midfielder Daniel Chick then got the Hawks on the board after finding himself all alone in the goal square, but it was the Power who took the honours in the first quarter as they piled on two more goals.
HT: Hawthorn hit back with the first major of the second term with Kris Barlow spotting skipper Shane Crawford in space deep inside the forward 50.
The Hawks suddenly hit the front as Barlow crumbed a spilt ball in the goal square to perfection to put the side six points up, before a late goal to Port midfielder Josh Carr saw the Hawks take just a one-point lead into half time.
3QT: Nailing the first major of the second half, the Hawks looked to have the ascendancy seven points up.
But the Power hit back after Peter Burgoyne forced a turnover, with the midfielder running inside 50 and slotting a much-needed goal for the home side.
Three more in a row to the Power looked to have dimmed the Hawks’ chances, with forward Che Cockatoo-Collins snapping truly to giving the Power a 17-point advantage heading into an all-important final quarter.
FT: Three goals down against a Port side full of steam and a home crowd behind them, Hawthorn had their backs against the wall.
But digging deep, the Hawks managed to claw their way back into the game.
Rayden Tallis hit Nathan Thompson square on the chest as he streamed out of full forward, before going back and slotting the Hawks’ first of the opening term.
The key forward had a second soon after with young Hawk Stephen Greene spotting him on his own in the goal square, cutting the margin suddenly to less than a goal.
While Port found the reply after full back Daryl Wakelin drifted forward, it was then John Barker who stood up for the Hawks, kicking a miraculous set-shot goal from tight on the boundary.
Twisting and turning, Port utility Stuart Dew again extended the Power’s lead to nine points with a long goal, but the Hawks weren’t lying down just yet.
Daniel Harford snapped truly to cut the margin, before the Hawks worked the ball from a throw-in on the wing into the hands of Barker on the lead, who would have the opportunity to put the Hawks in front.
Going back from 45 metres out, the 26-year-old slotted the goal, handing the Hawks a three-point lead in the dying stages of the game.
Clinging on for dear life, the Hawks survived the final moments of the term, claiming a famous three-point win and booking a preliminary final date with the reigning premiers, Essendon.
PORT ADELAIDE 3.1 4.5 8.7 10.9.69
HAWTHORN 1.1 4.6 5.8 10.12.72
GOALS
Port Adelaide: Cockatoo-Collins 2, Dew 2, Wanganeen, Burgoyne, Carr, Cornes, Schofield, Wakelin
Hawthorn: Barker 2, Thompson 2, Chick, Crawford, Croad, Dixon, Harford, Barlow
