Star duo Paddy Ryder and Robbie Gray were struck down by injuries as Port Adelaide’s premiership hopes took a blow in the club’s nine-point loss to Fremantle at Optus Stadium on Sunday.
Ryder injured his hip flexor during the second quarter of the shock 8.11 (59) to 7.8 (50) defeat and played no further part in the match.
Gray was stretchered off early in the third quarter with concussion after being slung into the turf by a dangerous Ryan Nyhuis tackle.
Nyhuis is almost certain to be suspended after pinning Gray’s arms in the tackle, leaving the Power forward with no way to protect himself.
Port players remonstrated angrily with Nyhuis while medical staff attended to Gray, who was lying motionless on the ground.
The potential loss of Ryder and Gray for next week would be a huge blow for Port, who face off against a resurgent GWS at Adelaide Oval.
Port Adelaide would have risen to equal first with a win over Fremantle.
Instead, they are fifth with an 11-5 record after their five-game winning run was brought to a crashing halt.
Port Adelaide won the clearance count 20-4 in the first term, but led by just nine points at quarter time.
Remarkably, Fremantle didn’t even need to kick a goal in the second term to end their run of 11 consecutive losing quarters.
Fremantle registered 0.7 (7) to Port’s 0.0 (0) in a term featuring a glut of comical mistakes.
Tom Sheridan missed a set shot from 15m, while ruckman Sean Darcy missed two set shots.
The Dockers won the inside 50m count 20-4 for the term, but had little to show for their efforts.
However, their fortunes in front of goal finally turned in the third quarter, with goals to Brennan Cox, Cameron Sutcliffe, Ethan Hughes, and Scott Jones edging them out to a 10-point lead at the final change.
With only two fit men on the bench, Port weren’t able to launch a legitimate fightback, with the 33,190 crowd cheering Fremantle on to their seventh win of the season.
Fremantle ended the match with a 58-39 advantage in the inside-50m count.