Western Bulldogs forward Aaron Naughton is set to face a nervous wait ahead of his second successive September campaign after last night being reported for a dangerous tackle on Port Adelaide skipper, Tom Jonas.
The incident that took place early in the third-term of the all-important top-four clash was perhaps the 21-year-old's most conspicuous deed on a night that saw him claim just six-disposals.
Aaron Naughton was reported for this incident.#AFLDogsPower pic.twitter.com/in2qp0Mlzs
— AFL (@AFL) August 20, 2021
Should Naughton be sidelined for the Dogs' first finals date, his head coach Luke Beveridge is certain to face several headaches between then and selection night, as the former top ten draft pick's absence will have compounded the previous loss of his offensive partner, Josh Bruce.
Bruce's season came to a premature end late in the Whitten Oval side's Round 21 loss to the Bombers after sustaining an ACL injury. Up until that point, the former Saint had been on track to surpass the 50-goal mark for just the second time in his decade long career.
The act that could see Naughton miss either a qualifying or elimination final came at a point that the Bulldogs lead Port by more than three-goals with a fraction under a half of football left to play.
However, by the time the final siren had sounded at the Docklands, the Dogs had ended Friday night two-points in arrears of their guests.
Still, the heartbreaking loss could have been assuaged had Bailey Smith's injury time shot from beyond the arc had sailed through instead of being rushed through for a minor score.
Whilst the win saw Ken Hinkley's Power surge to the top of the table after completing the entirety of their regular season fixture, the Bulldogs were left clinging to the ladder's fourth rung.
Should Brisbane beat West Coast by a metered margin on Sunday afternoon, then it see the Dogs and Dons meet in an elimination final.
Despite claiming a seismic come from behind win, it wasn't all good news in the visitor's dressing rooms, after precocious Port forward Mitch Georgiades had injured his hamstring during the second half of the contest.
Georgiades, 19, has strung together a season that currently has him in contention to claim this season's Rising Star award after routinely splitting the sticks and hanging onto contested marks across his 20-apperances in teal this season.
The son of former Footscray forward John Georgiades appears certain to miss the Alberton team's qualifying final next week after being subbed out of the close contest, and if scans confirm the worst, then the Western Australian's sophomore season is likely to have been scuppered on the eve of September.
Nevertheless, according to a tweet from AFL Media's Riley Beveridge, Hinkley was refusing to give weight to this possibility post-match.
Port confident Mitch Georgiades will return deep in the finals series, after hurting his hamstring tonight. Ken Hinkley says: "At best, he's available in two weeks. At worst, he's definitely available in three weeks." @AFLcomau
— Riley Beveridge (@RileyBev) August 20, 2021
Port Adelaide will now wait on the result of Geelong's clash with Melbourne at GMHBA Stadium on Saturday night to determine where they will be seeded for the finals and which of these aforesaid sides they will be scheduled to meet.
