But the 27-year-old’s near-inspirational night ended in agony, with fears he had suffered a ruptured ACL.
Powell-Pepper had looked imposing up front after having a baby this week, latching onto four marks among his 16 disposals, before being helped from the field and seen angrily slamming his fist into his hands before cutting a forlorn and heartbroken figure on the sidelines.
Sam Powell-Pepper of the Power is helped from the ground.Credit: AFL Photos via Getty Images
He joined ruckman Dante Visentini and Esava Ratugolea in being ruled out, with that pair failing to see out the first quarter.
“Sam obviously looks like an ACL. It’s really difficult when you have someone you really care about see that happen to him, for the second time. For those people who think they [the players] get paid too much, or they don’t work hard enough … have a look at that boy and how he feels.”
Power coach Ken Hinkley on Sam Powell-Pepper
While their teammates kept in the hunt, the Power were ultimately left to rue a shocking opening term in which their inside 50 efficiency dropped to around 28 per cent.
It left Power coach Ken Hinkley resigned to missing the finals in his last season at the helm after slipping to three wins outside the top eight.
Cameron’s back as livewires find new tricks
It has been a frustrating season in many ways for Cameron, who has battled a niggling calf concern at times and often failed to impose himself on the contest regularly.
But come Saturday, the 31-year-old champion had found his kicking boots, his three goals for the evening marking the first time since the round 15 defeat to the Giants he registered a major.
Brisbane may have shared the load – Levi Ashcroft, Darcy Fort, Josh Dunkley, Kai Lohmann, Logan Morris and Lachie Neale striking second half goals to take the team scorers count to 12 – but Cameron’s aggression in front of the sticks early kick-started his team.
It was his fourth three-goal haul of the year; however, he has kicked just five goals from his other nine encounters.
Charlie Cameron of the Lions kicks a goal.Credit: via Getty Images
While Cameron returned to his best, Morris was kept relatively quiet following a breakout fortnight in which he kicked back-to-back five goal hauls.
But his set shot in the final term settled things down when the Power sensed a momentum shift, and his pair of goal assists – a stat Lohmann matched – showed signs of his growing arsenal of skills.
Lions coach Chris Fagan, however, was left frustrated by his side’s pressure game as a whole, labelling their 36 tackles as “not good enough”.
“We scored well off forward-half turnovers, so that part was good, but I’m looking at the fact we had 36 tackles. We’ve got to be better than that, and we allowed them to get quite a few uncontested marks in the second and third quarter.”
Lions coach Chris Fagan
Lukosius earns his stripes
It has been a miserable time in South Australia for Jack Lukosious since arriving from the Gold Coast Suns.
After suffering a fractured kneecap two games into his time at the Power, a back concern prevented his return to the field until Saturday night.
But the dynamic forward, who joined Port Adelaide after 116 appearances for the Gold Coast, came up with a flurry of freakish goals from the tightest of angles to keep his side in the hunt upon his comeback.
Lukosious finished with three goals to go with 14 disposals and nine marks, and while Brisbane’s lead was never cut too dramatically, the 24-year-old’s efforts kept hope alive.
Jack Lukosius of the Power.Credit: Getty Images
While the former Sun’s goals were exceptional, he was usurped by teammate Mitch Georgiades, whose snap with 13 minutes on the clock brought up his fourth maximum of the night and got the Power back within three kicks.
Levi Ashcroft put the rally to bed, but the Port Adelaide duo can hold their heads up.
“It’s a vision for me, be I won’t be there, but my vision sees Lukosius, [Todd] Marshall, Georgiades together in that forward line that I thought at the start of the year might have been pretty hard work for some sides to handle. Luko has had a really tough first year at the club … but the future looks pretty good.”
Ken Hinkley
