On Saturday June 28 2008 at Klahanie Park, WA, the No. 8 Seattle Grizzlies hosted the Portand Power. The grass was green and the sun was out, it was going to be scorching weather for the third game in the Portland v Seattle home and home series.

The first quarter set the stage for the rest of the game. Portland were matching up well in the middle with new ruckman Cooper Bombadil playing well from the start. Martin Coventry had his favourite tag in Ross Tucker, Ben Cyphery kept an eye on Jeff Purcell and Calon Russell was given the job of competing with the speedster Justin Peel. Despite being competitive in the middle, with Cooper winning more than his fair share of the rucks, Portland couldn't keep up around the ground and Seattle stormed out to an early lead.

Rookie Portland player Nabil Kanso did an admirable job at center half back on the always dangerous Josh Anfinson, but Eric Butler proved too strong for Paul Spencer at full forward and gained the upper hand. It was only due to the constant banter from the Portland players, that Seattle didn't get more goals (all's fair in love and football). Portland managed one goal for the quarter and a dissapointing miss from Martin Coventry, everything seems harder in the heat!

Seattle - 5.6.36
Portland - 1.1.7

The second quarter was a similar affair. Despite Portland's every effort throughout the field, they couldn't compete with the more experienced Seattle line up. A couple of extra subs became crucial, as Portland were forced to stay on in the middle, when the Seattle mid-fielders rotated off the bench. One of the tussles of the day was between Calon Russell and Justin Peel. Peel getting loose on many occasions, but Russell playing ferocious footy, covering the whole field in the heat. Ben Cyphery booted an excellent goal from 40 yards after playing on from a mark. He was proving he can mix it up with Fingers and even outmarked the old timer on at least one occasion.

The Seattle forward line was the difference again and strong rebounding off the half back through Chris Richmond, left Portland gasping for air as they watched the ball move down the field. Ross Tucker was solid as ever and made several runs, as Coventry watched in dismay, unable to keep up in the heat. Matt Muller was playing solid footy off the half back, running straight at the footy and proving to be a pain in Portland's behind at every opportunity.

Seattle - 10.10.70
Portland - 2.3.15

The third quarter was much more competitive. After a great effort in the ruck for the first half Cooper ran out of gas and had a break at full forward. After some wayward kicking he soccered through his first goal. Nabil Kanso came into the middle and continued to win the taps for Portland. Portland began to do some rebounding of their own, with some excellent kick outs from Spencer at full back, finding Coventry time and again, despite the dogged pursuit of Tucker and Rob Young. Coventry connected with Michael Robertson on multiple occasions and Portland was rewarded with their best quarter of four goals.

Scott Johnson had played hard all day and kept beating his opponents to keep the ball down forward for Portland. He also earned himself a goal. Due to the heat, both teams found it difficult to make the second and third efforts. This lead to some rebounding plays, which highlighted the skills of both teams, linking kicks and handballs from one end of the field to the other. Ian Cleary got into the game staying loose in the middle, setting up some nice runs and even taking a couple of rucks. By now Seattle had amassed an insurmountable lead, but it was still a highly competitive game and great to watch.

Seattle - 16.15.111
Portland - 6.4.40

The fourth quarter kept the free flowing footy going. Both teams unable to do much chasing as the heat took it's toll. Calon Russell was one of the few to run out the game and showed his aerial skills, pulling in some marks in the packs. Portland kept slogging away. Nabil was starting to control the ruck and hit Portland players on several occasions, with excellent ball control. He got out a quick handball under pressure to Coventry who saw the open goal and kicked over the top of the forwards to bounce through his first. Ben Cyphery battled hard all day and continued to pull down big grabs, even from behind.

Cooper had some opportunites down forward after earning some hard kicks, without much luck converting. As he lined up on a tight angle for another shot, Coventry decided to give him a helping hand and snuck down for the handball and kicked his second. Seattle continued to pile it on and in the end, despite what seemed like a tight tussle, they came out on top, with a 100 point win.

Seattle - 22.20.152
Portland - 8.4.52

GOALKICKERS
Seattle: Eric Butler 5, Josh Anfinson 3, Chris Richmond 2, Adam Cannane 2, Ross Tucker 2, Ed Fayette 2, Justin Peel 2, Matt Muller 2, Tom Keane 1, Jeffrey Purcell 1.
Portland: Martin Coventry 2, Ben Cyphery 2, Michael Robertson 1, Cooper Bombadil 1, Scott Johnson 1, Tim Hollingsworth 1.
 

BEST PLAYERS
Seattle: Justin Peel, Ross Tucker, Eric Butler, Chris Richmond, Ian Cleary, Matt Muller.
Portland: Martin Coventry, Calon Rusell, Michael Robertson, Ben Cyphery, Cooper Bombadil, Nabil Kanso.

Field Umpire: Andrew Donlen.

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