Port Adelaide and Brisbane have booked their places in the preliminary finals after winning thrilling semi-final matches by less than a goal over the weekend.

On Friday night the Power hung on and defeated Hawthorn by three points at Adelaide Oval. The game was tied early in the final quarter before three quick goals saw Port open up an 18-point lead.

The Hawks rallied, getting the game to back within a kick with just over a minute to go before captain James Sicily hit the post from a set-shot 45 meters out from goal. The siren rang, but the action was not finished.

As Hawthorn were getting ready to chair off veteran Luke Breust, who had played his 300th game, Port Adelaide coach Ken Hinkley taunted the Hawthorn players. This was in response to a comment from Hawks forward Jack Ginnivan under a post made by former Collingwood teammate Brodie Grundy.

“See u in 14 days,” Ginnivan said. The comment insinuated that Hawthorn would beat the Power and meet Sydney in the preliminary final.

After he was questioned about the incident, Hinkley expressed his regret at the taunts.

“There was an incident after the game where I had some words with a Hawthorn player that I wish I hadn’t had in a moment that I shouldn’t have had,” he said.

In response the AFL has fined Port Adelaide $20,000, meaning their trip to Sydney to play the Swans on Friday night will be an already costly journey.

On Saturday night Brisbane pulled off one of the greatest finals comebacks against GWS, defeating the Giants by five points to keep their season alive.

GWS controlled most of the first half and had opened up a 44-point lead midway through the third quarter. The Lions quickly cut the deficit, but heading into the final term the Giants still held a 25-point advantage.

An early Toby Greene goal looked to have been enough for the win, however from there Brisbane controlled the game kicking five unanswered goals.

Joe Daniher in particular stood up when the Lions needed him the most. He scored two goals in two minutes, one being a tough set-shot from the boundary, before kicking the winner with under three minutes left.

Fox Footy analyst Jason Dunstall captured the thoughts of everyone watching in the post-match show.

“It’s extraordinary … it was high scoring, it was free flowing … this is huge,” he said.

The Lions now head to Melbourne to face Geelong in Saturday’s preliminary final.

Photo: Goal by Stephen Beaumont is available HERE and is used under a Creative Commons License. This image has not been modified.