The Eagles players celebrate after the final siren after beating Port Adelaide  on Saturday night.
Camera IconThe Eagles players celebrate after the final siren after beating Port Adelaide on Saturday night. Credit: Supplied/Getty Images

Josh Kennedy: Eagles’ win over Port one of the most amazing games I’ve played in

Josh KennedyEastern Reporter

THE elimination final win against Port Adelaide was one of the most amazing games I have ever played in.

For me it was the first time I had played in a game that went into extra time and as far as I know none of the other guys had been through it either.

It was actually quite weird when the regular game time came to an end. We knew there would be extra time, but we weren’t really sure what would happen next; whether we had a bit of a break with the coaches coming down to address us and which way we were kicking.

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Once that was sorted, it was a case of re-setting and getting on with it again.

Games like that can go either way and it was remarkable that it still came down to the last kick, with Luke Shuey taking a shot at goal after the siren. I had complete faith in ‘Boots’ because he is one of the best kicks at the club.

No one was surprised when he split the middle with that kick and we advanced into the second week of the finals.

It was crazy on the ground immediately after Boots nailed the goal and then in the rooms when we went there after the game. We enjoyed the victory that night, but were on a plane first thing Sunday morning and pretty soon we were switching our attention to the next game.

We play GWS in Sydney next Saturday night and while the win against Port was really special, we have to get on with the job of playing the Giants.

That was actually the scene of one of the other great games I have played in, when Nic Naitanui kicked the winning goal in the dying seconds about a year ago, so we have good memories of playing at Spotless Stadium as well.

It was also only a few weeks ago that we played the Giants and we were right in that game before they kicked away late to win by a tick over three goals.

It’s another sudden death final and we’re looking forward to it.

We will have a few days of recovery and training and then be back on a plane to the east coast, to get ready for the next big challenge. We’ll go over there with the attitude of taking our best with us and see where that takes us.

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