Former Port Adelaide captain Dom Cassisi unlocks the secret to success in the Power-Crows derbies

PORT Adelaide has not won a Showdown against the Crows since 2010. Former Power captain Dom Cassisi unlocks the secret to winning the derby.

DOM Cassisi likes to remember Showdown 29 — July 25, 2010 — that serves as a timely reminder for the current Port Adelaide team in the lead-up to the 44th derby on Saturday.

More so when it has been so long since the Power won a Showdown — May 3, 2015 with a record five consecutive derby losses to follow — that coach Ken Hinkley now has a group of players with the dubious resume of more losses than wins to Adelaide.

Port players celebrate as Scott Thompson commiserates on the siren after Showdown 29.

For Cassisi, Showdown 29 crystallised everything about the Power-Crows rivalry for the Port Adelaide captain.

“We did what we should do every week in AFL football — but we don’t. We kept it simple; and we played hard footy,” recalled Cassisi, a 228-game player who led the Power from 2009-12 — the so-called dark chapter at Alberton.

Josh Carr, who never lost a Showdown, with the trophy in his last game for Port Adelaide.

In that challenging era, Port Adelaide did ignore form and positions on the AFL ladder to live up to the Showdown script for upsets and classic derbies.

“And there were a few Showdowns we did win that we should not have won,” added Cassisi.

“We went into those Showdowns stripping everything back to keep it simple. And we had one attitude — if we are going to lose, let’s make sure we go down swinging.

“We made sure the Crows knew they had a game. We went hard at the footy. We were strong at the contest.

“We broke it down to that basic theme — if you match the Crows at the contest, you are a good chance to win the Showdown.”

Showdown 29 at Football Park did prove how much a derby can be shaped by attitude and desire rather than form, ladder positions or the pre-game measures of the competing 22.

Port Adelaide had lost nine games in a row. Premiership coach Mark Williams had fallen on his sword a fortnight earlier, leaving Matthew Primus to hold together a football program at a club under attack off the field with questions on its finances and merit as an AFL entity.

And there was premiership hero Josh Carr to honour in the midfielder’s 124th and last game for Port Adelaide. It was his 10th Showdown — and ended with victory (by 19 points) to close his derby record at the unmatched perfect 10.

“That Showdown was like a final for us,” recalls Cassisi. “And like in finals, you simplify the game. There was one important theme — win the contest and you are a chance to win the Showdown.”

Kane Cornes, Warren Tredrea and Dom Cassisi celebrate with the old trophy after winning Showdown 26

Cassisi’s notes are more than relevant for Port Adelaide after losing the contested count in 10 of the past 12 quarters in games against Geelong (loss), North Melbourne (win) and West Coast (loss). More so when not even the return of All-Australian ruckman Patrick Ryder against the Eagles changed the “white-collar” tone of the Power midfield that lost the clearances by 14 while the team lost the contested count by 40.

Showdown 44 at Adelaide Oval will say much more of Port Adelaide than it will of the Crows.

“Be hard at the ball, tough in the contest,” said Cassisi. “It is one thing to say it ...”

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