Legends combine to form a Showdown dream team

WHO are the greatest players in Showdown history? Michelangelo Rucci picks his dream team.

Former Power defender Chad Cornes - he loved playing the Crows. Picture: Ray Titus.

CHAD Cornes in 2005 infamously labelled a Showdown match-up of his Port Adelaide and the club he taunted, Adelaide, in the final series as a dream.

The history book tells that semi-final derby became a nightmare for the Power as the Crows ended Port's AFL premiership reign.

It was one of the rare moments the intense Showdown duel - once described by Malcolm Blight as the AFL's best rivalry - failed to live up to anticipation.

The derby that divides a state - and even families, as Mrs Bond endured while her sons Troy and Shane were on opposite sides in Showdowns - certainly leaves its original AAMI Stadium canvas enhanced in reputation and legend by Sunday's finale in Showdown XXXV. It has a new stage, the redeveloped Adelaide Oval, on March 29.

As a match-up, Crows v Power has been a dream event that has found a greater competitive spirit than the Western Derby between West Coast and Fremantle in Perth. The rivarly was built between 1991 and Showdown I in April, 1997 on the cultural divide between the SA football collective known as the Crows and the club so many hate, Port Adelaide.

But it has been held up by the players who have worn the clubs' jumpers in battle to create Showdown history, in particular three-time Showdown Medallists Mark Ricciuto and Josh Francou and Chad Cornes, the man who carried the Power's soul in every derby - and antagonised Crows fans either with his pre-game banter or by showing them the ball when the Power completed a Showdown sweep in 2010.

From the 35 Showdowns played at AAMI Stadium there is a dream team. Remarkably, it splits 11-11 along the great Crows-Power divide.

There are stand-out players who achieved greatness in Showdowns, such as Adelaide full back Ben Rutten who repeatedly contained Port Adelaide premiership captain Warren Tredrea. When Rutten did not play in Showdown XV, Tredrea kicked 7.1.

There are players - most from the Power - who thrive in the derby, such as Cornes; defender Brett Montgomery's whose duel with Adelaide forward Brett Burton was super charged from a tribunal hearing, Francou and Josh Carr who had the perfect 10 from his Showdown appearances.

There is no surprise the game's greatest players - Brownlow Medallist Ricciuto, Norm Smith Medallist Andrew McLeod and former Crows captain Simon Goodwin - proved in Showdowns that quality always stands out when pressed to deliver in the toughest circumstances.

Of the 22 players in the Showdown Dream Team, 18 are graduates of the South Australian football system. It shall be interesting if that dominance remains in 2045 when the 100th derby is played and another all-time team is named.

RUCCI'S SHOWDOWN DREAM TEAM

Forwards:

Peter Vardy (Crows: 7.5 in Showdown IV), Tony Modra (Crows: 7.2 in Showdown I), Brett Ebert (Power: Constant marking threat)

Half-forwards:

Shane Burgoyne (Power: 9 clearances in Showdown XXV), Justin Westhoff (Power: Thrives in derbies), Bernie Vince (Crows: Showdown Medallist)

Centre:

Simon Goodwin (Crows: 39 disposals in Showdown XXIII), Mark Ricciuto (Crows: 3 Showdown Medals), Peter Burgoyne (Power: 41 disposals in XIV)

Half-backs:

Andrew McLeod (Crows: Rebound specialist), Chad Cornes (Power's soul in derbies), Brett Montgomery (Power: For his duels with Brett Burton)

Backs:

Graham Johncock (Crows: Showdown Medallist), Ben Rutten (Crows: Warren Tredrea's curse), Michael Wilson (Power: Manic defender)

Ruck:

Brendan Lade (Power: 32 hit-outs in Showdown VI), Josh Francou (Power: 3 Showdown Medals), Josh Carr (Power: 10-0 in Showdowns)

Interchange:

Nathan Bassett (Crows: Consistent defender), Kane Cornes (Power: 37 disposals in Showdown XXVI), Tyson Edwards (Crows: Reliable defender), Sam Jacobs (Crows: 61 hit-outs in Showdown XXXIII)

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