Port Adelaide crushes Adelaide by 57-points in Showdown smashing
Ken Hinkley took exception with one of the Crows’ slogans before the Showdown. But his tough talk would count for nothing if the Power players didn’t show up. They did, and then some.
Port Adelaide was looking for a fight from the moment Ken Hinkley — unprompted — took issue on Friday with Adelaide’s claim to being the “team for all South Australians”.
But talk would mean nothing if his players couldn’t back it up and on Saturday night they did.
Without their best player this season in Travis Boak who had a back spasm in the warm-up, and out-numbered in the stands in an ‘away’ Showdown, the Power took their aggressive mindset onto Adelaide Oval to win by 57 points.
MATCH CENTRE: WHO STOOD TALL IN CROWS V POWER
They unleashed a six-goal to one third quarter to break the game open and after talking tough they played tough as well with the stats sheet putting them ahead on tackles (+4), clearances (+18) and contested ball (+2).
They were inspired by Brad Ebert’s unquestionable courage and attack on the ball, Justin Westhoff going back with the flight of the ball to stop a goal, Tom Rockliff catching Brad Crouch holding the ball with a front-on tackle and final-quarter smothers by Sam Powell-Pepper and Connor Rozee.
It did however take them a quarter-and-a-half to ignite because to that point by Showdown standards it was pretty tame. There was no push-and-shove as players made their way to their starting positions and the intensity was rarely above a 7/10.
But there was just enough in-your-face niggle to suggest it could boil over and mid-way through the second quarter Port Adelaide, which has been dominated by the Crows in recent history, pushed back.
Hamish Hartlett tangled with Rory Atkins and Darcy Byrne-Jones with Richard Douglas as teammates rushed in to remonstrate, then when Charlie Dixon took issue with late contact from Alex Keath after a mark he went back and kicked the set shot just before half-time.
All that emotion and physicality was like a wave slowly gaining momentum and when it broke in the third quarter, the Power rode it all the way to shore with six unanswered goals including two to first-year player Rozee.
Justin Westhoff provided some inspired play at both ends and Robbie Gray was in everything on his way to a fifth Showdown Medal.
Adelaide will be ruing its inaccuracy with 5.14 doing them no favours and they lost Jordan Gallucci to concussion, but they were right in the game at half-time and kicked the first goal of the third term to Taylor Walker before falling asleep.
Usual ball magnets Rory Sloane and Brad Crouch (both 23 disposals) were quiet by their standards and Eddie Betts was held goalless.
ROBBIE, ROBBIE, ROBBIE
The Power’s superstar midfielder/forward was quiet and even fumbly in the first term but really got Port moving in the second with his creativity around stoppages.
It was almost as though he remembered it was a Showdown and this is his stage and his 12 second-quarter possessions was the catalyst for the Power to win clearances 22-15 and take a three-point lead into half-time.
Without Boak — who was replaced by Sam Powell-Pepper and who made the most of his late reprieve with 24 touches — Gray’s role was even more important and along with Ollie Wines who responded to last week, Port took control in the middle.
Wines played with the intensity we’ve come to expect from him and threw himself at everything with a big game.
BATTLE OF THE BIGS
It promised to be an enthralling battle between Scott Lycett and Reilly O’Brien and that’s what eventuated.
O’Brien took two big marks in the space of a minute in the first quarter and laid a crunching tackle to stop Powell-Pepper in his tracks, and it looked like Lycett’s night might have ended early when he hobbled to the bench 20 minutes into the first term.
But he returned and lifted particularly in the third quarter with a running goal from 40m and two big marks at either end of the ground to go with his six clearances for the game.
MOVING THE MAGNETS
Adelaide’s regular halfbacks Brodie Smith and Wayne Milera both started forward and it looked a good move early on. Both had set shots on goal in the first five minutes and Smith had a staggering 500m gained in the first half.
Port Adelaide also moved its magnets around. After nearly snatching the last Showdown by swinging Dougal Howard forward in the final quarter, they didn’t wait to pull the trigger this time by starting him at full forward and he gave Kyle Hartigan some early headaches with two marks inside 50m and a solid game by also pinch-hitting in the ruck.
Hugh Greenwood played more midfield time and he dominated in the first quarter in particular with eight of his nine possessions contested while kicking a goal and also setting two others up with his lighting fast hands at clearances.
MALIGNED POWER PLAYERS RESPOND
Ollie Wines endured a tough week when there were calls for him to be dropped after his 12 touches in the loss to the Western Bulldogs, but Ken Hinkley never lost faith in his co-captain and he repaid him with 33 disposals in Showdown 47.
Karl Amon is another player regularly under the pump at Alberton when things aren’t going well but he has had an outstanding season and it was little wonder they brought him straight back into the team after a week’s suspension. Amon was clean around stoppage and gave plenty of run on the wing to finish with 25 touches while regular whipping boys Riley Bonner and Steven Motlop also did their bit with the footy in hand and applying pressure without it.
SCOREBOARD
PORT ADELAIDE 3.1 6.2 12.5 15.11 (101)
ADELAIDE 2.7 4.11 5.12 5.14 (44)
BEST - Port Adelaide: R. Gray, Westhoff, Ebert, Rockliff, Lycett, Amon, Jonas, Wines. Adelaide: Laird, O’Brien, M. Crouch, Greenwood, Smith, Kelly.
GOALS - Port Adelaide: Ebert 3, Rozee, Howard, S. Gray 2, Burton, Dixon, Lycett, Westhoff, Butters, Motlop. Adelaide: Milera, Walker, M. Crouch, Greenwood, Walker.
INJURIES - Adelaide: Gallucci (concussion).
UMPIRES - M. Nicholls, B. Hosking, A. Gianfagna.
CROWD - 50,544 at Adelaide Oval.
VOTES: 3 R.Gray, 2 Westhoff, 1 Ebert