A Crows v Power Showdown grand final is on the cards in 2018, according to Champion Data

A HISTORIC Showdown grand final is on the cards in 2018, with Champion Data rating Port Adelaide and Adelaide’s player lists in the top three in the AFL.

Star Port Adelaide ruckman Paddy Ryder famously taps the ball to ace teammate Robbie Gray to kick the winning goal against St Kilda in round 19. Picture: Sarah Reed.

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A HISTORIC Showdown grand final is on the cards in 2018, with Champion Data rating Port Adelaide and Adelaide’s player lists in the top three in the AFL.

After an in-depth analysis of every club, the league's official number cruncher has ranked the Power’s reconstructed list at No. 2 and the grand finalist Crows at No. 3.

Under the formula, Sydney, which lost its first six games last season before storming home to finish fifth, has the strongest list.

Port, which just missed the top four at the end of the minor round last season before falling to seventh after suffering a heartbreaking extra-time loss to West Coast in the elimination final at Adelaide Oval, is poised to make a quantum leap after reloading in the off-season, according to Champion.

Port star Robbie Gray celebrates a goal against the Western Bulldogs in Ballarat. He is one of six Power players considered elite. Picture: Adam Trafford/AFL Media/Getty Images

Coach Ken Hinkley’s Power went hard in the trade and exchange period, adding key men Tom Rockliff (from Brisbane), Steven Motlop (Geelong) and Jack Watts (Melbourne) to an already strong list.

It also ensured it had depth by recruiting ex-Sun Trent McKenzie, former Demon Jack Trengove and 325-goal Kangaroo Lindsay Thomas.

Champion believes Port has the star power to contend for next year's flag, rating 16 of its players as elite or above average for their position.

This is the second-best number in the league, behind only the Swans, with 17.

Six Power players are rated as elite (in the top 10 per cent in the competition) for their position — triple club champion Robbie Gray, All-Australian ruckman Paddy Ryder, leading goalkicker Charlie Dixon, swingman Justin Westhoff, captain Travis Boak and silky-skilled playmaker Chad Wingard.

Another 10 are rated as above average (top 35 per cent) for their position — recruits Motlop and Watts, midfielders Ollie Wines and Jared Polec, forwards Sam Gray and Jake Neade and defenders Tom Jonas, Hamish Hartlett, Matthew Broadbent and Jasper Pittard.

The annual ratings are based on a two-year period, with a 75 per cent weighting given to 2017.

Adelaide's elite midfielder Rory Sloane during the grand final. Picture: Phil Hillyard

The Crows sit equal-sixth when it comes to elite and above-average players, with 11, the same as Geelong and Essendon.

Adelaide is considered to have great high-end talent, with pocket rocket Eddie Betts and fellow forwards Tom Lynch and Taylor Walker ranked as elite for their positions, along with defenders Rory Laird and Brodie Smith and midfielder Rory Sloane.

Smith will miss most of next season following reconstructive knee surgery.

Ruckman Sam Jacobs, defender Daniel Talia, on-ballers Matt Crouch and Rory Atkins and forward Josh Jenkins are the Crows rated as above average.

Merry Christmas from Switzerland!! Gotta get my kicking training in ❄️❄️ #aussierules pic.twitter.com/qbBy6rF11b

— Sam Jacobs (@samjacobs24) 25 December 2017

Surprisingly, premier Richmond, which beat minor premier Adelaide by eight goals in the grand final, has just the ninth-best list, according to Champion.

Carlton, Fremantle, Brisbane and Gold Coast, who finished in the bottom five in 2017, lack star power and are ranked as having the worst lists.

Champion’s rankings — revealed in its annual AFL Prospectus — support dual Crows premiership coach Malcolm Blight’s prediction that the two SA clubs will make the top four next season.

“I can see both Adelaide teams finishing top four,” said Blight.

“You look at the progress both have made, you could actually see that (happening).’’

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Champion Data  list ranking	Club	Number of elite and  above average players
1	Sydney	17
2	Port Adelaide	16
3	Adelaide	11
4	GWS	14
5	Melbourne	12
6	Geelong	11
7	Western Bulldogs	10
8	Hawthorn	10
9	Richmond	12
10	Collingwood	10
11	Essendon	11
12	West Coast	8
13	North Melbourne	7
14	St Kilda	8
15	Gold Coast	6
16	Brisbane	6
17	Fremantle	6
18	Carlton	6