Crows and Power captains Rory Sloane and Tom Jonas square off ahead of Showdown 47 this weekend
Tom Jonas and Rory Sloane were all smiles as they fronted the media ahead of Showdown 47 on Monday morning but expect a very different reception on Saturday night.
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Port Adelaide co-captain Tom Jonas says his side will try to take the emotion out of Showdown 47 and focus on its execution but his Crows rival Rory Sloane is on guard against a fired up Power on Saturday night.
A week after toppling the ladder-leading Cats at Adelaide Oval, the Power continued its inconsistent season by losing to the 15th-ranked Western Bulldogs on the weekend.
Speaking at this morning’s Showdown press conference at Variety SA, Jonas said there was no hiding from accusations that his team played on emotion and couldn’t string two good weeks together.
“We’ve got to own and accept that, we’ve been an inconsistent team for a long time so we are doing everything we can to stamp that out but at the moment that seems to be the case,” he said.
“We feel like our training standard has been great, our mental mindset at least outwardly has been exactly the same, but then to dish up a performance like that (against the Western Bulldogs) it’s become a bit baffling.
“We’ve definitely got the capability and at times we find the right mix, it’s just doing it consistently and obviously it’s a pretty tough competition you’ve got to show up every week otherwise you don’t get the result you’re after.
“The more we can execute and taking the emotion and highs and lows out of it, the better we will become.
“You look at teams that become systematic in their approach and they’re usually the ones that come the end of the year are still standing.
“There is obviously a lot on the line in a Showdown but you talk about emotion and wanting to take that out of it, naturally there is going to be a little bit of it around but it’s about sticking to our processes and bouncing back after last week.”
Adelaide has its own concerns to address this week after fading badly against Geelong at Kardinia Park on Friday night.
Sloane said they would focus as much on themselves as they would on the Power this week.
“Our performance wasn’t up to scratch either,” he said.
“The positives in that first half were just outweighed by the way we ended up playing in the second half.
“But we’re always wary of Port, you go back across every Showdown and they’re always brutal and tough games and you know it’s going to be hot because both teams there’s a bit of pride on the line.
“That’s why we love playing in them, they are that finals-like atmosphere, so regardless of the result on the weekend it’s always going to be a hot game.
“We will catch up (on Monday) and review the Geelong game because we didn’t play the way we wanted to, especially for that second half, so I’d imagine the boys will be pretty pumped to get up for a big Showdown.”
Jonas endorsed Tom Rockliff (57 disposals) and Justin Westhoff (33 disposals) to return from the SANFL this week and said suspended pair Dougal Howard and Karl Amon were also likely to come in.
“Those boys will be definitely in line for a recall, as well as the blokes coming back from suspension — Dougal and Karl — they were significant parts of our team so there will be some tough decisions to be made,” he said.
The Crows are also expected to regain Tom Lynch (calf) and Wayne Milera (back) as well as Cameron Ellis-Yolmen (shin).
reece.homfray@news.com.au