The Lowdown: All the likes and dislikes from the Showdown in round 8

Why was it Hinkley’s call to play Rozee? Was the medical staff overruled? There’s plenty of talking points from the Showdown, none bigger than Connor Rozee. See all the SA likes and dislikes.

It was a huge round 8 in South Australia as Adelaide and Port Adelaide battled out Showdown 55 on a Thursday night.

The Crows pulled off an upset win to keep their season afloat, while the Power had a miserable evening with plenty of questions surrounding their decision to select Connor Rozee.

Check out the likes and dislikes below.

DISLIKES

1. Risking Rozee

The Showdown loss and the nature of it was bad enough. But for many Port Adelaide fans the decision to risk captain Connor Rozee with his hamstring injury was too much. It wasn’t just senior coach Ken Hinkley copping it online, it was pretty much every leader at the Power in the wake of the 30-point loss to the Crows. It was incredible, and it must be said impressive, the admission from Hinkley after the game that it was his call and he failed Rozee but there are still some big questions that Power fans would like answers to. Why was it Hinkley’s call as he said? Was the medical staff overruled? Were the Power just not confident about its chances in the Showdown? Did Rozee himself feel any pressure to play? Would the same decision have been made if it was against a different team or it was a different player than Rozee? What do the higher ups at Alberton think of the decision? The captain himself took ownership said he thought he was ready to play. But the risk was there that if it didn’t work out that the Power would cop it and that has proven to be true.

Connor Rozee shouldn’t have played in the Showdown. Picture: Getty Images

Even before half-time, when the Power realised that it was a mistake to play the captain, he just didn’t look right. His metres gained from his 15 disposals on Thursday night was 26m, the Crows sub Brodie Smith had 53m gained from his one kick and one handball from the match. Rozee is the most valuable player at the Power, signing an eight-year contract earlier this year. You get a sense that this decision to risk him could be a pivotal one come the end of the year when we reflect on the Power’s season.

Port assistant Tyson Goldsack said the Power will have to deal with the call to play Rozee “as a team and as a club”.

The Port skipper has been ruled out of the Power’s trip to Geelong on Friday and was sporting a bandage on his hamstring at Alberton on Monday.

He walked a lap with Lachie Jones and then rolled balls to players in a drill.

Goldsack said it was something that had not been raised with the wider playing group.

“He has been better, he is obviously disappointed with how it played out,” he said.

“We will learn from that.

“No not really (it doesn’t need to be addressed), it is probably not a group thing.

“Connor did what he could from a fitness testing perspective and thought he was ready to go but he wasn’t.

Rozee attempts to fight off a Jordan Dawson tackle. Picture: Getty Images

“It is not a blight on the person, it was just a situation where he thought he could play and we trust the guy to make that decision but evidentially it was the wrong call and we will live with that as a team and as a club and move on.

When asked if Rozee would just miss the clash against Geelong, Goldsack said;

“I have no idea and I am not game enough to make that call, we will have to see how that progresses,” he said.

But he was a lot more definitive about defender Lachie Jones, who hurt his hamstring in the Showdown.

“I wouldn’t have thought so,” he said.

The Power are also set to welcome back key defender Aliir Aliir from concussion.

“He is going well, feeling really good,” Goldsack said.

“I spoke to him this morning and he is really confident.

“I love the way he operates, the energy he brings, he is always up and about and he is a glass half full guy.

“So he will be a nice addition to the group.”

Sam Powell-Pepper is out for the year. Picture: Getty Images

2. Port’s forward line without Sam Powell-Pepper

We wrote last week that the season-ending ACL injury that Powell-Pepper suffered would be a big blow for the Power. It is looking like it will be a massive one if the Showdown is anything to go by. The Power’s smaller forward brigade of Willie Rioli, Darcy Byrne-Jones and Jed McEntee kicked one goal between them in the Showdown. Rioli is now entrenched as one of the Power’s most important forwards. It feels like he now needs to kick two or three goals for Port to be a chance now Powell-Pepper is out for the season. Byrne-Jones had 17 disposals but no real impact on the match, while McEntee had just the one tackle for the game. It wasn’t much better for the key forwards. Charlie Dixon and Todd Marshall kicked a goal each, but Marshall was quiet outside of that. Mitch Georgiades was also quiet and he could be under pressure with Jeremy Finlayson kicking four in the SANFL. But outside of that how does Hinkley inject some spark into the forward line? The Magpies were smashed in the SANFL Showdown with Francis Evans, who should be a beneficiary of Powell-Pepper’s absence just having four disposals.

3. Too easy a decision for Nicks

Matthew Nicks didn’t like the ‘Big Easy’ nickname Elliott Himmelberg had so tried to get the ‘dragon’ moniker to sit. It might be an easy decision for Nicks to make regarding who the third key forward is to take on Brisbane on Sunday after Himmelberg’s competitors had days out in the SANFL. Lachlan Gollant kicked five goals from nine disposals and six marks, while Chris Burgess kicked three goals, had eight marks and 14 disposals. After training as a key defender in pre-season, Himmelberg has come back into the AFL side as a tall forward. He kicked two goals against North Melbourne but was quiet against the Power. Interestingly he had the same amount of disposals as Taylor Walker (10) but their impacts on the match were chalk and cheese.

Darcy Fogarty celebrates a goal. Picture: Getty Images

LIKES

1. The Fog rises

Finally it looks like Darcy Fogarty might be up and running in 2024. The best thing that could have happened for the Crows on Thursday night was Walker shanking his kick and Fogarty marking it just metres out from goal in the opening moments of the match. It got him involved early and he quickly added to his tally in the Crows fast start to the encounter. They were the only goals for Fogarty but he looked like he had his mojo back. He moved well around the ground taking a game-high nine marks and had a lot of impact away from goals - giving the Power’s defence a tough night. He said his showing was the “bare minimum” that he needs to have this season. Fogarty is a confidence player and now he has to build on this.

Mark Keane lays a tackle on Charlie Dixon. Picture: Getty Images

2. The Crows defence

If you are an Adelaide fan then you would be feeling increasingly bullish about the Crows defence. It might not be as heralded as some of the other backlines in the competition but the Crows are starting to get the foundations of a very good defence - especially if they continue to play as a collective the way they did against the Power. Irishman Mark Keane is 24, Josh Worrell is 23, Max Michalanney is 20, Mitch Hinge is 25. Luke Nankervis, 20, looked so much better in defence than on the wing, while 19-year-old Dan Curtin had some impressed moments especially with his composure under pressure in his debut. Jordon Butts was back from injury, but Nick Murray will be shortly breathing down his neck. Veteran Brodie Smith as the sub at 32 seems symbolic of the change that is happening in the Crows backline.

3. Miles Bergman

There were few positives for Port Adelaide, or players who could hold their heads up high. Bergman was one of them. Along with Zak Butters and Jason Horne-Francis - for the first and fourth quarters - he looked like one of the few players who might just drag the Power into it. He has become a Swiss Army knife for the Power and Port would love a couple more of him. It was telling that in the Crows onslaught early on - despite their limited amount of inside 50s - that Bergman as the wingman was almost on the corner closest to the Power’s defensive 50 at centre bounces, so he could quickly get behind the ball in an attempt to stem the bleeding. Bergman has impressed on a wing for the Power so far this season, answering one of the key positional questions Port had coming into 2024. But given he has played so well as a defender in the past is that something Hinkley needs to look at again?

Will Hayward had a day out against GWS. Picture: Phil Hillyard

AND THE LOWDOWN ON...

It has been a big couple of days in the two SA clubs’ pursuit of Sydney gun forward Will Hayward. He kicked four goals to help the Swans win the Battle of the Bridge over GWS, adding value to whatever contract he pens this year. But for the Crows and Power the biggest development could be Oliver Florent singing a five-year contract. With Logan McDonald’s signature still to come there is a sense that the Swans could be facing a salary cap squeeze, which would boost any chances of prising Hayward out of Sydney. Hayward would be ideal for either SA club, and any potential battle between the two - and interstate rivals - for his services is becoming all the more interesting.

Originally published as The Lowdown: All the likes and dislikes from the Showdown in round 8