Showdown 56: All the latest Adelaide Crows and Port Adelaide news ahead of round 23 clash
Adelaide are looking for a Showdown sweep in 2024, but they’ll have to do it without Taylor Walker. See the injury update plus more from Jordan Dawson here.
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Adelaide skipper Jordan Dawson says it “would be nice” to put a dent in Port Adelaide’s finals hopes with a Showdown win this weekend, but the Crows will have to do it without Taylor Walker.
The veteran forward was subbed out of Sunday’s win in the third quarter with an eye injury after Tim English caught him high and, after a trip to the specialist on Monday, has been ruled out of the Crows’ clash with the Power.
Crows high performance boss Darren Burgess provided an update.
“A thorough investigation found very minor damage to the retina and the specialist is confident that it has occurred previously,” Burgess said.
“Taylor underwent laser surgery today to correct a small tear and on medical advice, he will miss at least this weekend’s game.
“It is worth noting that his eye injury is very different to that experienced by Rory Sloane, who suffered a retinal detachment before announcing his retirement earlier in the year.”
The Power came from behind to defeat the Demons at the MCG on Saturday, moving up to second on the ladder. But despite sitting just four points behind Sydney in the race for the minor premiership, Port Adelaide could fall out of the top eight if it fails to secure a win over either the Crows or Dockers in the final two rounds.
When asked if potentially knocking the Power out of finals added any incentive to the Showdown, Dawson said he was “not going to be stoking any fires”.
“It would be (nice to dent Port Adelaide’s finals hopes), but it’d be nice to get another win and get some confidence in our group heading into the break and build that belief amongst the group as well knowing we can play and beat these top teams as well,” he said.
“I’m not going to be stoking any fires. The rivalry is there, whatever the outcomes are, we’re going to be focused on ourselves and playing our brand of footy.
“We’ve had a pretty good run the last few times, but you forget about that pretty quickly, we’re already moving onto this week and we’re already pretty excited to get out there and hopefully keep their fans quiet.”
Despite falling out of finals contention for this season, the Crows will have an active say in how the top eight shapes up, having beaten the Western Bulldogs in round 21.
The upset loss will almost definitely cost Luke Beveridge’s side a top-four chance, with the Dogs now also at risk of falling out of the eight.
Dawson said big games like the Showdown gave the young Crows a chance to play in a finals-like situation, even though the club is out of contention this season.
“Thinking about the Showdown last year back end of the year, that was a massive game for both teams,” he said.
“Our opportunity to potentially play finals was on the line there, we stood up.
“It’s definitely the best rivalry I’ve been a part of and the biggest games are Showdowns and they’re the most enjoyable to play.
“It’s definitely a finals-like atmosphere, so hopefully we can drive in that and get a win.”
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