Showdown 53 Port Adelaide v Adelaide 2023: Jordan Dawson earned the Showdown medal
Jordan Dawson claimed the Showdown medal after an inspirational performance in a new role Saturday night, but it has been in the works for a while.
AFL
Don't miss out on the headlines from AFL. Followed categories will be added to My News.
Jordan Dawson talked the talk in the lead-up to the Showdown.
He then walked the walk after a Monday meeting with Matthew Nicks when the two Adelaide leaders decided to implement a plan they had been working on in the pre-season to stem the Crows’ midfield and transition problems.
When the now Crows captain first came to West Lakes from Sydney there was a lot of talk about him playing more in the midfield.
On the surface it made more than sense. Dawson at 191cm would provide the big body in the midfield that the Crows have been crying out for.
But so far Nicks has kept him largely out of the centre square, with the former Swan being deployed in defence or sometimes on a wing.
But with the Crows 0-2 and needing a response in the Showdown, Dawson and Nicks decided that he needed to be in the middle against fierce rival Port Adelaide.
“Jordy had me in a headlock during the week saying, ‘I need to play midfield’,” Nicks joked.
It paid off in spades as Dawson put in a true captains performance to lead the Crows to a 31-point win and another Showdown Medal.
At his first ever Showdown captains media conference during the week, Dawson put the blowtorch on himself and his fellow Crows leaders, saying they needed to step up to stop teams from scoring so easily against them.
MORE: EVERY SHOWDOWN 53 PLAYER RATED
It was decided by Nicks and Dawson that he could help stem the tide, by playing up the ground.
“We thought it would be best if I was up around the ball and to organise the group a bit more from a higher point on the ground,” Dawson said.
“We decided pretty early that had been a downfall of our game, our transition and team defence and we just needed to get set up higher on the ground.
“I talked to you about it on the Monday, didn’t I? I wanted that opportunity to rally the troops up the ground.”
Dawson started the game on the wing but was quickly in the middle around the ball, swapping with Jake Soligo.
He set the tone for the Crows with his hard edge in the midfield, winning some key contested contests and hurting the Power with his ball use.
Dawson finished the match with 18 disposals, 12 contested possessions, seven score involvements and a goal.
He ended up featuring at 62 per cent of the Crows’ centre bounces.
Teammate Luke Pedlar said it was big having Dawson in the midfield.
“That was just to get a bit more balance in our midfield and for our transition, he can play all positions on the ground,” Pedlar said.
“So to have him in the midfield as a more mature and senior player, he was good.
“It just makes you settled as well. Sloaney (Rory Sloane) went there in and he was fantastic.
“It helps us younger boys keep level headed and stick to the process and go at it.”
So now that the Crows fans have had a taste of it, will Dawson now play more midfield time?
Nicks hinted that this could be on the cards in the future.
“We’ve trained all pre-season, different set-ups and different structures, and Jordy has been integral,” he said.
“So this isn’t knew, it’s the first time we have implemented in a game this season.
“I think it is something we will continue look at, depending on the opposition we play.
“It could be horses for courses.
“It is not new. This is something that we dreamt up on Monday.”
Dawson himself said he was happy to play anywhere.
“I’ve said it before, I don’t care where I’m playing,” he said.
“I know there has been talk about me playing in the midfield in the past but I felt like this week especially it was important for me to play mid and get things set higher on the ground.”
‘IT WAS REALLY RILEY’S MEDAL’
In the rooms after a big rendition of the club song, and with the Gatorade flowing, Dawson straight away went to Riley Thilthorpe and embraced him.
“I said it was probably his medal, if I’m being honest,” Dawson said.
“I just said how proud of him I was, you could see the work he was doing, he wants to be a vital clog of the team and to see him step up and play a real big boy presence down there was really pleasing to see as a captain.”
Crows fans have been clamouring for Thilthorpe to play at AFL level.
He showed why with five goals, for the second time at AFL level since his debut, in an incredible performance that surely guarantees his place in the Crows senior side.
“He has been pushing his selection in the SANFL, he deserves his opportunity to play and he showed why,” Pedlar said.
Former Adelaide senior assistant coach Scott Camporeale said on FIVEaa that Thilthorpe was playing with a purpose.
“I spoke to some people before the game and they said he is angry – he thinks he should be in the team,” Camporeale said.
Pedlar said Thilthorpe had done a lot of work to get back into the side.
“He has been great, everyone is on the same page at the club. Nobody drops their head, they just keep their chin up and work hard,” he said.
Nicks said Thilthorpe knew his opportunity would come.
“It has been behind the scenes working with Marco Bello, Matty Wright, Chelsea Randall, Michael Godden, Jack Hombsch, all the development coaches put in a hell of work,” he said.
“James Rahilly works on his forward craft, Doc Clarke with his ruck work.
“There is so much that goes on behind the scenes.
“There was a moment at training where something really clicked for him around his contest work and you saw that.
“He is getting at that ball, he has confidence in himself, and is backing himself in.
“He is going to be quite a dangerous player if he continues to work hard as he has been.”
Can Thilthorpe become AFL’s next breakout forward gun?
This is why Adelaide Crows fans want to see Riley Thilthorpe in the AFL side each match.
The 20-year-old was one of the shining lights in the club’s 31-point Showdown 53 victory on Saturday night, kicking five goals, including the sealer, to go with 11 disposals in a commanding display in his first full game this season at the top level.
Thilthorpe was overlooked for Elliott Himmelberg as the second ruck in the first two rounds.
He did not play at all in the season-opening defeat to GWS in Sydney then was the substitute in the round 2 home loss to Richmond, coming on for the concussed Patty Parnell during the first quarter before finishing with eight touches and a goal.
During pre-season, the suggestion from West Lakes was that Thilthorpe was not quite ready.
And even more, that the pick 2 of the 2020 national draft might be out of the side for several weeks.
After the pre-season win over West Coast in Perth, coach Matthew Nicks bristled when asked why Himmelberg was chosen ahead of Thilthorpe for that match.
“I’ll have to answer every question on all the other players – Crouch didn’t play, Brown didn’t play, Chayce Jones didn’t play,” Nicks said.
“There’s a lot of other players that didn’t play and that’s probably where we’re at, that’s the strength of the group.
“There’s a lot of detail in all that.
“Sometimes it needs a little bit of time.
“At the moment Riley and Elliott are right there together fighting for a spot in that forward line and second ruck.”
Shit I love beating that team 😠https://t.co/95wrh7M49T
— Tom Doedee (@TDoedee31) April 1, 2023
Thilthorpe proved to be out for just a fortnight.
“I spoke to some people before the game and they said he is angry – he thinks he should be in the team,” former Carlton star and Crows assistant Scott Camporeale said on FIVEaa.
Thilthorpe found his way back into the 23 against Richmond after kicking four majors, taking contested marks and impressing in the ruck in a SANFL trial versus Glenelg.
“He couldn’t have done much more,” Adelaide’s forwards coach James Rahilly said at the time.
Himmelberg spent the second half of the Tigers’ match in defence and it was him, not Thilthorpe, who lost his spot in the team this week.
On Saturday night, Thilthorpe kicked his first goal 12 minutes in after a nice overhead mark, two more majors in the second quarter, then put the icing on the cake of his excellent performance with another pair in the last term.
The first came from the goal line after Lachie Jones spilt a loose ball.
Then he snapped truly from the southeastern pocket to put Aelaide
Tom Clurey and Aliir Aliir both spent time on him, but Thilthorpe stood tall.
“He has some weapons that no one in that forward line has got,” Port Adelaide great Warren Tredrea told FIVEaa.
Nicks asked the football public to be patient with Thilthorpe during pre-season, pointing to Darcy Fogarty’s rise last year as an example that young players took time to establish themselves.
Yes, he was drafted early but he was just 25 games into his career and only 20 years old.
Thilthorpe’s huge match on Saturday night came in Fogarty’s absence with a knee injury.
Whether he played with a point to prove or not on Saturday night, Thilthorpe went a long way to cementing his spot for the longer term.
Last season, Fogarty took a major step to becoming a gun forward in the competition.
In 2023, it might be Thilthorpe.
Crows spoil Port party with Showdown boilover
It was meant to be a celebration of all things Port Adelaide, but star recruit Izak Rankine and five-goal hero Riley Thilthorpe combined to help Adelaide ruin the Power’s prison bar party in another Showdown stunner.
Twelve months to the day after Jordan Dawson broke Port Adelaide hearts in Showdown 51, the skipper claimed the Showdown Medal after the Crows broke the shackles late to score an 18.9 (117) to 13.8 (86) win.
For a rivalry known for producing consistently high-quality games, Saturday night’s instant classic is right up there with the best.
The pressure, intensity, spite and courage of Showdowns - that can sometimes produce low-scoring affairs – was all present but this time it was weaved through a pulsating, end-to-end thriller.
Port led by as much as 17 points, but trailed by nine inside the first minute of the last quarter after Thilthorpe booted his fourth goal.
In a game of twists and turns, there were several still to come.
Sam Powell-Pepper, so often the Power spark, gave his side back the lead with a superb snap 10 minutes in, but with the Power fans roaring, Adelaide summoned yet another push to the line.
The Power needed three goals in seven minutes after Rankine’s stunner in traffic, but it was Thilthorpe who added the next major, his fifth sealing a famous win that made it 26 Showdown wins to Port’s 27.
UN-WELCOME MAT
The home Port fans did their best to make their cross-town rivals feel unwelcome before the game.
A deafening chorus of boos rained down as the Crows ran onto the turf, then a giant prison bar banner was unfurled at the northern end to a raucous reception by fired-up Power fans.
The decibel level reached new heights when Tom Jonas led his side through a prison bar banner with just one word on it - ‘heritage’.
The Max Basheer Stand was even cheekily renamed the Bruce Weber Stand, the club president who made Port’s first audacious bid to enter the national league, before the banner was taken down by ground staff.
ROZEE ROLLIN’
Connor Rozee was a little quiet, by his lofty standards, in the first quarter but the star midfielder exploded into action in the second.
The 23-year-old had a game-high 15 touches by halftime, kicked a classy goal, and had five clearances to help the Power get on top (27-16) in the key stat.
The home side led by 17 points when Junior Rioli outfoxed Wayne Milera on the mark to split the middle.
With Ollie Wines helping with the heavy lifting at the stoppages, Port had the upper hand, Rory Laird his side’s best clearance winner with 11 for the match.
RILEY ROCKIN’
Rankine lit up Adelaide’s forward line with two first-quarter goals and Thilthorpe evoked memories of his overhead matchwinner against St Kilda in Cairns two years ago with another over-the-shoulder party trick.
But his best was yet to come.
To the dismay of many Adelaide fans, the towering No.2 draft pick was overlooked for Round 1 but won’t find himself in the SANFL any time soon based on Saturday night’s effort.
The 20-year-old provided a strong marking target and added another two in the second quarter, while a slick hand pass set up Luke Pedlar’s second.
The Crows kicked 9.3 in the first half and 2.5 in the third term as the inaccuracy that saw them kick a wayward total of 22.34 in their first two games reared its ugly head.
But Adelaide rattled home with 7.1 in the final term to shock home fans.
More Coverage
Originally published as Showdown 53 Port Adelaide v Adelaide 2023: Jordan Dawson earned the Showdown medal
The players that made Robbo want to do a top 57
The hardest spot to pick in the top 50 isn’t No.1. It’s actually No.50. Robbo names the players he wanted to fit into his annual list – but couldn’t.
Full rankings: AFL Draft’s top 60 prospects rated and scouted
The 2024 AFL Draft is just over a month away, and to get you ready for the arrival of footy’s next generation, our draft experts CHRIS CAVANAGH and DAN BATTEN rank every prospect.