Showdown 56 Port Adelaide v Adelaide: The Power holds on to second spot after fiery clash with Crows
Port’s recent record in finals is not one to celebrate, but with Showdown 56 a finals-like game, the Power answered some important questions heading into September, writes Matt Turner.
It was one of the fieriest Showdowns, featuring a knockout blow and win that helped Port Adelaide avoid a knockout final.
Dan Houston running through and concussing Izak Rankine during the third term of an already tense Port-Crows clash led to an all-in melee and swung the match.
Not only was Adelaide star Rankine subbed off but the Power lifted and settled far better back into the emotion-charged contest to get the win it needed to seal a double chance.
Port has given itself a chance to seal a top-two spot and home qualifying final by beating Fremantle in Perth next weekend.
But it will face the Dockers – and perhaps go through the major round – without All-Australian Dan Houston, who is certain to cop a hefty suspension given the league’s intolerance for deliberate bumps that cause concussions.
Given Houston has been tipped to head home to Victoria at season’s end, is that his last moment in Power colours?
Adelaide led by a goal at the time of the Houston incident.
Port then booted five unanswered goals to tear the game open, inspired by a mammoth 42-disposal, Showdown Medal-winning effort from vice-captain Zak Butters.
Saturday night’s stakes were always going to be high but they were raised for the Power minutes before the first bounce.
Brisbane lost to Collingwood by one point at the MCG, ensuring the Power could seal a top-four berth by beating its fierce rival.
Port’s big-game credentials have long been questioned and the doubters will probably only disappear if they win a premiership.
But Saturday night’s result is a step towards shedding that tag, despite it coming against a team set to miss the top eight.
The match felt like a final and Adelaide’s form – three wins in five matches and three consecutive victories against the Power – belied their ladder ranking.
Crows forward Josh Rachele set the scene for a finals-like atmosphere when he joked during the week that Port fans had no teeth then celebrated a brilliant running goal by pointing inside his mouth as he charged towards the home fans in the southwestern pocket.
Adelaide took it right up to the Power for most of the night, but the emotion seemed to get the better of some Crows players after tensions boiled over.
They gave away several free kicks in Port’s forward half, allowing the home side to dominate territory in the third term.
It was 2.3 to 0.4 to the Power’s way in that quarter.
Well held by Hugh Bond all night, Port’s only premiership player Willie Rioli was crucial in the last, kicking two of his side’s five goals, while Adelaide managed just two.
The ledger for the rivalry many consider to be the AFL’s best is fittingly 28-all after another cracker.
And it is now seven wins from eight for a Power side that has positioned itself really well for a flag tilt that few outside of Alberton will have seen coming two months ago.
Match report: Power locks in double chance with fiery Showdown win
– Jason Phelan
A Zak Butters-inspired Port Adelaide overcame a fierce Adelaide challenge to lock down a top-four finish with a hard-fought 22-point win in a spiteful Showdown marred by a sickening Dan Houston bump that left Crows star Izak Rankine concussed.
The third-quarter incident sparked an all-in melee with Adelaide players furious with Houston, with a clearly distressed Rankine taken from the field on the mini ambulance.
The Power trailed by nine points at the main break, but clawed to a two-point lead at three-quarter time, with some Adelaide players losing their focus following Rankine’s departure, including Darcy Fogarty who gave away a 50m penalty, which led to a Francis Evans goal.
Port kicked the only two goals of the heated third quarter and the first three of the final term to set up its 15th win of the season and secure a precious top-four berth.
But Ken Hinkley’s side will face a nervous wait to see how Houston’s bump is assessed by the Match Review Officer.
“This is a gigantic story,” Crows legend Mark Ricciuto said of the Houston bump on Fox Footy.
“There’s one game left (in the home-and-away season) and if that goes the wrong way for Dan Houston he might not be playing again this season.”
“He’s got that one wrong and it’s probably going to cost him his season,” Gerard Healy added.
The incident marred what was a classic Showdown contest, with the result levelling the storied rivalry at 28 wins each.
Butters was a thoroughly deserving Showdown Medal winner, the Power star with a record 42 possessions, 10 clearances and a goal.
Port started the round in second spot, ahead of GWS and Geelong by percentage, but was presented with the golden top-four opportunity after Fremantle and Brisbane lost earlier on Saturday.
BOOS ALL AROUND
Josh Rachele was mercilessly booed by the Power faithful whenever he went near the ball following his tongue-in-cheek jibe about many of them not having many teeth.
Rachele registered his first possession about 15 minutes into the game and he was roundly booed as he sent his kick inside 50.
But the Power fans had been in full voice well before that, with their side getting a tough run with the umpires.
The Crows won the first five free kicks of the match and went on to lead the count 8-1, much to the chagrin of the home fans, who voiced their displeasure loudly.
The tough run with the umps didn’t bother Butters, who was outstanding from the outset and racked up 21 touches in the first half, including seven clearances, with Jason Horne-Francis banging through two classy first-half goals.
He lost opponent Rankine at a forward 50 stoppage and stroked home a magnificent goal on his left then sought out the star Crow to let him know all about it, with the pair sharing a bit of niggle.
Rankine and Adelaide were up for the fight, the 24-year-old with two goals of his own in an enthralling first half with his night cut short in the third.
SMILES FOR MILES
Rachele was quiet early, but he worked into the game in the second quarter and was all smiles after a brilliant goal 10 minutes before halftime.
Running onto a superb Lachie Murphy handball, the 21-year-old coolly slotted a sublime goal then ran to the boundary fence pointing out his own impressive pearly whites to the howling Port fans.
It was the first of three unanswered goals, Fogarty winning a foot race with Brandon Zerk-Thatcher to soccer through his second major and Riley Thilthorpe marking strongly to kick his first.
NOT SO SWEET
Jordon Sweet enjoyed a strong opening to the match, getting the best of Reilly O’Brien, but he was forced to the bench for treatment in the second term after a gruesome clash with teammate Esava Ratugolea.
Replays showed Sweet’s right elbow bending in a way that it’s not meant to, but he was able to get patched up and return to the field.
Lachie Jones was also in the wars, the defender left dazed after crashing to the turf in a
collision with Thilthorpe and was eventually subbed out with Achilles soreness.
SCOREBOARD
POWER 2.3 4.9 6.12 11.14 (80)
CROWS 2.5 6.6 6.10 8.10 (58)
PHELAN’S BEST POWER: Butters (Showdown Medal), Rozee, Horne-Francis, Burgoyne, Wines, Aliir, Sweet, Drew. CROWS: Dawson, Crouch, Worrell, Keane, Laird, Bond, Hinge.
GOALS POWER: Horne-Francis 2, F Evans 2, Byrne-Jones 2, Rioli 2, Butters, Burgoyne, Boak. CROWS: Fogarty 2, Rankine 2, Thilthorpe, Rachele, Keays, Hinge.
INJURIES POWER: Jones (Achilles soreness), Sweet (elbow). CROWS: Rankine (concussion).
UMPIRES: Johanson, Stevic, Chamberlain, Heffernan
52,459 at ADELAIDE OVAL
PLAYER OF THE YEAR
JASON PHELAN’S VOTES
3 Butters (Port)
2 Dawson (Adel)
1 Rozee (Port)
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