Showdown 56: Josh Rachele doubles down on toothless Port fans joke

Adelaide’s Josh Rachele has doubled down on his joke about Port Adelaide fans being toothless, adding fuel to the fire ahead of what promises to be another fiery Showdown.

Adelaide coach Matthew Nicks expects his players’ pre-game jibes to add to the Showdown atmosphere but matter little on the field when the two teams run out on Saturday night.

Darcy Fogarty and Josh Rachele stirred the pot this week, providing the theatre everyone had come to expect leading up to games between the Crows and Power.

Fogarty said costing Port Adelaide a top-four berth with a Showdown win would be “the cherry on top”, while Rachele joked Power fans did not have many teeth.

Nicks said Rachele and his side could back up those comments in the Port Adelaide home game by putting their heads over the ball when needed and winning the key moments.

Josh Rachele has made himself public enemy No. 1 for the Showdown. Picture: James Elsby/AFL Photos via Getty Images

“I think there’s always a lot of theatre around the Showdown, but ultimately it’s the team that comes and turns up on the night (that prevails),” Nicks said.

“I know how passionate their fans are, it’s going to be a cracking atmosphere, and maybe that’s off the back of some comments.

“I don’t think there’s an intent to target fans.

“With our guys that do media nowadays, they spend 20 minutes in a studio having a chat about a number of different things and some things can be targeted or taken out of context.”

Coming off three consecutive Showdown losses and likely two rounds away from another finals campaign, Port Adelaide has skipped the off-field byplay this week.

The Power has done most of the taunting in recent years, such as describing Adelaide as arrogant and entitled ahead of their second meeting in 2022.

But with a premiership in its sights, Port is taking a different tack against the 15th-ranked Crows.

i love josh rachele so much pic.twitter.com/SAWYX6fILr

— bear 🧸 (@beartorius) August 15, 2024

“Our focus is clearly on this week and our season,” said Hinkley, whose side sat second on the ladder going into the round.

“What we understand is that every game sets you up for failure or success in some ways.

“You’re sitting on that side of the bench and are pretty quick to jump on whatever that is.

“When we put some theatre into it, people jump on it, when we get results that go against you, we cop it.

“Footy’s great, it’s meant to be fun, but it’s bloody fierce for us and we’re doing everything we can to get a win every week.”

Adelaide’s 30-point victory over the Power in round 8 moved the Crows ahead 28-27 in the Showdown ledger.

Hinkley said Saturday night’s match was great preparation for finals because the build-up was big and there was a little more at stake.

Port, which plays Fremantle in Perth to end the minor round, can take a big step towards securing a double chance by beating its local rivals.

SHOWDOWN TEAMS: PORT GETS CREATIVE TO FILL FORWARD HOLE

— Simeon Thomas-Wilson

Port Adelaide has called upon Ryan Burton to fill its holes in the Power’s forward line, while Lachie Gollant has been rewarded for his day out in the SANFL by Adelaide.

The Power’s forward line has been stretched thin with Mitch Georgiades unable to prove his fitness from a quad strain and Todd Marshall suffering a concussion in the win over Melbourne last time out.

This has added to Jeremy Finlayson’s season being ended by a minor laceration to his spleen while Ollie Lord has been out of form and dropped to the SANFL.

Esava Ratugolea has been switched from defence to the forward line in recent weeks and the Power are set to again use a defender in attack with Burton coming in for Marshall.

The 27-year-old hasn’t played at AFL level since the Round 12 loss to Carlton, his 150th game at AFL level.

Burton was a forward at junior level and returned there briefly last season when the Power’s forward line was again stretched thin.

Burton in for Marshall is the only change the Power have made for the Showdown as Port looks to keep its strong form of late going.

The Crows have made just the one change themselves with Gollant coming in for Taylor Walker after he suffered an eye injury in Adelaide’s big win over the Western Bulldogs.

Gollant’s return to the side comes after he kicked eight goals in the SANFL against West Adelaide, which resulted in him winning the Neil Kerley Medal from the match between the Crows and Bloods.

Lachlan Gollant has been called up. Picture: Sarah Reed Photography

While it will be just his 16th game at AFL level, it will be the third time he has faced the Power – kicking four goals in the Crows Round 3 win in 2022.

Crows head of football Adam Kelly said it was a reward for Gollant’s persistence.

“It has been a year that hasn’t presented a lot of opportunities at AFL level and one where Lachie has been challenged with some plantar fascia issues that have inhibited his performance,” he said.

“(But) it is nice to see his persistence pay off and reward for the way he has dug in and continued to press his claims.”

‘MINI GRAND FINAL’ FOR CROWS AS RACHELE TALKS IMPROVED FORM

– Matt Turner

Adelaide forward Josh Rachele says his side will be treating the Showdown as a mini grand final as it looks to build more momentum into next season.

Set to miss the top eight for a seventh consecutive year, the Crows want to soak up and perform well in the finals-like atmosphere at Adelaide Oval on Saturday night against a flag-chasing Power side.

The match should provide valuable big-game experience for Adelaide, which last week fielded just four players with September action to their names: Jordan Dawson, Taylor Walker, Matt Crouch and Rory Laird.

It may be just three on Saturday night because Walker will be sidelined with an eye injury.

Rachele told this masthead backing up last week’s win over finals contender the Western Bulldogs would give his team added confidence going into the off-season.

“For the likes of a lot of our players who haven’t played finals before, it’s a finals-like game for us,” said Rachele, who was set to play his fourth match against Port.

Josh Rachele says it has been his most consistent year. Picture: James Elsby/AFL Photos via Getty Images

“We’re trying to treat it as our little mini grand final for the year.

“You don’t get many big games like this, hopefully we get a 50,000 crowd.

“Hopefully we can get a good win.”

Playing closer to goals, improving his defending and being diligent in his off-field habits have helped Rachele string together arguably the most consistent patch of his career.

Over the past five weeks, the 21-year-old forward has booted 10 goals and laid 17 tackles.

Adelaide won three of those matches and Nicks said one of the losses – the five-point defeat to Geelong a fortnight ago – was Rachele’s best game for the club.

Rachele said he had not “torn the game up as much as I probably wanted to” this season, but he had been more consistent.

The Victorian, who had played 55 games across three campaigns, focused on making sure his form did not dip after the bye like it had in 2022 and 2023.

Josh Rachele (Photo by Sarah Reed/AFL Photos via Getty Images)

“It was more of a mental thing and being aware of it,” said Rachele, who was speaking at Forty Winks’ Mile End store as part of a Showdown promotion.

“I feel like when it starts getting cold in winter, you can drop away from your consistencies, if that’s your nutrition, recovery, your sleep.

“Being consistent with that going into the back end and being really diligent with those little things is helping me.”

Of Nicks’s praise after the Geelong game, Rachele said: “He didn’t refer to the stats or goals, it was more from a contest point of view, he thought it was the strongest it’s been”.

“It’s something I’ve definitely had to lift, especially my defensive side.

“Being a natural forward, you don’t always do those things coming out of under-18s.

“I’ve really tried to work on my forward 50 tackles and my pressuring, and the last couple of weeks that’s really shown in my tackle numbers.”

Originally published as Showdown 56: Josh Rachele doubles down on toothless Port fans joke