SHOWDOWN 57: MONGREL REVIEW
It’s Showdown week here in the great state of South Australia. Local radio stations are giving away tickets to those who can last the longest riding on the mechanical bull at the Woolshed. A war of words has simmered between former teammates Domenic Cassisi and Kane Cornes. But the real stories have come from the on-field action, and they’ve really only come from one side.
The Saturday night stage was set with the ledger all square at 28 wins apiece. Ladder positions mean nothing. Form means nothing. With the Crows seemingly flying high, and the Power seemingly turned off, the best rivalry in the AFL writes another chapter.
THE BACK STORY
After missing out on finals action six seasons in a row, the seat under Matthew Nicks’ backside is certifiably scorching, I’m sure everyone, both inside the club and outside, is aware that if the Crows miss the finals again, they’ll be on the lookout for a new senior coach.
Thankfully, they’ve started this season with a real chip on their shoulder, and enter Round 9 on the precipice of the top four. With the Big Three leading the way up forward, Adelaide looks the real deal a third of the way through 2025. Their defence is shaky, especially without its main piece in Nick Murray, but as the Crows’ only premiership coach used to say, you win by scoring more than your opponents, and Adelaide has fully embraced that high-octane, high-scoring ideology.
Over at Alberton, it has been another week to forget for Ken Hinkley’s men. Given all the frustration around Hinkley’s coaching career extending into a 13th season, another 90-point loss was the last thing this club needed. Supporter anger is reaching boiling point, with yet more graffiti and signage calling for the coach’s head. Added to that is the controversy surrounding Willie Rioli, both his actions and the AFL’s response to it. This story has been spoken about to death, so I won’t comment any further, other than to say that Port would very much like this whole thing put behind them.
Given Port were just on the receiving end of a 15-goal flogging, you’d think there was no chance of turning things around this quickly. But there are two things in their favour. One; it’s the Showdown, and we know that form and ladder positions don’t mean a damn thing in these contests. And two, Ken Hinkley has always been an emotionally charged coach, who has proven more than capable of lifting his team based purely on the emotion of the match. Look at Gather Round, where the Power were up by 12 goals before half time against premiership fancies Hawthorn. With all the negativity surrounding Port this week, you know they’ll be up for the fight, and the Crows will need to kill that emotion quickly.
THE GAME
The Crows burst out of the blocks from minute one, owning the territory battle and denying Port any avenue to goal. On paper, Port’s defence would struggle to curtail the influence of the three Adelaide key forwards, and the Crows worked hard to get the ball inside 50 as often as possible, with the matchups they wanted. With Josh Worrell acting as an intercepting wall behind the ball, Adelaide dominated the inside 50 count and went to Riley Thilthorpe, who had a favourable matchup on Lachie Jones.
Thilthorpe and Josh Rachele hit the scoreboard before Port could blink, and the Power needed to find something before the game spiralled out of control. Ironically, it was two of Port’s own three-pronged tall attack that set about pulling Port back into things, with Jeremy Finlayson and Mitch Georgiades nailing their set shots, and the Power settled into the contest. Port’s team defence had Adelaide second-guessing themselves, and the Power dialled in their physical presence, making the Crows earn every possession.
Darcy Fogarty had the chance to extend Adelaide’s lead against the run of play, until Zak Butters gave away a silly 50-metre penalty, and the Crows had their third. Adelaide had hit the scoreboard far more often, but keep in mind that since the 10-minute mark, Port had more than fought their way back in, and looked the better side. It was another silly 50-metre penalty, this time from Rory Laird, that gifted a goal, and Port had gotten themselves back within a goal heading into the first break. Quarter time came at a good time for the away team, who, despite leading the match, needed to change their approach.
Channelling his inner Angus Monfries, Sam Powell-Pepper was the beneficiary of a very lucky bounce from a snap at goal, and Port had the lead for the first time of the evening. Some questionable umpiring decisions threatened to have an influence, until Connor Rozee went from Showdown hero to villain, first denying Ben Keays a goal through sheer effort in touching the ball off the boot, before missing a 30-metre target from the kick-in, and Adelaide took the lead back. Perhaps sensing he needed to repay the team, Rozee burst through the middle and sent the ball straight down Georgiades’ throat, and Port took the lead straight back.
Less than a minute later, Alex Neal-Bullen took a mark inside 50 on a Port Adelaide skipper who was having himself a see-sawing 60 seconds. Adelaide had lowered their eyes, and whether it was Neal-Bullen, a dominant Thilthorpe, or Taylor Walker, who now had the favourable Lachie Jones matchup, the Crows took their turn to make their mark on the contest.
The Crows, and Thilthorpe himself were threatening to take the game away from the Power, and to their credit, Port brought their ferocious team defence back to the fore, denying Adelaide any space to work their magic, and realising that Adelaide’s scoring plan was through Thilthorpe, Port employed a spare man in defence approach, cutting off Crow forward threats and sending the ball back through the middle. But if Port thought they were going to put pressure on the scoreboard, Adelaide had other ideas, and their undermanned defence was a wall, continually denying Port the aerial presence it craved, and their rebounders took the ball away. That was until the 29-minute mark, when a crumbing Finlayson sharked a dropped mark, and remarkably, Port had taken back the lead with 40 seconds on the clock. But Adelaide came again, and through some efficient ball use, Josh Rachele gave the Crows the lead back at the half-time break.
Neither side had enjoyed the ascendancy for long stretches in the first half, and it took until the 10-minute mark for the first goal to be scored, this time through the hero version of Rozee, thanks to Izak Rankine encroaching on the mark, with another 50-metre penalty rewarded. The pressure had risen, and spot fires were beginning to simmer, free kicks were being given left and right, and Mark Keane was on report for kicking Finlayson. Adelaide’s defence was now severely under the pump, and they were frankly lucky to have only just lost the lead, as Darcy Byrne-Jones had two errors by foot inside 50 that cost the Power opportunities to score.
But now that Port had momentum on their side, they set about building a lead, which they got through some Powell-Pepper brilliance, and had Jason Horne-Francis not missed his set shot, Port would be threatening to take the game away from their more fancied opponents.
It took some excellent forward craft from Dan Curtin, denying Aliir Aliir a chance to match back up on Thilthorpe, and the Crows had again hit the scoreboard against the run of play. More excellence came from Neal-Bullen, whose game-breaking handball opened the field up, and Keays was on the end of a beautiful forward kick, giving Adelaide the lead back. The Crows had done very well to identify which of their key forwards had the favourable match-up, and even though Thilthorpe was taking a breather on the bench, Fogarty had found himself alongside Kane Farrell, and now the ball was in the Power’s court to will themselves back.
But it was becoming Butters and Rozee vs. the world, and someone, anyone else, needed to step up. Enter Horne-Francis, whose brilliant snap around his body swung momentum again, and as time ticked down, the ball went end-to-end and back again, both sides defending for their lives to ensure they wouldn’t be scored against. Isaac Cumming had the chance to extend Adelaide’s lead at the death, but he played on as the siren sounded, meaning we would enter the final stanza with the game as close as could be.
Adelaide should have entered three-quarter time further ahead, and they set about putting Port to the sword. Their ball movement was more efficient, and they were far more effective inside 50. The Crows opened the scoring through Fogarty, and in the blink of an eye, Port were now over 20 points in arrears, because the Izak Rankine show began, and his first goal of the game was followed by perhaps the best ruck tap and centre clearance you’ll see. Fogarty dropped the mark, but there was Rankine, and his second goal was the highlight of a pulsating Showdown; a toe poke off the deck that even Rankine himself was surprised went through the middle.
Danger signs were everywhere for the Power, but for whatever reason, the Crows went back into their shells, allowing Port to get on their bikes. Adelaide were playing for time with half the quarter left, and Port built so much pressure on Adelaide’s backline without being able to penetrate the scoreboard. They’d kicked four behinds for the quarter, and as time ticked away, the Power needed a goal very quickly. Rory Laird had had an off night with the umpires, and as he threw the ball out of a contest, it gave Darcy Byrne-Jones a chance to get the Power back within two goals; an opportunity he grabbed with both hands.
With two minutes to go, Port had reduced the margin to 10 points, and another epic finish was on. Jeremy Finlayson threw the ball to his boot, and the Power were within a kick. Adelaide had stopped to a walk, and Port refused to give in. We’d seen this story before, and as Horne-Francis burst out of the middle, déjà vu set in. Mark Keane turned hero for the Crows, taking a match-saving mark with 90 seconds left.
But the Power weren’t done yet. Through Rozee, then Butters, the ball went straight back into Port’s forward line, but the often maligned Reilly O’Brien took another match-saving mark. Adelaide sent the ball flying out of defence, and a contest between Rankine and Jones sent the ball over the line, giving the Crows a stoppage with 19 seconds on the clock. Frustratingly for the home crowd, Adelaide got the clearance and sent the ball forward, and even though starting substitute Sam Berry missed his running shot on goal, Adelaide had done enough to just hold on, running out winners by five points, and taking the lead in the head-to-head ledger.
THE STANDOUT PERFORMERS
From a stats perspective, you’d have thought this was a particularly one-sided affair. Adelaide won the hit-out battle 49-34, but they were dominated out of the middle, the Power winning the clearance battle by a whopping 56-29, highlighted by a 42-18 win in stoppage clearance. Port had more of the ball, took more uncontested marks, more marks inside 50, and won the inside 50 count by over 20.
So, how exactly did Adelaide triumph?
Easy. Because six players in particular stood up when it mattered most, and had one of the six not been there, the Crows would very likely have lost.
In the middle of the ground, Reilly O’Brien, often the target for Crows’ supporters’ venom, stood up when his team needed him most, and was perhaps the beneficiary of Port’s selection call, as it meant he was opposed to the slightly still raw Dante Visentini rather than the hardened Jordon Sweet. O’Brien narrowly won the hit-out battle 40-33, but it was his work around the ground that gave him the points in the match-up. O’Brien finished with 17 disposals, five marks and five tackles, and while he made some mistakes by foot, as most ruckman tend to do, his positioning was excellent, always in the right spot for a bail out kick, or as we saw in the final minute of the contest, a game-saving mark.
With Jordan Dawson not enjoying his usual incredible output on the game, and Izak Rankine spending more time in the forward line, the Crows needed another midfield star to be the match winner, and recruit James Peatling was that man. Peatling was everywhere and everything for the Crows, and while his disposal efficiency did slightly let him down, he made up for it with his defensive enthusiasm and willingness to never lose a contest. Peatling finished with 24 disposals, 11 contested possessions, 427 metres gained, five clearances, but most importantly, a game-high 12 tackles.
Up forward, two of Adelaide’s three-pronged tall attack shone, but one man in particular was a one-man monster, and nothing Port could do was going to stop him. It was a coaching masterclass to always ensure that Riley Thilthorpe had the favourable match-up, and that the Crows went that way as often as possible, and the big man with the big beard didn’t disappoint. Simply put, Adelaide didn’t look the same team when Thilthorpe wasn’t inside 50, and his three goals, 15 disposals, and 10 mark effort would’ve made Thilthorpe is worthy winner of the Showdown medal had Connor Rozee not played one of the games of his life.
Reigning Malcolm Blight Medallist Ben Keays once again showed his value as one of the best forward/midfielders in the competition, and yet, for all his efforts, he is still underrated by the vast majority of the football community. Keays spent time as a dangerous forward, but also moved further up the ground, running up and down the wings, providing Adelaide’s defenders with an option down the line. Keays ended the evening with 21 disposals, six score involvements, five marks, over 400 metres gained, and two crucial goals.
Adelaide’s defensive unit has long been considered its weak link, but even as they missed Nick Murray, two players in particular were instrumental in preventing Port’s forwards from taking control. Mitch Georgiades threatened to explode, and time and time again, Mark Keane was able to curtail his influence. Georgiades did finish with two goals, and could’ve had more if he’d been more accurate. Still, Keane won the battle in the end, as Georgiades only took three marks for the evening. Keane was able to play off his man to help out elsewhere, and also provided his team with effective rebounding and intercepting, as his game-saving mark was coupled with 18 disposals at 83% efficiency, from 100% time on ground.
Keane’s partner in crime, Josh Worrell, was a rebounding machine all night, and he coupled that effort with a very effective defensive job on young Port forward Ollie Lord. Worrell restricted Lord to just five touches, one effective disposal, two marks and zero shots on goal. On the other side, Worrell was brilliant, with 23 disposals, 21 of them by foot, five marks, 11 defensive rebounds and an astonishing 714 metres gained.
But the Power had their own winning brigade, particularly from five of their top liners.
Port had their issues up forward, and a lot of that was due to the ineffectiveness of the kicks being delivered there. But one man was a consistent threat, and had things gone his way on occasion, Jeremy Finlayson could’ve had an evening to remember. While his stats alone might only suggest an average performance for a key forward, Finlayson made the most of the opportunities he created, and he finished with three goals from five shots, and had eight score involvements, both team highs.
Port’s backline was under the pump all night long, and their key defenders had their hands full with both Thilthorpe and Darcy Fogarty. But while the defensive side wasn’t where it needed to be, Port’s rebounders, Miles Bergman especially, were excellent in their quest to give the Power as much field territory as they could. Bergman played higher up the ground, almost closer to a wing position, and his 23 disposals, eight inside 50s, eight tackles, seven score involvements and 634 metres gained went a long way in generating scoring opportunities for Port’s forwards.
As we highlighted, Port’s midfield dominated in every stat line, and it kind of beggars belief that they weren’t able to come away with the win. Port’s midfield victory came off the back of their leaders, and with Ollie Wines back to his contested ball-winning best, at least for this evening, Port could afford to have their more credentialed ball users on the outside to do the damage. If I’m being honest, I thought Wines’ career was on the verge of coming to an abrupt end, given the heart issues that have begun to plague the 2021 Brownlow medallist. But Wines knows how he needs to manage his condition, and if he can continue to replicate this evening’s 31 disposals, 15 contested possessions, 10 clearances and six inside 50s effort, his career will flourish for a few more years yet.
But if not for Port’s leadership duo, this game would’ve ended much sooner for the Power. Captain Connor Rozee and vice-captain Zak Butters were everywhere for the Power, and their leadership, skills and tenacity dragged Port back into the contest time and time again.
Zak Butters, who started slowly thanks to a tag from Zac Taylor, got better as the game wore on. Late in the last quarter, Butter had been blanketed to just four disposals, until his game exploded thanks to a beautiful kick off the back foot that ultimately resulted in a goal to Darcy Byrne-Jones. From there, Butters was everywhere, doing everything. Sure, his feistiness boiled over on occasion, especially when he gave away a 50 metre penalty inside Adelaide’s forward 50 after being repeatedly warned by the umpire, but you can overlook these missteps because when Butters had the ball, good things happened, and when he was without the ball, he was fighting tooth and nail to get it back. Butters ended the night with a game-high 33 disposals, game-high 16 contested possessions, equal game-high 10 clearances, and six score involvements.
And for the second time in history, the Showdown Medal was won by a player on the losing side. Deservedly so, because without Connor Rozee, the Power would’ve been in no man’s land. Commentators labelled Rozee’s efforts as ‘Superhero-like’, and after his horizontal dive to stop Ben Keays from kicking a goal, this praise was well earned. Sure, he flubbed a kick which cost his team a goal less than a minute later, but he then burst through the centre square stoppage right after, highlighting his rabid desire to put his team on his shoulders. Rozee finished with 32 disposals, 24 of those by foot, seven inside 50s, seven score involvements, five tackles, a goal, 684 metres gained (a team high), and a well-deserved medallion around his neck.
It was yet another Showdown classic in a rivalry that has produced so many epic encounters. Every time one team had the ascendancy, the other would fight their way back. It’s why the Showdown is so special, because no matter the circumstances both teams find themselves in, they find a way to turn up and fight like hell for the win.
Matthew Nicks and his men couldn’t have started this season much better, and as they showed tonight, they’ve figured out the game plan they believe will take them very far this season. They’ve sorted out their midfield woes, their forward line is firing again, and their undermanned and underrated backline stands up at the critical moments.
Ken Hinkley, perhaps as he is used to, has a lot to think about. Tonight’s match showed that without Rozee and Butters, and to a lesser extent Horne-Francis, Port doesn’t possess enough match-winning quality. Their role players are good, even great, on their day, but in terms of the sheer quality that will lift a side to victory, the Power find themselves on the outside looking in, and with Hinkley’s time winding down, it leaves both him and his successor bracing for more pain than this club is used to.
