Showdown (AFL)

Showdown

In focus players Andrew McLeod (left) and Kane Cornes (right) about to engage in a marking contest.
First meeting	20 April 1997
Latest meeting	19 July 2015
Next meeting	2 April 2016
Statistics
Meetings total	39
All-time series (AFL only)	Port Adelaide 21 wins Adelaide 18 wins

The Showdown is an Australian rules football local derby game played by the two Australian Football League teams from South Australia, the Adelaide and Port Adelaide football clubs.

The South Australian Brewing Company, makers of West End beers, were the first sponsors of the game and decided that the "Showdown" would be an appropriate name as a promotional opportunity for games between these two clubs, since it was the first time two South Australian teams had played against each other in the AFL.

Background

The Showdown's intense rivalry can be traced back to 1982 when the SANFL, along with Port Adelaide, approached the VFL in regards to entering two sides, itself and longtime major rival Norwood, in the Victorian league.^[1] This action was also taken by WAFL club East Perth in 1980.^[2] All approaches were ignored by the VFL at the time with the reason given by Jack Hamilton being that the VFL clubs thought that one or two SANFL teams would end up being too strong later admitting that they also wanted to continue to poach the states best players, which would soon include Craig Bradley and Stephen Kernahan.^[3] The Port Adelaide Football Club's annual report from late 1982 showed that the failure of these attempts significantly impacted the club's understanding of its future.^[4] From this point Port Adelaide restructured the club in regards to economics, public relations and on-field performance for an attempt to enter the league in 1990. There was genuine feeling that failure to do this would result in the club ceasing to exist in the future.^[5] In 1985 Port Adelaide registered itself as a national football club. The following year the SANFL registered the name "Adelaide Football Club" in 1986 but ended up deciding against entering a team into the VFL.^[6] In 1986 Norwood Football Club made an independent approach to the VFL with entry into the league discussed in great detail but ultimately failed to materialise.^[5] By 1989 seven out of ten SANFL clubs were recording losses and the combined income of the SANFL and WAFL had dropped to 40% of that of the VFL.^[6]

1990 SANFL Grand Final coaches Graham Cornes and John Cahill would both go on to be inaugural coaches of Adelaide and Port Adelaide in the AFL respectively.

During early 1990 the SANFL had decided to wait three years before making any further decision. Frustrated with lack of progress, Port Adelaide were having secret negotiations in the town of Quorn for entry in 1991.^[7] When the knowledge of Port Adelaide Football Club's negotiations to gain an AFL licence were made public, the other SANFL clubs saw it as an act of treachery. Subsequently the SANFL clubs, led by Glenelg, urged Justice Olssen to make an injunction against the bid, which he agreed to.^[6] In total the SANFL spent $500,000 in legal fees to stop Port Adelaide's entry into the AFL, with the Magpies simply unable to compete in the court room. The SANFL promptly created a composite team to beat Port Adelaide's bid. The Adelaide Football Club gained what was very close to being Port Adelaide's licence to the AFL and began playing in 1991. The new Adelaide club would adopt the moniker of "Crows" after the states inhabitants oft used nickname "Crow-eaters". The front runners for the coaching job at the new club were 1990 SANFL Grand Final coaches John Cahill (Port Adelaide) and Graham Cornes (Glenelg) with the latter selected. The Adelaide Crows admission to the AFL had a devastating impact on the leagues attendances with the SANFL recording a 14% drop between 1990 and 1993.

Port Adelaide defied this trend of falling SANFL attendances recorded an increase of 13% from 1990 to 1993.^[8] After winning the 1994 SANFL Grand Final, its fifth in seven years, Port Adelaide finally gained its AFL licence beating rival bids from other SANFL clubs and another from the Southport Sharks. Despite having received its licence the club had to wait for a vacancy in the league, which occurs when the Brisbane Bears and Fitzroy Lions merge. Finally, in 1997, the club started playing in the AFL with John Cahill its inaugural national coach. During Port Adelaide's first year in the national competition it missed finals by percentage while the Adelaide Crows won the first of their consecutive premierships.

The rivalry extends into the administration of both clubs as they vie for sponsorship from what is the smallest state economy hosting AFL teams. It also extends into the recruiting of both clubs who often find themselves competing for the same players when they declare homesickness or a desire to play for a South Australian club.

Historical showdowns

1997 Inaugural Showdown

Port beat the Crows in the inaugural Showdown in 1997. Having won their first match in the AFL against Geelong the week before, a pumped up Port jumped the Crows in the first half and managed to hold on in the final quarter as the Crows mounted a comeback.^[9] The game also featured a fight between Port's Scott Cummings and Adelaide's Rod Jameson.

2004 Round 7

Showdown XV is memorable for the magnitude of the upset that the Adelaide Crows pulled off and the fact that it ended Port Adelaide's 7 game winning streak in Showdowns. At the start of the game Port Adelaide had won 5 of its first 6 games whilst Adelaide had only managed one. Port Adelaide entered the first break with a 6-point lead but the Adelaide Crows coach of the time Gary Ayers gave his side a spray and subsequently ran away with the game to cause arguably the biggest upset in Showdown history.

2005 First Semi Final

In the 2005 AFL Finals Series, Adelaide and Port Adelaide met in a semi-final, the first time, and thus far only time in their history they had played against each other in a finals game. The stakes of a showdown had never been higher and South Australia experienced an unprecedented high anticipation to the game in the week leading up to the match. The match was known in the buildup as "The Ultimate Showdown". The first half of the game was an intense, defensive contest with the Crows leading 4.7 (31) to 3.6 (24) at the main break. Tempers almost boiled over in the second quarter after Adelaide ruckman Rhett Biglands was stretchered from the ground after a Byron Pickett shirtfront. However Biglands would return in the second half. After half time, Adelaide thrashed Port Adelaide outscoring them by 72 points cruising home for an 83-point win as Port Adelaide's season was ended in a thrashing. This remains as the only final played between the two sides and the only final the two would ever play at Football Park. 2005 was also the only time one of the clubs had defeated the other side in 3 showdowns in the same AFL season.

2013 Football Park Farewell Showdown

In 2013 Port Adelaide Power beat the Adelaide Crows in the final Showdown to be played at Footy Park. The game was also memorable for Port Adelaide's late final quarter charge, coming back from 20 points in the last 6 minutes of the game. This included a goal by Angus Monfries from outside 50 that landed just in front of the Power's point line, bounced at right angles and went through for a goal. Chad Wingard kicked his fifth goal in the last 28 seconds to hand Port Adelaide the lead and win.^[10] Port Adelaide winning this match meant the club had won the first, last and most Showdowns played at Football Park.

2014 Adelaide Oval Debut

The Round 2, 2014 showdown on Saturday, 29 March saw the first showdown played at Adelaide Oval. Port Adelaide led from the start but Adelaide mounted a comeback and claimed the lead briefly in the third. After the half way mark of the third quarter Port Adelaide ran away with the game winning by 55 points.

Phil Walsh Memorial Match

The Round 16, 2015 Showdown on 19 July 2015 had added significance due to the recent death of Crows senior coach Phil Walsh, who spent ten years as an assistant in two stints with Port Adelaide, including their 2004 premiership. The game lived up to expectation, with the Crows holding on desperately in the last quarter to win by three points, the closest margin in a Showdown. The game was played in front of 53,518, the biggest attendance at the venue since its redevelopment in 2014. Scott Thompson was awarded the one off Phillip Walsh Medal, presented by Walsh's daughter Quinn.

Results

The two clubs often meet in preseason fixtures, however these are not official showdowns and do not contribute to the official statistics of the fixture. While the AFL draw is not a complete double round robin it is designed each year to include two Showdowns in recognition of its significance and gate drawing power.

	Year	Date	Rd	Home Team	Score	Away Team	Score	Ground	Crowd	Winner	HRT	H2H	Link
1	1997	20 April	4	Adelaide	11.6 (72)	Port Adelaide	11.17 (83)	Football Park	47,256	Port Adelaide by 11	Lost	+1
2		10 August	19	Port Adelaide	9.4 (58)	Adelaide	9.11 (65)	Football Park	45,498	Adelaide by 7	Won
3	1998	19 April	4	Port Adelaide	11.7 (73)	Adelaide	8.16 (64)	Football Park	41,476	Port Adelaide by 9	Lost	+1
4		9 August	19	Adelaide	22.12 (144)	Port Adelaide	10.10 (70)	Football Park	46,405	Adelaide by 74	Won
5	1999	2 May	6	Adelaide	18.7 (115)	Port Adelaide	12.15 (87)	Football Park	45,585	Adelaide by 28	Won	+1
6		22 August	21	Port Adelaide	13.14 (92)	Adelaide	9.14 (68)	Football Park	42,669	Port Adelaide by 24	Won
7	2000	23 April	7	Port Adelaide	13.13 (91)	Adelaide	14.14 (98)	Football Park	41,173	Adelaide by 7	Won	+1
8		6 August	22	Adelaide	14.8 (92)	Port Adelaide	20.19 (139)	Football Park	42,659	Port Adelaide by 47	Lost
9	2001	15 April	3	Adelaide	13.10 (88)	Port Adelaide	23.15 (153)	Football Park	40,296	Port Adelaide by 65	Won	+1
10		5 August	18	Port Adelaide	16.11 (107)	Adelaide	15.9 (99)	Football Park	49,846	Port Adelaide by 8	Won	+2
11	2002	27 April	5	Adelaide	12.10 (82)	Port Adelaide	14.6 (90)	Football Park	49,513	Port Adelaide by 8	Lost	+3
12		18 August	20	Port Adelaide	12.12 (84)	Adelaide	11.10 (76)	Football Park	50,275	Port Adelaide by 8	Won	+4
13	2003	26 April	5	Adelaide	9.12 (66)	Port Adelaide	12.6 (78)	Football Park	51,140	Port Adelaide by 12	Lost	+5
14		31 August	22	Port Adelaide	14.10 (94)	Adelaide	12.6 (78)	Football Park	48,131	Port Adelaide by 16	Won	+6
15	2004	8 May	7	Port Adelaide	13.9 (87)	Adelaide	17.17 (119)	Football Park	44,733	Adelaide by 32	Lost	+5
16		29 August	22	Adelaide	9.6 (60)	Port Adelaide	12.13 (85)	Football Park	45,473	Port Adelaide by 25	Won	+6
17	2005	10 April	3	Adelaide	18.16 (124)	Port Adelaide	8.8 (56)	Football Park	44,807	Adelaide by 68	Won	+5
18		13 August	20	Port Adelaide	12.9 (81)	Adelaide	13.10 (88)	Football Park	45,199	Adelaide by 7	Won	+4
19		10 September	SF	Adelaide	18.15 (123)	Port Adelaide	5.10 (40)	Football Park	50,521	Adelaide by 83	Won	+3
20	2006	6 May	6	Adelaide	15.13 (103)	Port Adelaide	8.5 (53)	Football Park	42,723	Adelaide by 50	Won	+2
21		27 August	21	Port Adelaide	14.11 (95)	Adelaide	11.15 (81)	Football Park	41,549	Port Adelaide by 14	Lost	+3
22	2007	14 April	3	Port Adelaide	8.15 (63)	Adelaide	13.9 (87)	Football Park	36,959	Adelaide by 24	Lost	+2
23		4 August	18	Adelaide	9.19 (73)	Port Adelaide	10.5 (65)	Football Park	42,335	Adelaide by 8	Lost	+1
24	2008	6 April	3	Adelaide	12.13 (85)	Port Adelaide	11.13 (79)	Football Park	45,524	Adelaide by 6	Won
25		20 July	16	Port Adelaide	13.14 (92)	Adelaide	11.14 (80)	Football Park	31,662	Port Adelaide by 12	Lost	+1
26	2009	2 May	6	Port Adelaide	15.15 (105)	Adelaide	12.7 (79)	Football Park	41,558	Port Adelaide by 26	Won	+2
27		26 July	17	Adelaide	19.18 (132)	Port Adelaide	9.8 (62)	Football Park	46,859	Adelaide by 70	Won	+1
28	2010	1 May	6	Adelaide	10.14 (74)	Port Adelaide	14.13 (97)	Football Park	40,371	Port Adelaide by 23	Won	+2
29		25 July	17	Port Adelaide	13.10 (88)	Adelaide	9.15 (69)	Football Park	36,788	Port Adelaide by 19	Lost	+3
30	2011	16 April	4	Port Adelaide	14.14 (98)	Adelaide	9.12 (66)	Football Park	33,143	Port Adelaide by 32	Lost	+4
31		31 July	19	Adelaide	16.15 (111)	Port Adelaide	11.13 (79)	Football Park	40,586	Adelaide by 32	Won	+3
32	2012	29 April	5	Adelaide	16.14 (110)	Port Adelaide	14.7 (91)	Football Park	41,649	Adelaide by 19	Won	+2
33		7 July	15	Port Adelaide	8.10 (58)	Adelaide	17.14 (116)	Football Park	34,829	Adelaide by 58	Won	+1
34	2013	14 April	3	Port Adelaide	17.16 (118)	Adelaide	16.13 (109)	Football Park	40,707	Port Adelaide by 9	Won	+2
35		4 August	19	Adelaide	15.13 (103)	Port Adelaide	17.5 (107)	Football Park	43,368	Port Adelaide by 4	Won	+3
36	2014	29 March	2	Port Adelaide	19.14 (128)	Adelaide	11.7 (73)	Adelaide Oval	50,397	Port Adelaide by 55	Won	+4
37		29 June	15	Adelaide	14.15 (99)	Port Adelaide	10.16 (76)	Adelaide Oval	50,552	Adelaide by 23	Lost	+3
38	2015	3 May	5	Adelaide	13.13 (91)	Port Adelaide	18.7 (115)	Adelaide Oval	49,735	Port Adelaide by 24	Lost	+4
39		19 July	16	Port Adelaide	17.11 (113)	Adelaide	18.8 (116)	Adelaide Oval	53,518	Adelaide by 3	Won	+3
40	2016	2 April	2	Adelaide		Port Adelaide		Adelaide Oval
41		20 August	22	Port Adelaide		Adelaide		Adelaide Oval

Timeline of results

Football Park Timeline

Adelaide Oval Timeline

The Showdown Medal

The Showdown Medal is awarded to the player adjudged best on ground in the Showdown match.^{[11][lower-alpha 1]}

The Showdown Medal was first presented in Showdown VII, Round 7, 2000.^[12]

For Showdown 39 only, The Phil Walsh Medal was presented in place of the Showdown Medal. Phil Walsh was a Port Adelaide assistant coach from 1999 to 2008 and 2014 and was Adelaide's head coach in 2015 before he died on 3 July the same year.^[13]

Winners

Showdown medal

Attendances

The Showdown has the highest average attendances of all intrastate derby matches.

In the 39 Showdowns to the end of 2015, a total of 1,718,417 people have attended the matches: an average attendance per match of 44,061.

The record attendance in a Showdown was 53,518 in Showdown XXXIX (Round 16, 2015, a Port Adelaide home match). The lowest attendance was 31,662 in Showdown XXV (Round 16, 2008, a Port Adelaide home match).

A total of 907,357 people have attended Adelaide's 20 home Showdowns (including the 2005 Semi Final), an average of 45,367. Their attendances have ranged from 40,296 (Showdown IX) to 51,140 (Showdown XIII).

A total of 811,060 people have attended Port Adelaide's 19 home Showdowns, an average of 42,687. Their attendances range from 31,662 (Showdown XXV) to 54,468 (Showdown XXXIX).

Top 10 Showdown Attendances

Statistics

Club Records

Highest Score

Highest score in a Showdown.

Club	Year	Round	Goals	Behinds	Total
Port Adelaide Football Club	2001	Round 3	23	15	153
Adelaide Football Club	1998	Round 19	22	12	144

Lowest Score

Lowest score for each club in all Showdowns.

Club	Year	Round	Goals	Behinds	Total
Adelaide Football Club	2004	Round 22.	9	6	60
Port Adelaide Football Club	2005	Semi Final.	5	10	40

Greatest Winning Margins

Greatest winning margin for each club in the Showdown.

Club	Year	Round	Winning Score	Losing Score	Margin
Adelaide Football Club	2005	Semi Final	18.15 (123)	5.10 (40)	83
Port Adelaide Football Club	2001	Round 3	23.15 (153)	13.10 (88)	65

Smallest Winning Margins

Greatest winning margin for each club in the Showdown.

Club	Year	Round	Winning Score	Losing Score	Margin
Adelaide Football Club	2015	Round 16	18.8 (116)	17.11 (113)	3
Port Adelaide Football Club	2013	Round 19	17.5 (107)	15.13 (103)	4

Winning Streak

Club	Winning Streak	Showdowns
Port Adelaide Football Club	7	VIII - XIV
Adelaide Football Club	4	XVII - XX

Player Records

Goals in One Game

Player	Date	Round	Club	Goals	Behinds	Points
Peter Vardy	1998	Round 19	Adelaide Football Club	7	5	47
Tony Modra	1997	Round 4	Adelaide Football Club	7	2	44
Warren Tredrea	2004	Round 7	Port Adelaide Football Club	7	1	43
Gavin Wanganeen	2001	Round 3	Port Adelaide Football Club	6	2	38
Ricky Henderson	2012	Round 15	Adelaide Football Club	6	2	38
Taylor Walker	2012	Round 5	Adelaide Football Club	6	1	37
Robbie Gray	2010	Round 6	Port Adelaide Football Club	5	4	34
Eddie Betts	2015	Round 5	Adelaide Football Club	5	3	33
Jay Schulz	2015	Round 5	Port Adelaide Football Club	5	1	31
Matthew Robran	1999	Round 6	Adelaide Football Club	5	0	30

Career Goal Total

Player	Club	Goals	Behinds	Accuracy	Games	Goals/Game
Warren Tredrea	Port Adelaide Football Club	30	31	49.2%	23	1.30
Brett Ebert	Port Adelaide Football Club	26	15	63.4%	16	1.63
Taylor Walker	Adelaide Football Club	25	14	64.7%	9	2.78
Justin Westhoff	Port Adelaide Football Club	25	10	71.4%	16	1.56
Andrew Mcleod	Adelaide Football Club	24	14	63.2%	27	0.89
Robbie Gray	Port Adelaide Football Club	22	13	62.0%	11	2.00
Scott Welsh	Adelaide Football Club	22	10	68.8%	13	1.69
Jay Schulz	Port Adelaide Football Club	22	6	78.6%	10	2.20
Peter Vardy	Adelaide Football Club	21	11	65.6%	8	2.63
Chad Cornes	Port Adelaide Football Club	20	16	55.6%	24	0.83

Career Brownlow Votes

Player	Club	Votes	Games	Votes/Game
Josh Francou	Port Adelaide Football Club	14	15	0.93
Mark Ricciuto	Adelaide Football Club	11	18	0.61
Gavin Wanganeen	Port Adelaide Football Club	10	17	0.59
Andrew McLeod	Adelaide Football Club	10	27	0.37
Patrick Dangerfield	Adelaide Football Club	10	13	0.77
Scott Thompson	Adelaide Football Club	9	23	0.39
Chad Cornes	Port Adelaide Football Club	9	24	0.38
David Rodan	Port Adelaide Football Club	8	11	0.73
Justin Westhoff	Port Adelaide Football Club	7	15	0.47
Sam Jacobs	Adelaide Football Club	7	9	0.78

Games Played

Player	Club	Showdowns
Kane Cornes	Port Adelaide Football Club	27
Andrew Mcleod	Adelaide Football Club
Chad Cornes	Port Adelaide Football Club	24
Tyson Edwards	Adelaide Football Club
Warren Tredrea	Port Adelaide Football Club	23
Simon Goodwin	Adelaide Football Club
Scott Thompson	Adelaide Football Club
Graham Johncock	Adelaide Football Club	22
Brendon Lade	Port Adelaide Football Club
Michael Doughty	Adelaide Football Club	21

SANFL Showdowns

Since the Adelaide Crows were accepted into the South Australian National Football League in 2014, Showdown fixtures between the Crows' SANFL team and the Port Adelaide Magpies have taken place twice each season.

Year

Date

Rd

Home Team

Score

Away Team

Score

Ground

Crowd

Winner

HRT

H2H

Report

1

2014

4 May

5

Adelaide

13.9 (87)

Port Adelaide

20.12 (132)

Clare Oval

5,312

Port Adelaide by 45

Won

+1

[14]

2

26 July

14

Port Adelaide

15.16 (106)

Adelaide

7.12 (54)

Alberton Oval

6,196

Port Adelaide by 52

Won

+2

[15]

3

2015

17 May

7

Adelaide

15.9 (99)

Port Adelaide

20.14 (134)

Balaklava Oval

2,034

Port Adelaide by 35

Won

+3

[16]

4

28 June

11

Port Adelaide

10.9 (69)

Adelaide

13.11 (89)

Alberton Oval

4,864

Adelaide by 20

Lost

+2

[17]

See also

• West End Slowdown

Notes

References