Last time Port Adelaide faced against the Adelaide Crows, it was a sombre occasion as a record crowd poured into the Power home game to commemorate the life of Phil Walsh who was the Crows’ coach and a Port Adelaide life member.
That record crowd of 53,518 is the biggest attendance at a AFL game at the Adelaide Oval and in South Australia.
In that Round 16 game, Power skipper Travis Boak managed 32 possessions and Hamish Harlett finished with 25 touches. Robbie Gray, Patty Ryder, Chad Wingard and Jay Schulz booted three goals each.
A sluggish start meant the Power went down by three points (113-116).
Earlier in the year, 49,617 fans came to see Port Adelaide defeat the Crows by 24 points (115-91) at Adelaide Oval in Round 5.
This Saturday’s game marks the 40th Showdown, with the Power holding 21:18 against the Crows – a 54 per cent winning record.
Power holds a 60 per cent win percentage against the Crows from the last five games between the two sides.
Port Adelaide won 153-88 during Round 3, 2001 at Football Park in front of a crowd of 40,296 to attain the highest score in an encounter between the two South Australian clubs.
The Power went on a seven-game winning streak against the Crows from Round 22, 2000, ending in Round 22 in 2003.
From Round 5, 2002, fifteen Showdowns finished with fewer than 100 points for both sides.
Recruit Charlie Dixon will play his first Showdown on Saturday, following a solid debut performance against the Saints.
The injury to Matt White means a player will need to come in and replace him. If selected, Jimmy Toumpas will make his club debut in the Showdown.
Previous players to play their first Port game against the Crows include Stephen Daniels, Tom Carr (in Showdown I), Chad Cornes (in Showdown V) and Aaron Young (in Showdown 32).
The Showdown Medal will be presented to the best player on the field. Robbie Gray was the last Power player to win the award in Round 5, 2015.
Josh Francou won the most Showdown Medals of any Power player (both medals in 2001, and another in 2002).
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