ADELAIDE OVAL will on Saturday host its 200th AFL match when Port Adelaide hosts Geelong.
To celebrate, it seemed an opportune time to check out some of the Oval’s records.
Since Port beat Melbourne by eight points in the first AFL game at the venue back in 2011 in front of 29,340 people before its redevelopment, the club has played a further 106 games there – the most by any team.
Unsurprisingly Adelaide is the next best with 104 games at the venue, dubbed by some as the Portress.
For those doing the maths at home, each Showdown is included in both team's totals.
While Port Adelaide boasts a very admirable win rate at its AFL home of 62.26 per-cent (66 wins, 40 losses), that percentage ranks third in the AFL behind West Coast’s 69.23 per-cent (nine wins, four losses) and the Demons who have won 10 of their 15 games at the venue for a 66.67 per-cent win rate.
The Crows (59.73 per-cent) are fourth but can lay claim to the biggest win at the venue, a 138-point win against Brisbane in August 2016.
Port Adelaide’s biggest win at Adelaide Oval was a 115-point drubbing of Gold Coast in August 2017, when Sam Gray booted six goals.
Gray’s former forward teammate Jay Schulz holds the record for most goals in a single game at Adelaide Oval, having nailed eight against the Western Bulldogs in 2014. Schulz also booted seven against Brisbane there in the same year.
Robbie Gray has also kicked six goals at the oval twice so far. Gray leads Port Adelaide for total goals at Adelaide Oval with 133 in his 94 games there while Crow Taylor Walker leads all comers with 197 in 90 games.
Port Adelaide’s Travis Boak has played more games than anyone else on the hallowed turf and is the only player to play more than 100 games there (103). Adelaide’s Rory Laird (96 games), and Port’s Ollie Wines (95) and Robbie Gray (94) are the next best.
A total of 6,892,598 people have attended AFL games at Adelaide Oval (3,242,965 at Port Adelaide home games), with the 1,016,514 that came through the turnstiles when it was first redeveloped in 2014 (at an average of 46,205 per game) holding the record for most in a single season.
A 2017 finals match between Geelong and Adelaide holds the venue’s record for the biggest individual AFL crowd with 53,817, while for a regular season game, the 2017 Showdown crowd at Port Adelaide’s home game was next best with 53,698.
For the record the 2136 that attended the Hawthorn v Gold Coast game in the 2020 COVID-affected season was the lowest AFL attendance recorded, while the lowest Showdown Crowd (2240) also came that season.
For the record Port Adelaide has faced this week’s opponent Geelong at Adelaide Oval on eight occasions with the sides splitting the ledger four wins apiece. The Power has tasted victory in two of the last three encounters between the sides at the venue – both qualifying finals in 2020 and 2021.
