DARCY Bryne-Jones will never forget his 150th AFL game. A Showdown ... and, even more significantly, the Port Adelaide defender will share the moment with Robbie Gray's 271st and final match on the big stage.
"People have said to me (the 150th) will be overshadowed by Robbie's farewell game," Byrne-Jones said at Alberton on Thursday. "But I don't see it like that at all.
"I see that I get the privilege to play my milestone moment in Robbie's last-ever game. It is a real privilege."
Byrne-Jones certainly will not seek to lead out his team-mates just before 7pm on Saturday.
"Robbie, he can take that stuff ... I am happy waiting in the wings," said Byrne-Jones.
Showdown LII becomes overwhelming for its emotional scripts - the Gray farewell, DBJ's 150th milestone, the intense rivalry between the neighbourhood rivals of Adelaide's western suburbs and the need to deliver a strong finish in a year of unfulfilled promise. There also is the lingering sting of losing Showdown LI on April 1 with a kick after the siren.
"It adds a little bit more pressure (with the need to honour Gray, on top of the usual Showdown themes)," Byrne-Jones said. "History will say we have played milestone games reasonably well. You want to win more (this weekend). But you do need to stick to the processes on how you are actually going to win.
"That is, winning contested ball, outnumbering ... the things that make us play well, that is what we have to focus on - and that is the best way to make sure we send off Robbie in the right way.
"The atmosphere (at a sold-out Adelaide Oval) will be pretty electric. Our fans were at training today and they were loud and up and about. It will be no different on Saturday - it will be a really electric crowd and a great atmosphere.
"The games you remember the most are Showdowns, apart from finals. That says it all in terms of the extra meaning to the Showdowns. They are the games you pencil in at the start of the year as the ones you want to win."
The question of game styles was put on the agenda by Adelaide acting captain Brodie Smith on Tuesday when he emphasised Adelaide's brand of contested football - and highlighted Port Adelaide's strength in uncontested football.
Byrne-Jones suggests no-one should underestimate Port Adelaide's desire for tough football, particularly in a derby.
"(Smith) has his opinion, but we are a really solid, contested team - and uncontested, we have some weapons on the outside," Byrne-Jones responded. "He is probably referring to Connor Rozee and Zak Butters who are really good outside the contest. But we also think they are really tough on the inside as well.
"We are definitely able to stand up to the heat. We will find out on Saturday night, but we go in pretty confident with the way we can play contested footy on the inside and be tough on the outside as well.
"Adelaide does have some strong midfielders who run really well and out-number really well. They attack you with the ball and can come at you very quickly. So, we are going to need to counter that by out-numbering them as much as possible and then use the footy well, limiting our turnovers going forward."
Byrne-Jones makes no apology for Port Adelaide holding a strong attitude of dislike for the neighbour across West Lakes Boulevard.
"There is a big rivalry. Personally, I don't hold anything against them as people," Byrne-Jones said. "But, as a club, I don't really like their club. It is pretty simple. These are the games you always want to win. I lost my first few Showdowns and the one earlier in the year. So, we feel like we owe them one. And we have a big occasion to play for - so, we are really fired up.
"We trained well today. We look forward to playing on Saturday."
Byrne-Jones arrived at Alberton as the 52nd call in the 2013 AFL national draft in which Port Adelaide took Jarman Impey at 21, Mitchell Harvey at 45 and Karl Amon at 68. He has risen above this trio of draft graduates to become Port Adelaide's deputy vice-captain to Tom Jonas and Brownlow Medallist Ollie Wines.
"It feels like it has gone reasonably quick ... and I will be turning 27 next month, so it has not been that quick I guess," Byrne-Jones said. "I have been lucky since I came into the AFL team to play some consistent footy. And I have not missed too many games. It does feel like (150 matches) has come around reasonably quick. I am really grateful for the opportunity the club has given me - and really grateful to have reached this milestone."
An All-Australian defender in 2020, Byrne-Jones recently has joined the half-backs working as forwards in the shuffle to cover injuries or to develop new themes with the Port Adelaide line-up. But "DBJ" does not see himself as a contender to fill any gap in attack left by Gray's retirement.
"No," he replied with an emphatic response.
Port Adelaide will, at best, close the home-and-away season with a 10-12 win-loss record - and the need to address unfulfilled expectation.
"There obviously is some disappointment with how the season has panned out," Byrne-Jones said. "I am sure at the start of the season no-one within the four walls here at Port Adelaide would have thought we would be missing finals (after top-four finishes in the previous two years). We were really confident going into the season. But things have not panned out the way we thought they would. That is the reality of it.
"We have to take learnings from it, review it really hard and then come back next season with a renewed vigour and a real want to play strong footy again.
"Winning on Saturday would give some momentum going into the pre-season. You want to finish the season on a high and go on with the good footy we played last week (with the 84-point win against Essendon). We want to take that into this week. Winning the Showdown will be a small positive in a disappointing year."
As everyone has a favourite Robbie Gray moment, Byrne-Jones has "a few".
"Probably the five goals in a quarter in a Showdown, that was pretty special," said Byrne-Jones recalling the 44th derby in May 2018 that handed Gray the third of his five Showdown Medals and tied the derby ledger at 22-22.
"Obviously, the goal after the siren against Carlton (at the Gabba in 2020) was pretty incredible.
"Like the boys have said - and everyone has said - during the week, it is the bloke Robbie is around the club and the person he is, that is what we will miss the most."
There is relief across the AFL defenders' club that Gray will bid farewell and allow backmen to breathe again. It is a sensation even Byrne-Jones has known, as a rival at training.
"I am very grateful (I never had to play against Gray), but I spent a lot of time on him in pre-season (sessions). Some of the stuff he did on the training track was even more incredible than what he has done on the ground. I am very grateful I never had to play on Robbie in a game."
