NO match defines expectation for Port Adelaide like the Showdown - and that applies for every Port Adelaide team, including the newest on the block at Alberton with Lauren Arnell's "Inaugurals" in the AFLW. And the themes of the men's derbies carry to AFLW Showdown I at Adelaide Oval on Friday night.

The weight of expectation - if not responsibility to maintain Port Adelaide's strong record in the derby - already sits well with Arnell.

"Every single game for Port Adelaide is very important. Every single time we turn up, we (have to) put our best foot forward," Arnell said while the preliminaries to the Showdown closed with the presentation of the first Showdown Plate at Adelaide Oval on Thursday morning.

Showdowns are built on the foundation of Port Adelaide's win in the first men's AFL derby at Football Park in April 1997 that set up the script to ignore form, results, premiership rankings, favouritism - even weather forecasts.

"The plan is to live up to the Showdown reputation," says Arnell. "We have prepared as best we can - and we cannot wait to put our best foot forward for four quarters."

Port Adelaide's form line is at a stark contrast to Adelaide that has a four-game winning streak in defence of its AFLW title - and on Sunday rewrote the league's record books with a 96-point win against Greater Western Sydney. Arnell's "Inaugurals" are dealing with a flat start and strong finish against Gold Coast at Bond University where the lesson of the day was the importance of contested football to the Port Adelaide playbook.

"We are developing and understanding what our best footy looks like - and we showed it two weeks ago (for the first win against Sydney at Alberton Oval)," Arnell said. "We will look to do that again in the Showdown.

"Contest will be crucial.

"We need to return to the team brand of footy that we play at Port Adelaide. The connection for us is vital. Without giving too much away, we return to our best footy."

That brand is built on hard tackling - and there is the question of how such an approach will be rewarded by the whistle in the derby.

"We will control what we will control," Arnell said. "We will look to bring a lot of hot contests ...

"We will focus on our footy. It is widely known that our brand across five weeks has been about really hot contests - and we will bring that. I am really excited for all our Port Adelaide people to see that."

Arnell is not fearing the prospect of Adelaide trying to turn the derby into a shoot-out and thereby win the Showdown Plate with its noted scoring power.

"High-scoring footy is the best type of footy," Arnell said. "Yeah ... (we can match Adelaide in a shoot-out)."

The midfield - the critical gearbox to any Australian football game - pits two of the AFLW's superstars in Ebony Marinoff and Anne Hatchard against Port Adelaide's Rising Star duo of Hannah Ewings and Abbey Dowrick, along with the power of Maria Moloney.

"We have a pretty young midfield, but we also have a quickly developing and connecting midfield," Arnell said. "They do have a nice little challenge ahead of them (in the derby)."

The midfield will live to the ruck contest led by Port Adelaide's basketball convert Olivia Levicki again carrying the challenge left by the absence of Liz McGrath (hamstring).

"Levicki has played five games of AFLW and she has a nice little challenge coming up against Montana McKinnon and Caitlin Gould, who we see has played a fair bit more forward this year," Arnell said. "It will be a nice challenge for Olivia."

Unlike the men's derby, the first in the women’s game has not had the now-expected pre-game verbal shots fired to stoke a sporting rivalry now regarded as one of the best in Australian sport.

"I'm more than happy for (others) to build this up," Arnell said. "But it is not placid (in the build-up). There are two very proud football clubs that are looking forward to the first women's Showdown.

"We did ask (2004 premiership hero and Showdown agitator) Chad Cornes to speak to the group on Tuesday (while he is on leave). That was fantastic insight into Chad's experiences ... it was great. Chad spoke to the Showdown rivalry - it is relevant for us. At the forefront for us is how we put our best foot forward for four quarters of footy.

"Both clubs, being so proud - and the history between both clubs - allows for an epic Showdown for us."

Port Adelaide's players trained on Adelaide Oval on Wednesday night to get a feel for the perfectly presented venue that will have the minute leading into the first bounce echo with the club's Never Tear Us Apart anthem.

"And there was a real vibe," Arnell said of the open training session. "This venue is amazing. Our group absolutely loves Adelaide Oval. The vibe is unreal.

"Our players are excited. The group is really excited. The young generation of footballers ... I played when COVID left us with no crowds; my team-mates really struggled with that. So, we think this is a fantastic opportunity to embrace what we know will be a wonderful atmosphere."

This derby - unlike any of the men's variety - has a significant difference in Port Adelaide holding the core of Adelaide's original leadership group with Erin Phillips, Ange Foley and Justine Mules. This trio also has a sound insight on how Adelaide plays.

"With Erin, Ange and Justine, there is some level of insight for us," Arnell said. "Leigh Matthews in his reign at Brisbane had the philosophy, you can watch as much as you want (of the opposition), but at the end of the day you have to beat them. Forget closed training sessions, hiding things and secrets ... footy is footy. You have to go out there to win the game."

Foley warmed up for the derby with an aggressive tone against Gold Coast and is expected to set the agenda, particularly if Adelaide seeks to target - as other teams have - Phillips while the AFLW pioneer works between the goalsquare and the centre square.

"I expect every one of our players to bring the contest," Arnell said. "And I expect it to be a hotly contested game of footy."

Friday night’s match begins at 7.30pm.