Darren Mead, pictured here in the iconic Prison Bar guernsey, became the first player to represent the club in 100 games in the SANFL and 100 matches in the AFL.

DARREN MEAD became the first player to represent the Port Adelaide Football Club in 100 games in the SANFL - AND 100 matches in the AFL.

He wore the traditional black-and-white bars in 116 SANFL league games from 1989, after rebuffing VFL club Essendon as the 107th pick in the 1988 national draft.

He wore teal in 122 AFL games as a member of the inaugural Port Adelaide squad for national league duty.

And less than 12 months after Mead retired at the end of the 2002 season, Port Adelaide wore the bars for the first time in the AFL - in the heritage round clash with Carlton at Football Park, honouring the 1914 Champions of Australia team.

"It would have been absolutely ... how can I describe it; wearing that jumper would have meant the world to me," says Mead, the club's inaugural AFL club champion as the 1997 John Cahill Medallist.

Darren Mead pictured in the famous black-and-white guernsey, however he was unfortunately was not given the opportunity to wear it at a national league level.

Mead grew up as a Port Adelaide fan. His devotion to the Port Adelaide Football Club - as highlighted by ignoring Essendon - is captured in his love for the black-and-white symbol adopted in 1902.

True to the Port Adelaide tradition - father passing the flame to son - Mead had his colt Jackson learn how to wear the bars, the lace-up bars, before his transition to the Port Adelaide player list.

"I kept my reserves jumper - and I put it on Jackson; some traditions are worth passing on," Mead says. "I remember how I had to learn to lace up the jumper when I started ..."

Mead returns to Adelaide Oval on Saturday night with the honour of kicking the first goal.

Father and son Jackson and Darren Mead pictured at Alberton. Image: PAFC.

His greater pride will be in seeing today's senior Port Adelaide team honour the past - and make the case for the future - by wearing the bars for just the second time in a Showdown. Past, present and future all wrapped up in one event that is not only significant to the Port Adelaide Football Club but the game of Australian football itself.

"That jumper cannot be lost to Australian football," Mead says. "It is more than Port Adelaide. It is an iconic part of the game, it is part of the history of Australian football.

"The AFL cannot allow that jumper to be lost to a museum. If every other club is allowed to honour its past, so should Port Adelaide be able to wear black-and-white bars to respect its past.

"Showdowns are perfect. Both Showdowns. I can't see why it is a problem to wear that jumper in all Showdowns. It would add greater spice to the match. It creates the perfect image for a game based on an intense rivalry - and the memory of how football took its next step as a national game when Port Adelaide sought to enter the AFL in 1990."

Steven Motlop, donning the bars, celebrates a goal with teammates during the 2020 Showdown. Image: AFL Photos.

There are two fascinating elements to the traditional bars - how does a Port Adelaide player feel in black-and-white and what responsibility does the player carry in donning the jumper that defined the club during the 20th century?

"You feel super human when you put on that jumper," says Mead, a three-time premiership player at Alberton (1994, 1995 and 1996). "You walk taller. I felt 10 feet tall. You feel stronger. You are filled with pride - you almost needed to tighten the laces even harder to hold all that pride in. There is real power in that jumper.

"And massive responsibility. It is not just about winning in that jumper - it is about the way you go about playing your football.

"I have been a Port Adelaide supporter all my life. I felt the responsibility that comes with wearing that jumper - and the importance as a leader to pass on that tradition to the players who followed me. You knew that once you went onto the football field wearing that black-and-white jumper you could not let down your club, your team-mate, your fans, yourself ... that is a huge responsibility,

"But that jumper also filled you with the confidence that you could come back from anywhere. It was living Port Adelaide tradition. Yep, you felt super human."

Mead was part of the first Port Adelaide team to play - and win - in the derby that divides South Australia along clear lines of loyalty. He was the best-afield in many judges' eyes, including the umpires who awarded the Brownlow Medal votes. April 20, 1997 at Football Park ... and the tradition continues.

"The Showdown lives up to everything that is an amazing rivalry," Mead says of a derby that has a 27-25 count in Port Adelaide's favour.

"You know why no team ever feel they are 10 goals better than the rivals? Because this game kicks you in the butt if you underestimate the opponent. No-one wants to lose to their rival in the same city. That spirit of rivalry has brought prestige to these games.

"There is a real mental side to the Showdown. There is nothing wrong with being the underdog in a Showdown - that image of being the dog that won't stop trying to win in the fight is the Showdown.

Jackson Mead pictured in his first ever AFL Showdown. Image: AFL Photos.

"That is why the Showdown rarely becomes a blow out. The game delivers. And sometimes with the most remarkable endings - Jordan Dawson last year, Steven Motlop before that.

"If you put together the top-10 moments in AFL finishes, the Showdown would dominate.

"So, I can't think of a better game to have the best jumper in Australian football. Let's see the bars in all Showdowns."

The 53rd derby begins at 7pm. Mead will have the ceremonial first kick at goal at 6.40pm and be Tim Ginever's special guest in the half-time show on the Oval's screens.