PORT ADELAIDE defeated Adelaide by 57 points in Showdown XLVII on Saturday evening to move up to seventh on the AFL ladder.
Robbie Gray was awarded his fifth Showdown Medal - two more than the next best - for his 35-touch, 10-clearance game against the Crows.
Here are some of the talking points from the Power’s win.
Robbie Gray is the Showdown king:
Gray won his fifth Showdown Medal on Saturday night to move two clear of Mark Ricciuto, Josh Francou and Sam Jacobs who have all won three.
The four-time All-Australian won a game-high 16 contested possessions and 10 clearances on Saturday evening.
The silky midfielder/forward also had an equal game-high six inside 50s.
Rockliff back to his best ball-winning ways:
Tom Rockliff has had a prolific season in his second year at Alberton, collecting his seventh 30+ disposal game for 2019.
Despite missing a month with a hamstring injury, Rockliff racked up a game-high 36 touches in Showdown XLVII.
Coming off a record-breaking 57 disposals for the Magpies in the SANFL last weekend, the ball-magnet was huge against the Crows, also having 11 marks and five tackles.
Midfield responded strongly:
Along with the external media, senior coach Ken Hinkley put the pressure on his midfield during the week and they responded in strong fashion.
Despite losing Travis Boak in the warm-up - replaced by Sam Powell-Pepper - the midfield group were huge against the Crows, led by co-captain Ollie Wines.
Wines (34 disposals), Rockliff (36), Robbie Gray (35) controlled the midfield battle, while Powell-Pepper set the tone early with some crucial contested wins.
Second-largest Showdown win for the Power:
Port moved up to seventh on the ladder after Saturday evening’s 57-point win over the Crows, to leapfrog its cross-town rivals.
The Power now sit just ahead of Adelaide on percentage, thanks to the club’s second-largest victory in a Showdown.
It was the highest winning margin over the Crows since Round 2, 2014 (55 points), with the biggest victory coming in Round 3, 2001 (65 points).
And Adelaide’s 44 points was its lowest total score since it managed just 42 against Sydney in the 2012 Quarter Final.
