NEVER before has there been such a long gap between Showdowns - almost a full year. It is 343 days since Port Adelaide reclaimed the Showdown Shield and put the derby ledger at 23-24.

Never before has a Showdown had an invitation-only crowd of 2240, a late concession after this derby seemed destined to unfold in an empty Adelaide Oval, in line with the COVID protocols from the season opener 84 days ago.

Never before has the opening Showdown of a season been played so late in the calendar with this June 13 dateline replacing May 12, 2018 in the record books.

Never before has a home-and-away season had just one derby.

Never before has Port Adelaide worn the club's traditional black-and-white bars in an AFL Showdown.

This is Showdown 48.

After a 12-week pause - prompted by the COVID-19 restrictions that forced the AFL to enter a shutdown after the opening round in late March - the race to the 2020 national premiership resumes.

And never before has there been a Showdown without a lead-up match within 14 days, be it a pre-season game or a premiership fixture. As it has been said so often, these are unprecedented times.

Adelaide contends the long lay-off has given first-year coach Matthew Nicks and his staff much-appreciated time to explain and drill their players on the adjustments in their new playbook.

Port Adelaide gained in physically preparing its players, in particular key forward Charlie Dixon, who will play his first game since the long-forgotten pre-season; and experienced duo Hamish Hartlett and Brad Ebert, who were on the injury list after the season-opening win against Gold Coast on March 21.

Player form is generally regarded as a week-to-week proposition. So how does a coach - and his match committee - judge a player's capability to hold form on a 12-week delay. More so, when initial training sessions were compromised with groups of eights.

"There's a lot of unknowns," says Port Adelaide captain Tom Jonas.

"But there's going to be 18 blokes on the field for each side and there's going to be a footy to be won - and goals to be kicked."

Some things don't change.

ROUND TWO

Port Adelaide v Adelaide

No modern AFL rivalry has the sting of the Showdown.

In Perth, West Coast has commanded the Western Derby with Fremantle since 1995 with a 30-20 win-loss advantage and a superiority complex built on winning the first nine encounters.

In Queensland, the Q-Clash between Brisbane and Gold Coast is at 12-6 in favour of the long-established Brisbane.

In Sydney, the Battle of the Bridge also has the city's first AFL team - Sydney - lead Greater Western Sydney 11-7 ... and despite the heat on each side of the grand Sydney harbour, the derby has not divided a state that is captivated by four codes of football.

Port Adelaide, unlike the other second licensees in the non-Victorian AFL markets, set up the great rivalry by standing up early in the Showdown story. It won the first derby in 1997 at Football Park, it shared the trophy three times in the first six Showdowns and the traditional club from Alberton had a 10-4 lead on the ledger by the end of 2003.

Port Adelaide on Saturday night is expected to level the Showdown count - for the first time since May 12, 2018 - at 24-24.

Why?

Port Adelaide has the more settled line-up. Port Adelaide has the more-threatening attack, particularly with the return of key forward Charlie Dixon. Adelaide put up its lowest score in a derby (5.14) in Showdown 47 last year - and since then has moved on derby specialist Eddie Betts (back to Carlton).

Port Adelaide has the more dynamic midfield, led by a more-accomplished ruckman in premiership winner Scott Lycett. This is not to under-estimate the quality of the Adelaide midfield led by captain Rory Sloane and All-Australian Matt Crouch that is challenged to respond to its second-term fade-out against Sydney in the season opener at Adelaide Oval.

Showdowns are classically portrayed as games that are to be won in the contests. But having first use of the ball also has to be matched with efficient and effective movement from the stoppage. This derby sets up a must-watch comparison on the influences of Port Adelaide pairing Xavier Duursma and Karl Amon against Adelaide rivals Brodie Smith and Paul Seedsman.

These pointers have Port Adelaide start as the Showdown favourite carrying the greatest expectation since the derby moved from Football Park to Adelaide Oval in 2014 - and the need to honour the bars after the club fought so hard to present the black-and-white jumper in its 150th season.

But if ever the theme of the Showdown ignoring the premiership table and form has relevance, it is in this derby. Where is the form after a 12-week lay-off?

Port Adelaide will work to an attacking theme - with speed having extra punch in shortened 16-minute quarters - to maximise its advantage in the head-to-head ratings of the forwards.

Adelaide has put defence at the forefront of its new chapter with first-year coach Matthew Nicks. Shortened quarters ease the strain of holding up a wall against the Port Adelaide midfield. And the return of young Adelaide defender Tom Doedee, after more than a year in rehabilitation after a serious knee injury, helps his forward-half team-mates in gaining opportunities from rebound or slingshot plays.

Showdown 48 continues the debate on how the second ruckman can emerge in this year's shortened game. Port Adelaide has field players - in particular Justin Westhoff - to cover Lycett; Adelaide will again look to key forward and former captain Taylor Walker to support specialist ruckman Reilly O'Brien (after discarding former Port Adelaide ruckman-forward Billy Frampton at selection and trading key forward Josh Jenkins to Geelong during the summer).

Showdown 48 will have a national free-to-air television audience with Channel Seven. There will be the well-worn preview line that Showdowns have built a rivalry that ignores everything the premiership table or form suggests. This time, a 12-week shutdown makes the previous match and the ladder more irrelevant than ever.

The Showdown also draws the best from two teams that fear the consequences of losing the derby  ... and the tale of the tape has Port Adelaide better placed to keep the Showdown Shield and square the derby ledger at 24-24.

SELECTION TABLE

Port Adelaide

TWO changes to the line-up that beat Gold Coast in the season opener with the return of key forward Charlie Dixon and defender Riley Bonner, who was a late scratching at Metricon Stadium on March 21 with a leg-muscle strain.

This duo replaces first-year high-flying forward Mitch Georgiades (calf) and defender Jarrod Lienert, who was the late call-up for Bonner on the Gold Coast.

The significant call from the match committee is the selection of five-time Showdown Medallist Robbie Gray, who has his place in the derby questioned after breaking a toe during a weights session last month.

Vice-captain Ollie Wines was ineligible for AFL selection after being suspended by the league for breaching COVID protocols. His comeback from a shoulder injury can continue in the scratch match derby at Adelaide Oval on Saturday afternoon.

Adelaide

IT certainly is a new look for the neighbourhood rival with Adelaide putting three players on show in their first Showdown - first-game teenager Ned McHenry and rookie-listed pair Ben Keays and Ben Crocker who extend their AFL careers from Brisbane and Collingwood respectively.

The significant gain for Adelaide is the return of impressive defender Tom Doedee for his first AFL game after suffering a serious knee injury in the season-opener last year.

This quartet replaces from the 22 who lost by three points to Sydney at Adelaide Oval on March 21 the suspended Tyson Stengle, Carlton recruit Bryce Gibbs, Port Adelaide defector Billy Frampton and inexperienced forward Ben Davis.

THE BIRD SEED

(the small details that count)

Port Adelaide v Adelaide, Adelaide Oval

When: Saturday

Time: 7.10pm

Last time: Port Adelaide 15.11 (101) d Adelaide 5.14 (44) at Adelaide Oval, July 6 last year.

Overall: Port Adelaide 23, Adelaide 24.

Past five games: From the most recent, W L L W L

Scoring averages: Port Adelaide 87, Adelaide 93.

Tightest margin: Three points, twice (Adelaide wins in Showdowns 39 and 45).

Biggest margin: Port Adelaide by 65 points in Showdown 9; Adelaide by 84 points in Showdown 43.

By the venue: Port Adelaide 4, Adelaide 8.

ACROSS THE GREAT DIVIDE

Port Adelaide's coaching panel includes Nathan Bassett, who played 210 AFL games for Adelaide from 1998-2008.

First-year Adelaide coach Matthew Nicks worked as either a development coach, assistant coach or the senior assistant coach at Port Adelaide from 2011-2017. 

Ruckman-forward Billy Frampton was traded to Adelaide last year after three AFL games with Port Adelaide.

QUOTE OF THE PRE-GAME

"They're the highly talented, pretty boys and we have to do whatever we have to do to stop them getting the ball." 

Port Adelaide captain Tom Jonas sums up a defender's task in annoying forwards

TIP 

Port Adelaide by 27 points.