I Got Up For Showdowns: Carr
Port Adelaide favourite son Josh Carr exclusively told PortAdelaideFC.com.au that Showdowns are finals-like games and that he always took the opportunity to pla
Listen to the portcast with Carry and Roo on PTV above. Can't hear the podcast? Listen on YouTube.
JOSH Carr says that he always got up for the big games of his football career and that Showdowns between Port Adelaide and the Crows were the perfect opportunity to replicate a finals-like atmosphere.
Speaking exclusively to PortAdelaideFC.com.au on the portcast, the club’s Official Podcast, Carr said that his final ever AFL game holds a special place in his heart.
“My last one which was a Showdown … probably stands out as my greatest memory, but I suppose the night before the Ramsgate, there’s good memories there as well,” said Carr.
Both Port Adelaide and the Crows have revisited the infamous Ramsgate incident in 2012 with Carr and Ricciuto divulging exactly what happened on the night both sides came together at a local hotel in 2002.
[ Related: Hear it from Carry and Roo on the portcast ]
Carr said his former mentor and premiership coach Mark Williams used Showdowns to replicate finals-like environments during Port’s ladder-topping successes in the early 2000s.
“It was fantastic to be a part of big games, Choco’s [Williams] big thing was always playing well in big games and so playing in Showdowns was an opportunity to try and play well.”
Ricciuto echoed Carr’s thoughts, saying the Showdown rivalry equally inspired the Crows against the Power.
“Just playing showdowns in general, people, good footballers are competitive beasts - and they’re where you got to have a crack,” said Ricciuto.
He said the history of Port Adelaide’s failed entry into the AFL in 1990, subsequently replaced by the ‘composite’ Adelaide Crows, was the root of the rivalry between the two teams.
[ Watch: Port blocked from entering the AFL in 1990 ]
“It’s always been Port against the rest and there was a bit of ill feeling I guess between the Crows and Port, and their supporters well before even the first Showdown,” said Ricciuto.
“I think that set up the real rivalry.”
Both Carr and Ricciuto used the portcast to encourage fans of both sides to get to the match. You can listen to the portcast above or download from iTunes.
Tickets are selling fast and can be purchased from Ticketmaster by clicking here.
Balfours Showdown XXXIII starts at 7.10pm on Saturday night.
