MATTHEW Primus has conceded he cannot find a replacement for Robbie Gray - in Port Adelaide's forward line at least.

While Primus had previously said David Rodan was a similar player to Gray when in the middle, he admitted on Friday that Gray was irreplaceable in the forward line.

Gray will miss Sunday's Showdown against the Crows after undergoing a knee reconstruction thanks to a rupture ACL suffered in the dying seconds of the round four loss to Collingwood.

"Robbie's unique, we don't have anyone who can sort of do what he can do forward," he said.

"We can't go like-for-like with him."

The Power have worries at the other end of the ground, too, with Adelaide's imposing duo Kurt Tippett and Taylor Walker in good form.

But Primus has backed Alipate Carlile to hold Tippett, while also asking for a bit of luck.

"Hope they get injured," he joked when asked how he would deal with 202cm Tippett and ruckman Sam Jacobs.

"I think Carlile, who will get the majority of the time on Tippett, has been outstanding.

"He's played very well against [Michael] Hurley, he dominated [Ben] Reid, he played a good game on the weekend against [Travis] Cloke, he was good in round one against [Justin] Koschitzke."

Showdowns have historically produced some fiery affairs.

Rod Jameson's punch-up with Port Adelaide forward Scott Cummings in the inaugural match was a highlight, while Mark Bickley's infamous elbow to Darryl Wakelin saw the Crows' premiership captain suspended for five matches in 2002.

Primus said he "couldn't help it get carried away with the build-up" towards Sunday's Showdown and, while Sanderson said he had asked his players to "embrace the rivalry", he said it had gone too far in the past.

"I think it'd be foolish for any of our boys to start swinging," Sanderson said on Friday.
 
Harry Thring covers Adelaide and Port Adelaide news for AFL.com.au. Follow him on Twitter: @AFL_Harry.