ADELAIDE Crows best and fairest, former captain and Brownlow Medallist Mark Ricciuto has called on Crows supporters to not be ‘weak’ and attend Saturday night’s Balfours Showdown XXXIII.

Ricciuto joined on-field rival, Port Adelaide’s Josh Carr, for the portcast - the Official Podcast of the Port Adelaide Football Club.

A tough player on the field who Power supporters loved to hate, Ricciuto reflected on the deep on-field rivalry between the two South Australian sides in the local derby.

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Speaking on the very first Balfours Showdown in 1997, Ricciuto said the Crows’ loss to the Power in the first derby burned in his belly, but was also the start of a classic Australian sporting rivalry.

“We [Adelaide] were looking forward to it, we really wanted to get out there and get the job done”, Ricciuto told the portcast.

“There was a bit of ill-feeling I guess between the Crows and Port and the supporters well before the first Showdown.

“Even before the Crows got into the AFL, Port were trying to get in, so it was always Port against the rest.

“I think that set up the real rivalry at the start.”

Ricciuto has praised efforts to reinvigorate the on and off-field rivalry between the two clubs saying it harks back to the Showdown promotions of the late 1990s and early 2000s.

“It was pumped up off the field, it wasn’t played down like it was for a while a few years ago - I think it should be pumped up,” said Ricciuto of the Showdown.

“The supporters love it, the supporters are the ones that actually feared losing more than the players funnily enough.”

“I used to get around the streets and by the end of the week I was so sick of Crows supporters coming up to me and saying ‘Make sure you win, I’ll have to cop it at work if you don’t’ and all this sort of rubbish.

“In the end I think actually some of our supporters didn’t even go to Showdowns because they feared losing - which is a bit weak.”

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Port Adelaide today ran advertisements in the local Adelaide Advertiser challenging the Crows’ so-called ‘19th man’ to attend the Power’s home game on Saturday night.

Ricciuto says it is a perfect reason for his club’s fans to get to the game.

“I read the paper today and I saw you [Port Adelaide] trying to get the ‘19th man’ down, well if the ‘19th man’ is real get down there, don’t be weak,” he said.

“There’s no reason why they shouldn’t come down, have Port got the fan friendly Crow zones? Gee that’s a bit soft isn’t it!

“Get down there, it will be a great game … form goes out the window, Port played well last week - it will be a ripper!”

Listen to the portcast in full on PTV above, on YouTube or download for free from iTunes.