Get set for a massive Showdown this Saturday night

South Australia will come to a standstill when the Power and Crows lock horns in Showdown XLII at the Adelaide Oval this Saturday night.

For the first time ever, both Port and Adelaide have started their seasons 2-0, and after huge wins in their first home matches of the season, occupy first and second place on the ladder respectively.

It therefore has the potential to be the biggest Showdown yet, eclipsing the inaugural fixture in 1997, the Ultimate Showdown in 2005, and the Phil Walsh Memorial Showdown in 2015.

With that in mind, let’s look back at the history of the match.

In the early 1990s, a bid by the Port Adelaide Magpies to enter the AFL was rejected, and in response, the SANFL created a composite team, to be known as the Adelaide Crows, which entered the competition in 1991.

Much like the West Coast Eagles, Brisbane Bears and Sydney Swans at the time, the Crows were the only team representing their home state, until Port Adelaide won an AFL license in 1994.

However, they had to wait until a vacancy came up in the 16-team line-up, which occurred when the Bears and Fitzroy Lions merged at the end of 1996 season to become the Brisbane Lions.

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Port then entered the competition in 1997, but because there was already an existing team in the AFL called the Magpies (Collingwood), they had to alter their name and therefore they became the Port Adelaide Power.

South Australian fans did not have to wait long for the inaugural Showdown between the Crows and Power at Football Park, with the new boys on the block causing a surprise, winning by 11 points and showing they would be a force to be reckoned with.

The John Cahill-coached side missed the finals on percentage that year, while the Crows, then coached by Malcolm Blight, not only won the return fixture by seven points in Round 19, but also claimed the first of their two consecutive premierships.

The two teams traded victories in each of the following three seasons, leaving the head-to-head tied at 4-all by the end of 2000.

From that point, the Power established dominance, moving ahead 10-4 by the end of 2003 after winning seven consecutive meetings between Showdowns VIII and XIV.

The Crows started to peg it back in 2004, winning eight of ten meetings between Showdowns XV and XXIV inclusive, to leave the head-to-head at 12-all after Round 3, 2008.

This included their historic finals meeting in 2005, dubbed ‘The Ultimate Showdown’.

After a tense first half, Port Adelaide’s premiership defence ended in humiliation, as the Crows won by 83 points; to this day it remains the highest winning margin in any meeting between the pair.

However, the Power won Showdown XXV by 12 points to regain its lead in the head-to-head, and to this day it has not relinquished this advantage. They enter Showdown XLII this Saturday night leading 21-20.

Another notable and memorable Showdown came in July 2015, when the two clubs put aside their rivalry to unite as one following the shocking death of Crows coach and former Port assistant Phil Walsh earlier that month.

Walsh was a highly respected assistant in his two stints at the Power, first between 1999 and 2008, and again in 2014, before he was poached by the Crows to become their head coach in 2015. He was killed by his son, Cy, who was later found not guilty due to mental incompetence.

The men from West Lakes were tracking well under the 55-year-old until his sudden passing in the early hours of July 3, 2015. It rocked not just the AFL world, but also the Australian sporting landscape.

Such was the way he was respected by both the Crows and Power, both clubs agreed to cast hostilities aside and unite as one for Showdown XXIX, which was broadcast nationally by the Seven Network.

Though it was a Port Adelaide home game, the club’s supporters invited their Crows counterparts to join in on the pre-match march from Rundle Street Mall to the Oval, where the two teams broke through a banner as one.

Showdown XXIX, played in front of a post-reconfiguration record crowd of 53,518, went down to the wire, with the Crows getting home by just three points, despite being held goalless in the final quarter, as Port mounted a comeback that eventually fell just short.

Crows midfielder Scott Thompson won the one-off Phil Walsh Medal, presented by his daughter Quinn.

We move to the present now, and another crowd in excess of 50,000 is expected.

The Power, whose coach Ken Hinkley is under pressure to return his side to the finals after two consecutive absences from September, backed up their upset win over the Sydney Swans on the road in Round 1 by defeating Fremantle by 89 points, to be sitting first on percentage.

The thumping win over the Dockers was marshaled by a six-goal haul from Robbie Gray, while Charlie Dixon kicked four majors. Round 1 Rising Star nominee Sam Powell-Pepper also impressed for the second week in a row, adapting well to the pressure cooker of AFL football.

The Crows, on the other hand, backed up their Round 1 demolition of the Greater Western Sydney Giants by defeating Hawthorn at the MCG, coming from 24 points down at quarter-time to notch up their first win over the Hawks since 2011.

Their opening fortnight is proof enough that they are still contenders for the premiership in 2017, their 2016 season having ended on a sour note when a loss to the West Coast Eagles in Round 23 cost them the double chance.

After defeating North Melbourne in their elimination final, the Crows eventually had their season ended by a semi-final defeat at the hands of the Swans at the SCG.

But Don Pyke’s men have emerged from an off-season of soul searching stronger than before, as they attempt to take that one step further this season.

And so, the stage is set for what should be a massive Showdown, between teams one and two on the AFL premiership ladder.