Roar Guru
Port Adelaide maestro Robbie Gray has kicked six goals to inspire his AFL club to a comeback five-point win against arch rivals Adelaide.
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Final score
Port Adelaide Power 14.11.95
Adelaide Crows 14.6.90
It’s the first Showdown of the year in one of the biggest derbies in the country, the South Australia match-up between Port Adelaide and the Adelaide Crows at the picturesque Adelaide Oval. Join The Roar for live scores and a blog from 5:10pm (AEST).
For these two games every year, forget ladder positions, you can almost forget form, because there is always everything to play for between these two local rivals.
However, there will be one form line that will be of particular note to the Power team, and that is the five-match winning streak that the Crows are currently enjoying in this fixture.
The last start between these two sides saw a Crows victory in Round 20 last year 18.22 (130) to 7.4 (46). Ouch.
So given both teams have had a stop-start kind of season, you would think that Port have a little more to play for this evening.
The Crows are travelling quite well, at least in terms of ladder position, enjoying third place, while their local rivals have seen a strong start to the season fall to the wayside as they hover outside the top 8 in 11th.
But those ladder positions can be slightly deceiving as well, particularly when you consider the rampant soft tissue injury epidemic hitting the Crows clubhouse.
Also, throw in the news yesterday that Rory Sloane’s foot injury has been upgraded to a Lisfranc injury (an injury that has ended some careers), you can’t help but think that the Crows are surprisingly ripe for the picking here.
With Paddy Ryder back after a solid last round return on the bitumen of Optus stadium, expect the Power to take it right up to their local rivals, in a hotly contested game that will be closer than current form suggests.
Plus, when you are bringing in players the calibre of Chad Wingard, Tom Rockliff and Sam Powell-Pepper, that is a potent line up of names to bring into any side.
Prediction
I’m going to tip the underdog Power here to come out firing and take it to their more favoured opponent. This match will be decided by passion, and if the returning names can’t get Port up to rectify the last start demolition against Adelaide, then I don’t know what will.
Port Adelaide by 11 points
Join The Roar for live scores and a blog of the match, starting from 5:10pm (AEST).