A new chapter in the rivalry between Port Adelaide and the Adelaide Crows will be opened when they face off in the first ever AFL Women’s Showdown at the Adelaide Oval on Friday night.
For over a quarter of a century, we’ve seen their men’s teams go to war twice every season (with the exception of 2020, when only one Showdown was held) and regardless of where they are on the ladder, it is always a highlight in the city of churches.
Some of the more memorable matches include the inaugural match, which Port Adelaide won by eleven points, as well as the memorial edition in 2015, which the Crows won by three points to honour their departed coach Phil Walsh.
Now, it’ll be the women’s turn to shine at the Oval, with bragging rights in Adelaide up for grabs as both sides try to make a statement over the other.
After losing its season-opening Grand Final rematch against Melbourne at home, Matthew Clarke’s Crows have hit back with a vengeance in the past month, winning its past four matches to move up to second place on the ladder.
Last week the ladies from West Lakes registered the biggest winning margin in the competition’s short history, thrashing the hapless GWS Giants by 96 points and restricting the league’s perennial minnows to just a solitary point – which came seconds before three-quarter-time.
Leading the riot act were McKenzie Dowrick and Anne Hatchard, who kicked seven goals between them, while Ebony Marinoff continued her excellent individual season with 36 disposals as the Crows swamped over what could only be described as a shambolic GWS defence.
The result further exposed the gulf between them and the league’s stragglers, and was also the second time this year that they had kept the Giants goalless after also keeping them to zero goals in Sydney the previous season.
It goes to show that despite the loss of three players to their expansion rivals, the Crows are still right up there among the contenders as the other clubs attempt to take away their premiership crown later this year.
While the Crows have hit form in recent weeks, Port are slowly but surely making some good progress in its first season, registering a draw against Carlton in round three before thrashing the Sydney Swans by eleven goals at home in round four to register their first ever AFLW win.
Lauren Arnell’s side were brought crashing back down to earth last week, failing to kick a goal in the first half as they fell well short of the Gold Coast Suns on the holiday strip last week, losing by 14 points after being as much as 32 down at three-quarter-time.
Now the Power will need to pick themselves back up for what will be the biggest match of their inaugural season – facing their cross-town rivals who in six seasons have already set the benchmark for the rest of the competition.
MELBOURNE, AUSTRALIA – SEPTEMBER 11: Erin Phillips of the Power kicks the ball during the 2022 S7 AFLW Round 03 match between the Carlton Blues and the Port Adelaide Power at Ikon Park on September 11, 2022 in Melbourne, Australia. (Photo by Michael Willson/AFL Photos via Getty Images)
Lighting the fuse for the inaugural AFLW Showdown will be the fact that three players in Port Adelaide’s side – Erin Phillips, Justine Mules and Angela Foley – will all be coming up against the majority of their premiership-winning Crows teammates from last season.
Just how their presence in teal blue will be received by the Crows supporters at the Oval this Friday night will remain to be seen, not least Phillips who made the high-profile move down the road to Alberton, where her father played in the SANFL, at the end of last season.
Port will be banking on their experience if they are to cause a major upset over the Crows, and they only need to look as far back as April 20, 1997 for inspiration.
Why, you ask? That’s because it was on that day that their men’s side, just four matches into their AFL existence, won the first ever Showdown, by beating eventual two-time premiers the Crows at the since-demolished Football Park.
For the most part, the Power have maintained a positive head-to-head record in the men’s Showdowns, its’ biggest advantage being 11-5 after Showdown XVI in 2004, the year they won their only AFL flag to date.
In fact, in each of the three years where either club won the flag (Adelaide in 1997 and 1998, and Port in 2004), the other club won the first of the two Showdowns that year; with the eventual premiers returning serve in the second.
Friday night’s first ever AFLW Showdown therefore promises to be exciting and intriguing as the Crows look to make a statement over Phillips’ Port Adelaide side, which will be hoping to emulate their men’s 1997 feat in winning the first intrastate meeting between the pair.
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