Walker fires Crows to Showdown win

Updated April 29, 2012 20:30:24

A six-goal haul to Taylor Walker proved the difference for Adelaide as the Crows won Showdown XXXII over rivals Port Adelaide by 19 points to secure a spot in the top four.

However Walker may face a nervous wait for the review panel, after the Crows forward collided with Jacob Surjan's shoulder after sliding into a contest with his knees.

Walker picked himself up to lead the Crows to a tense 16.14 (110) to 14.7 (91) win at Football Park following an unlikely comeback by Port Adelaide.

The victory puts Adelaide in the top four under first-year coach Brenton Sanderson, while Port Adelaide is anchored in the bottom eight on one win and four losses.

The Crows now faces Sydney and Geelong in the next two weeks.

"I think our next five going into the bye are all teams going pretty well,'' ruckman Sam Jacobs told Grandstand.

"We won't look past Sydney next week, and Sando has already touched on it - six days and get ready for the Swans.''

Jacobs said Sanderson was happy with the team's effort to seal the win.

"We spoke early in the week about how important Showdowns are to us, these are big games, and Sando just praised us a bit for the way we fought back in the last quarter,'' Jacobs said.

"It doesn't matter where Port is on the ladder or we are on the ladder, you know it's going to be a hard contest," Jacobs added.

"They (Port Adelaide) are the ones in front for the overall total (of Showdown wins), so it's our turn to peg some back.''

Adelaide has won the last two Showdowns - the overall record now stands at 17 wins for Port Adelaide and 15 wins for the Crows.

Adelaide started strongly, with Port Adelaide's defence having no answer to Showdown medallist Patrick Dangerfield, who racked up 12 possessions in the opening quarter on his way to a game-high 39 touches.

Port Adelaide also had to cope with the loss of tall forward Jay Schulz, who was subbed off at half-time after receiving an accidental poke in the eye by Adelaide's Michael Doughty.

Four first-half goals to Walker - including three in a frantic minute and a half at the start of the second term - gave Adelaide a potentially match-winning three-goal lead at the main break which inflated to 26 points in the third quarter.

But out of nowhere Port Adelaide strung five of the next six goals to the final change, including a shot on the run from Brad Ebert, and an heroic snap from Justin Westhoff while falling backwards from deep in the left forward pocket.

It was a six-goals-to-two quarter which lifted the Power back into the contest and put Port Adelaide up by three points at the final break.

In the final quarter a booming goal from Graham Johncock gave Adelaide some breathing space, before Walker kicked two more majors to seal the game.

Adelaide: 16.14 (110) - Walker 6, Petrenko 2, Johncock 2, Callinan, Jacobs, Wright, McKernan, Tippett, Thompson.

Port Adelaide: 14.7 (91) - Westhoff 4, Butcher 4, Ebert 2, Broadbent 2, Jacobs, Schulz.

Tags: australian-football-league, sport, adelaide-5000, port-adelaide-5015, sa, australia

First posted April 29, 2012 19:20:34

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ABC Radio Coverage: The Showdown

How and where you can listen to Showdown 30 tonight.

ROUND 4

Port Adelaide v Adelaide at Football Park

Saturday April 16: coverage starts at 5:30pm

AM RADIO: 891 ABC Adelaide, ABC South Australia

DIGITAL RADIO: Grandstand Digital 1

ONLINE: Live streaming here

Details of the rest of AFL Round 4 coverage on 891 ABC Adelaide here

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Showdown Memories with Jarman and Breuer

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Two former players share their memories of the Showdown.

Between them Shane Breuer and Darren Jarman took part in 9 of the toughest matches for a Crows or Power player - a Showdown.

Breuer player in 5 for two wins and three losses, including Showdown 1 that saw the Power win by 11 points.

Darren Jarman missed that first Showdown but went on to play in 8 contests for 4 wins and 4 losses.

In the leadup to Showdown 30, both players joined us to share their memories of those early clashes when the whole town stopped for a match of footy.

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Crows and Power preview: Showdown 30 Round 4

Peter Walsh and Roger Wills preview Showdown 30 as the Crows and Power get ready to meet in Round 4 of the 2011 AFL

Peter Walsh and Roger Wills preview Showdown 30 as the Crows and Power get ready to meet in Round 4 of the 2011 AFL.

With some notable exceptions from Port Adelaide, Peter and Roger delve into the ramifications and the possible outcomes of the round.

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Power axe five for Showdown

Updated April 14, 2011 19:22:00

Port Adelaide has reacted savagely to its poor start to the AFL season, dropping five players for Saturday night's Showdown against Adelaide.

Veteran Kane Cornes and Danyle Pearce lead the axings, which also include Daniel Stewart, Jason Davenport and newcomer Jarrad Irons.

The Power have brought in Steven Salopek, Brett Ebert, Jacob Surgan, Cameron Hitchcock and Michael Pettigrew.

The Crows made two changes, naming Luke Thompson for his AFL debut and recalling Myke Cook for Phil Davis (shoulder) and Scott Stevens (illness).

Two-time premiership ruckman Darren Jolly is out of Collingwood's side for the Friday night game against Richmond because of illness.

Meanwhile, Richmond promoted former Melbourne tall utility Brad Miller for his first Tigers game and also recalled key defender Will Thursfield to bolster its defence against the Magpies.

The Tigers dropped Mitch Morton and Daniel Connors has a leg injury.

In the same week the Suns lost Campbell Brown to suspension, Gold Coast also dropped fellow uncontracted signing Nathan Krakouer for Sunday's Gabba game against Melbourne.

The Suns left out Harvey Bennell as well, but they regained veteran ruckman Josh Fraser and also brought four potential first gamers into the squad - Matt Shaw, Luke Russell, Hayden Jolly and Jack Hutchins.

Hawthorn welcomed back Sam Mitchell and Sam Rioli for Saturday's Launceston game against West Coast, losing Ben Stratton to a season-ending knee injury and leaving out Michael Osborne.

The Eagles brought back Brad Dalziell for Patrick McGinnity.

Essendon dropped Alwyn Davey in favour of Brent Prismall for Saturday's clash with old enemy Carlton, which recalled Lachie Henderson and Simon White at the expense of Brad Thornton and Matthew Watson.

Tom Hawkins has a back injury, forcing him out of Geelong's team for the Saturday night game against Sydney.

Mitch Duncan will also miss the trip because of soreness and the Cats left out Allen Christensen.

They recalled Tom Lonergan, Andrew Mackie and David Wojcinski, while Sydney is unchanged

The Dockers added Garrick Ibbotson, Jay van Berlo and Jesse Chrichton to their extended interchange bench for their home match against North Melbourne, while the Roos included Cameron Pedersen, Daniel Pratt and Ben Warren to their squad of 25.

Fremantle ruckman Aaron Sandilands, who suffered eye damage last week when accidentally poked by Adelaide's Richard Tambling, will train closer to game day and is expected to play.

- AAP

First posted April 14, 2011 18:32:00

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All your Showdown facts, figures and match highlights

The Showdown has become one of the fiercest rivalries in Australian sport, with the match up between the Crows and the Power dividing a state and turning friends into enemies for the day.

The history of this rivalry began in 1997 when Port Adelaide entered the AFL and played against, and beat Adelaide for the first time in Round 4.

The 11 point victory by the underdogs caused mayhem in the town, with the match not only remembered for the upset win but also for the classic footy fight between Scott Cummings and Rod Jameson.

Adelaide gained it's revenge in Round 19 when they defeated the Power by 7 points, and later in the year the Crows went on to claim their first ever AFL premiership.

Since that first year the rivalry has continued to grow, with big crowds and close contests a common occurrence.

Tune in to 891 ABC Adelaide and Grandstand Digital Saturday from 5:30pm for all the action of Showdown #30

Showdown - Facts and Figures

** There has been 29 Showdown's, with Port Adelaide winning 16 and Adelaide 13.

** 12 of the 29 Showdowns have been decided by two goals or less.

** The closest result in a Showdown was in Round 3 2008, when the Crows triumphed by 6 points.

** The biggest crowd was 51,140 in Round 5 2003, when the Power defeated the Crows by 12 points.

** The smallest crowd was in Showdown 31,662 in Showdown 25 in Round 16 2008, when Port Adelaide won by 12 points.

** So far a total of 1,278,983 people have attended the 28 Showdown's, averaging 44,103 people per match.

** The biggest ever margin between the two teams is 83 points, when the Crows beat Port Adelaide in Round 3 2003.

** The biggest winning margin by Port Adelaide is 63 points in Showdown 9 in 2001.

** Adelaide has an average winning margin of 35.69 points per Showdown, while for it's 16 victories, Port wins by an averages 19.77 points.

** The average winning margin of the 29 Showdowns to date is 27.73 points.

** Port Adelaide biggest winning streak is 7 consecutive wins between 2000 and 2004, while the Crows have won 4 Showdowns in row between Round 3 2005 and Round 18 2006.

** In 18 Showdowns, the team ranked highest on the AFL premiership table has claimed victory.

** In all but 5 of the games, the team leading at ? time has gone on to win the match. Port Adelaide is the last team to come from a ? time deficit to claim victory, when they came from 7 points down and kicked 6 final quarter goals to win by 23 points in Round 6, 2010.

** The most number of individual goals kicked in a Showdown is 7. For the Crows, Tony Modra kicked his 7 in the first Showdown in 1997 and Peter Vardy kicked 7 in 1998 while Warren Tredrea booted 7 for the Power in Round 7 2004.

** Josh Francou has claimed the most Brownlow votes in the Showdowns, with 14, while Mark Ricciuto leads the way for Adelaide with 11 votes.

** Andrew McLeod has played in the most number of Showdowns, appearing in 27 throughout his career.

** Josh Carr from Port Adelaide played in 10 Showdowns, and finished his career with a perfect record of 10 wins.

** Nathan van Berlo was the first Crow to make his AFL debut in the Showdown, while Stephen Daniels made his debut for the Power in Showdown 1.

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Port swings the axe ahead of Showdown 30

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The Power have dumped Kane Cornes and Danyle Pearce for Showdown 30.

Port coach Matthew Primus has reacted to the the Powers poor start to the season, making five changes ahead of the Showdown on Saturday night.

Experienced duo Kane Cornes and Danyle Pearce have felt the axe and will miss the Round 4 match with the Crows, in a sign the coach has had enough of below rate performances.

Also out of the side that was thrashed by Geelong are Jason Davenport, Daniel Stewart and Jarrod Irons.

Coming into the lineup are Steven Salopek, Michael Pettigrew, Jacob Surjan, Cameron Hitchcock and small forward Brett Ebert, who will line up for the his first game this year.

Across town there has been less of a reaction to the loss to Fremantle, with two forced changes to the lineup.

Scott Stevens (illness) and Phil Davis (shoulder) are out of the team and will replaced by Myke Cook and Luke Thompson, who will make his debut for the club.

Port Adelaide

B: Logan, Carlile, Trengove
HB: Pettigrew, Chaplin, Surjan
C: Boak, Thomas, Stewart
HF: Broadbent, C Cornes, Gray
F: Ebert, Westhoff, Motlop
R: Brogan, Hamish Hartlett, Rodan

Int: Salopek, Pittard, Hitchcock, O'Shea

Emerg: Banner, Davenport, Irons
In: Ebert, Pettigrew, Salopek, Surjan, Hitchcock
Out: K Cornes, Pearce, Davenport, Stewart, Irons

Adelaide

B: Johncock, Rutten, Tambling
HB: Symes, L. Thompson, van Berlo
C: Martin, Dangerfield, Smith
HF: Knights, Walker, Vince
F: Henderson, Tippett, Jaensch
R: Maric, Thompson, Reilly

Int: Cook, Douglas, McKernan, Otten.

Emerg: Gunston, Moran, Wright
In: Thompson, Cook
Out: Davis (shoulder), Stevens (ill)[an error occurred while processing this directive]

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