SOUTH Australia's two AFL clubs have never seen eye to eye.
Port Adelaide – one of the country's most successful state league clubs dating back to 1870 – would have been in the national competition in 1991 if not for the other nine SANFL teams taking legal action.
Instead, the Adelaide Football Club was born.
The Crows entered the AFL in 1991, winning their first flag in 1997 and going back-to-back the following year.
Port Adelaide, adopting the Power moniker and changing their traditional black and white colours to avoid a clash with Collingwood, joined the League in 1997.
Enter the Showdown.
The first encounter between Adelaide's cross-town rivals was a fiery affair, with the new boys stunning the Crows and claiming an 11-point win. Showdown 12, played in round 20, 2002, would be played with no less feeling.
The throwdown: rumble at the Ramsgate
Three months ahead of this match and one day after Port won Showdown 11, players from both sides met at the Ramsgate Hotel at Henley Beach.
Tempers quickly frayed, and Power tagger Josh Carr and Crows skipper Mark Ricciuto were in the thick of it as the action spilled out to the car park.
"[Carr] went to knee me in the private bits," Ricciuto recalled last year. "I think [he] might have gone flying across the front of a bonnet when I threw him."
Up to 10 players became involved before the teams thought it wise to split.
"We thought, right, we better get out of here, we could hear the cop cars coming," Ricciuto said.
How they billed Showdown 12
Said Crows defender Nigel Smart during a radio interview ahead of the long-awaited re-match, "We just want to get into them and bash them".
Power coach Mark Williams admitted the stakes were raised. "There's a lot more feeling in the town this week. People who aren't interested in football normally (are) interested in this game. It's as simple as that."
Adding to the spice for a record Football Park crowd of 50,275, the sides were second and third on the ladder.
AFL Record writer Greg Hobbs tipped a great game and a tight win for the Crows. He was half right.
How the match unfolded
Opposing ruckmen Matthew Primus and Rhett Biglands got into it early.
With a hamstrung Ricciuto sidelined, his Ramsgate sparring partner Carr made his presence felt.
Carr roughed up Matthew Bode, who left the ground with the blood rule.
Crows veteran Mark Bickley kicked the opening goal after just two minutes, but Carr responded quickly for the Power.
There was nothing in it all day. The Power led by seven points at quarter-time, five points at the main break and again by seven points at the final change.
Port mid Peter Burgoyne fends off Adelaide's Chris Ladhams during Showdown 12. All pictures: AFL Photos
Ken McGregor (r) holds Chad Cornes at bay
The moment
With the game in the balance at the 20-minute mark of the last quarter, Carr was awarded a mark 40m out from goal, despite the ball appearing to hit the ground. He kicked the goal to put the Power up by 13 points.
Josh Carr had his way in the Showdown, if not the Ramsgate Hotel brawl
The hero
Surprisingly not tagged until the fourth quarter, Josh Francou turned in a dominant midfield performance, racking up 29 disposals, including 15 in the third term, plus nine clearances and six tackles. He claimed his third Showdown Medal in four games, building his reputation as the Showdown specialist.
In a twist of fate, Francou will be in the opposite change room as the sides clash on Saturday, after joining the Crows as an assistant coach at the start of this season.
SHOWDOWN 45 Match preview
The villain
Bickley was placed on report, and later suspended for five games, for a crude elbow to the face of Port key defender Darryl Wakelin in the second quarter.
Wakelin would have six titanium plates inserted to rebuild his shattered cheekbone, and he missed the rest of the season. Though the Power claimed the minor premiership, they missed his backline presence in the finals series.
The supporting cast
While the skirmishes were fought around them, Warren Tredrea and Chad Cornes enjoyed silver service in the Power forward line, taking 21 marks between them. Chad's younger brother Kane, who would go on to play 300 games for the club, kept Crows' prime mover Kane Johnson to just 12 disposals.
For Adelaide, Chris Ladhams was his side's best in just his 23rd game, finishing with 22 touches, seven clearances and two goals. Andrew McLeod (22 touches and eight inside 50s) and veteran defender Ben Hart also influenced the game.
Warren Tredrea hauls in another mark during Showdown 12
Brent Guerra lays a crunching tackle on Crow Kane Johnson
Best cameo
One of the Power's unsung heroes was athletic defender Matthew Bishop. He had just five disposals for the game, but shut down Crows forward Brett Burton when moved on to him in the second half. Burton kicked 2.2 in the opening half, but didn't trouble the scoreboard after that. In a 2002 season that carried Port to a preliminary final loss against eventual premiers Brisbane, Bishop was one of five Power players to play every game.
What might have been
Crows forward Mark Stevens didn't have his radar working. He booted a wasteful 3.5, with one of those goals coming after the final siren. In contrast to Port's forwards, Stevens and the rest of the Adelaide attack suffered from poor service. That helped explain why the Crows won the inside 50s count 45 to 40, but had three fewer scoring shots.
The little-known stat
This was the third straight Showdown decided by an eight-point margin, Port winning 12.12 (84) to 11.10 (76). All three games were won by the Power.
Chad Cornes (l) and Matthew Primus lead celebrations after the Power's bruising Showdown 12 win
Why the rivalry still matters
There will always be state pride and bragging rights on the line whenever the Crows and Power square off, and the potential for fireworks.
Round eight's thrilling encounter was decided in Port's favour by Steven Motlop's goal with 21 seconds on the clock, ending a run of five straight Crows victories.
That win locked the Showdown ledger at 22 wins apiece. Barring a draw in Saturday's Showdown 45, one of the fierce rivals will again edge ahead.
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