ADELAIDE captain Jordan Dawson has lauded the performance of five-goal forward Riley Thilthorpe, suggesting the 20-year-old was worthy of the Showdown Medal.
Not even in the Crows' side two weeks ago, Thilthorpe overcame that disappointment to put on a dominant display in his team's 31-point win over crosstown rival Port Adelaide at Adelaide Oval on Saturday night.
The 202cm forward/ruck had the best game of his young career, showing why he was taken with the second overall pick in the 2020 national draft.
Dawson – who claimed the medal for best on ground – congratulated Thilthorpe on his performance straight after the game.
"I probably said I thought it was his medal," Dawson said.
POWER v CROWS Full match coverage and stats
"I was proud of him (because) you can see the work he's doing.
"To see him step up and play a real big boy presence was really pleasing to see as a captain."
Crows coach Matthew Nicks said Thilthorpe didn't show any frustration after not being picked for round one.
"We saw a moment at training where something really clicked for Riley around his contest and you saw that tonight," Nicks said.
"He's getting at that ball, he's got confidence in himself and he's going to be quite a dangerous player if he continues to work hard as he's doing at the moment."
The Crows booted the last six goals of the game to record their first win of the season.
Nicks praised his side's balanced effort and said that every player contributed to the result.
That included marquee recruit Izak Rankine, who booted four goals to go with 17 disposals in his first Showdown after crossing from Gold Coast.
"I think (Rankine) had a fair bit going on for his first home game last week, but this week he was focused and sorted everything out off field," Nicks said.
"You could see it in his eye before the first bounce that he was ready to go, he came out of the blocks pretty fast."
The Crows host Fremantle at Adelaide Oval next Saturday, with forward Darcy Fogarty not guaranteed to return from a knee injury while Sam Berry was subbed out with a calf injury.
For the Power, they drop to 1-2 after conceding a combined 39 goals in the past two weeks.
"If you're going to give up big scores every week, you're going to have to do absolutely everything right in offence to get a win," Power coach Ken Hinkley said.
"Defence happens with the 18 people on the ground together, connected and supporting each other.
"We probably got a little bit man on man for the second week in a row.
"When you break a little bit and let teams through, clearly they were able to put pressure on us and made us pay."
