Showdown

Regardless of ladder position, the Showdown always cooks. Matt Oman has your review of Showdown 52 as he Power knocked over the Crows.

Amon evened the ledger with Dawson at one apiece, and if this is to be his final outing for Port Adelaide, it was a wonderful way to repay the Power for their faith in a player that took a while to get going, but once he did, he was so very hard to stop. In what was likely his final game for the Power, Amon was sensational, and was the link man between the arcs for most of the evening. Given his father is aware of those rumours, so to0 must Rowe, and he picked the worst time to put in a mediocre performance. Amon on the other hand has taken his game to new heights, becoming one of the premier wingmen of the year. Also like Fogarty, Marshall has a teammate on his last legs, and Marshall has also proven capable of stepping into the key forward spotlight and leading the team for the next decade. In Port Adelaide’s defence, there was only one man that the Crows will need to find an answer for next time around, and it’s the same man that haunted them last season. Kicking 41 goals for the season, Marshall obliterated his personal best in goal-kicking, and finished with a game high four goals from this evening. With time on approaching, Adelaide knew their time was over, and when Butters ran down Dawson and nailed his first, the game was done. This was always going to be an interesting matchup going into the game, because of the differing ways in which both coaches used their ruckman. If the Crows were to pull off the miracle, they needed more majors and quickly, but Port were determined to end their season in style. Adelaide were dominating the clearances, but Port held their nerve around the ground, and a Zak Butters poster on the siren gave the Power the smallest of leads at the first break. With Karl Amon certain to leave the club, and veteran Robbie Gray announcing his retirement, the nucleus of this team is starting to come apart, and their premiership window is starting to shut, and quickly.