Club History SHOWDOWN HISTORY: SEE-SAW

[GremioPower]

It's common in sport rivalries for teams to alternate periods of superiority over one another. The Showdown is no different.

Since the first clash between Port Adelaide and the Sanfull United, there was only one period with a stalemate. Otherwise, clubs switched dominance over the years.

--
​

DEFINITIONS
a. Dominance (min.): "3 consecutive wins"; or "3 wins in 4 games, beginning with 2 consecutive victories".
b. Stalemate (min.): "6 consecutive games with different winners"; or "no team establishing dominance starting from game 1".

--​

Here, the Showdown’s See-Saw History:

I. 1997 - 1998.1 (3)
[Stalemate] Port 2-1 S.U.​

II. 1998.2 - 2000.1 (4)
[adv. S.U.] 4-1 Port​

III. 2000.2 - 2004.2 (9)
[adv. Port] 8-1 S.U.

IV. 2005.1 - 2008.1 (8)
[adv. S.U.] 7-1 Port​

V. 2008.2 - 2011.1 (6)
[adv. Port] 5-1 S.U.

VI. 2011.2 - 2012.2 (3)
[adv. S.U.] 3-0 Port​

VII. 2013.1 - 2015.1 (5)
[adv. Port] 4-1 S.U.

VIII. 2015.2 - 2019.1 (8)
[adv. S.U.] 7-1 Port​

IX. 2019.2 - 2022.2 (6)
[adv. Port] 5-1 S.U.

X. 2023.1 - … (3)
[adv. S.U.] 3-0 Port​

--​

Port won Showdown 56, but it's too early to say whether this will ignite a new period of Port's dominance.

--​

Biggest period of dominance is 9 games long, between 2000 and 2004 (Sd 8 - Sd 16). Port won 8, including 7 in a row [Showdown record].

United has two periods of 8 games, having won 7 in both: 2005-2008; and 2015-2019. During the latter, they've won 5 in a row, which is the most they have ever achieved.

--​

Port's shortest period of dominance was 5 games long, between 2013 and 2015 (Sd 34 - Sd 38), winning 4 of those.

United's shortest is the minimum required of 3 games, between 2011 and 2012. This can be repeated if Port ends their current dominance following the win in Showdown 56.

 

[GremioPower]

Only twice teams had a shot at dominance and failed. However, in both times, they’ve managed to do it in the next game.

- Showdowns 6/7 (S.U.)
- Showdowns 27/28 (Port)

Sd 6 (1999.2): Port 92-68 Sanfull

Sd 27 (2009.2): Sanfull 132-62 Port

In both cases, the matches were consecutive away games.

—

Sanfull couldn’t hold its dominance after Sd 7, losing the next 7 clashes after it.

Port went on to win two more matches after Sd 28.

—

Clubs are 9-2 combined in matches with dominance on the line.

 

[GremioPower]

Showdowns that have secured dominance:

1. Sd 7 (2000.1) /S.U.
Port Adelaide 91-98 Sanfull United

2. Sd 10 (2001.2) /Port
Port Adelaide 107-99 Sanfull United

3. Sd 19 (2005.3) /S.U.
Sanfull United 123-40 Port Adelaide

4. Sd 28 (2010.1) /Port
Sanfull United 74-97 Port Adelaide

5. Sd 33 (2012.2) /S.U.
Port Adelaide 58-116 Sanfull United

6. Sd 36 (2014.1) /Port
Port Adelaide 128-73 Sanfull United

7. Sd 41 (2016.2) /S.U.
Port Adelaide 94-109 Sanfull United

8. Sd 49 (2021.1) /Port
Port Adelaide 87-38 Sanfull United

9. Sd 55 (2024.1) /S.U.
Sanfull United 78-48 Port Adelaide

​

--

Details to come.

 

[GremioPower]

Wins against the Tide (5)​

1. Sd 15 (2004.1 - R7): Port Adelaide 87-119 Sanfull United (S.U. +32)

Port was 3rd on the ladder (20 pts) and had 7 consecutive Showdown wins (last loss had been in 2000.1).
Sanfull was 14th (4 pts).

--​

2. Sd 21 (2006.2 - R21): Port Adelaide 95-81 Sanfull United (P.A. +14)

Sanfull was 2nd on the ladder (60 pts) and had 4 consecutive Showdown wins (last loss had been in 2004.2).
Port was 11th (28 pts).

--​

3. Sd 37 (2014.2 - R15): Sanfull United 99-76 Port Adelaide (S.U. +23)

Port was 1st on the ladder (44 pts) and had 3 consecutive Showdown wins (last loss had been in 2012.2).
Sanfull was 11th (24 pts).

--​

4. Sd 44 (2018.1 - R8): Port Adelaide 95-90 Sanfull United (P.A. +5)

Sanfull was 3rd on the ladder (20 pts) and had 5 consecutive Showdown wins (last loss had been in 2015.1).
Port was 11th (16 pts).

--​

5. Sd 51 (2022.1 - R3): Sanfull United 96-92 Port Adelaide (S.U. +4)

Port was 18th on the ladder (0 pts) and had 4 consecutive Showdown wins (last loss had been in 2019.1).
Sanfull was 15th (0 pts).

 

[Rising Power]

That period between 1999 and 2004, losing only two, was ****ing glorious. One of my favourite wins was the last round of 2004. Not for the game (a solid 25 point margin), but the reaction of the players afterwards - not one smile while they sang the song. Unfinished business was ahead.

Edit: and 35 matches ahead or even on the ledger between 2000 and 2017. Must be hell not being ahead for that long.

 

[70sDinosaur]

Port had early dominance in the showdowns, winning 10 of the first 14.

And it should have been more. It should have been 12-2. The 2 losses by 7 points each in showdowns 2 and 7 should have been wins. Port blew big leads in both of those games, with Adelaide stealing late wins.

Port were simply better at showdowns than Adelaide in the early days. Always looked more composed, more confident, more likely to win. Adelaide always looked jittery and nervous, more likely to fall apart in the big moments.

I attribute Port's early success and dominance in showdowns to John Cahill. He knew how to motivate his players and get them playing their best in the showdowns. He knew the history and the importance of those games. He only coached for the first 2 years but his legacy and impact continued to be felt into the early Choco era.

I don't think it's a coincidence that Port's ability to dominate showdowns began to wane after the John Cahill effect wore off and a new generation of players came through and the culture of the club changed.

In the last 20 years Adelaide has had more showdown victories than Port and we've copped some very heavy beatings in that time. We've rarely looked convincing in showdowns in that time, which is a complete reversal from the early years.

 

[GremioPower]

Port had early dominance in the showdowns, winning 10 of the first 14.

And it should have been more. It should have been 12-2. The 2 losses by 7 points each in showdowns 2 and 7 should have been wins. Port blew big leads in both of those games, with Adelaide stealing late wins.

Port were simply better at showdowns than Adelaide in the early days. Always looked more composed, more confident, more likely to win. Adelaide always looked jittery and nervous, more likely to fall apart in the big moments.

I attribute Port's early success and dominance in showdowns to John Cahill. He knew how to motivate his players and get them playing their best in the showdowns. He knew the history and the importance of those games. He only coached for the first 2 years but his legacy and impact continued to be felt into the early Choco era.

I don't think it's a coincidence that Port's ability to dominate showdowns began to wane after the John Cahill effect wore off and a new generation of players came through and the culture of the club changed.

In the last 20 years Adelaide has had more showdown victories than Port and we've copped some very heavy beatings in that time. We've rarely looked convincing in showdowns in that time, which is a complete reversal from the early years.

It seems to have started post-flag.

1997-2004: 11-5 (+6)
2005-2012: 6-11 (-5)
2013-2023: 11-12 (-1)

 

[philreich]

Given the amount of turmoil at West Lakes, we SHOULD be able to establish a bit of a lead again. We'll see.

 

[chiwigi]

Given the amount of turmoil at West Lakes, we SHOULD be able to establish a bit of a lead again. We'll see.

We should have won the last ten!

However as it has been the Crows ‘Grand Final’ they’ve got up for it.

 

[70sDinosaur]

It seems to have started post-flag.

1997-2004: 11-5 (+6)
2005-2012: 6-11 (-5)
2013-2023: 11-12 (-1)

Yes, and it's only 7-6 in our favour for the last 7 seasons - 7 seasons in which Adelaide has never made the finals and Port has been top four 4 times and finished above Adelaide every year. And 2 of those 7 wins were by very narrow margins. This really should be an era of showdown dominance for Port and yet they haven't been able to manage it.

Since we're talking about showdowns, here's something to mull over and have fun thinking about. We all know the first showdown took place in April 1997 but was there a game before then that had a similar showdown vibe and presaged what was to come?

Looking back at it now, I would say yes. I would say that the 1990 SANFL Grand Final was the original showdown, the template for what was to come. It was Port against TROSA, with Glenelg being the bile receptacle that Adelaide would later become. It was a game that had a uniquely hysterical and emotional build up due to the events of the time and it was played in an atmosphere of hostility and hatred, which would become a hallmark of future AFL showdowns. And of course it ended the way it almost always did in those days - with another Port victory and another round of trauma therapy for TROSA.

 

[GremioPower]

was there a game before then that had a similar showdown vibe and presaged what was to come?

It happened in 1914:

Port Adelaide vs South Australia (1914) - Wikipedia

en.m.wikipedia.org

 

[GremioPower]

I’ll need to redo the “dominance” stuff. I realized that it must consider split seasons. I did not. It will change a bit…

—

I’ve found the solution. 4-1, instead of 3-1.

Also, 2 split seasons ends a dominance.

—

There will be only one change.

 

[GremioPower]

We should have won the last ten!

However as it has been the Crows ‘Grand Final’ they’ve got up for it.

And we’ve got down.

 

[70sDinosaur]

It happened in 1914:

Port Adelaide vs South Australia (1914) - Wikipedia

en.m.wikipedia.org

Yes, great pick up!

And we also won the AFL premiership that year, as well as in 1913, 1910 and 1890.

 

[philreich]

It happened in 1914:

Port Adelaide vs South Australia (1914) - Wikipedia

en.m.wikipedia.org

Was Ken Cunningham the umpire?

 

[Enviable Tradition]

Given the amount of turmoil at West Lakes, we SHOULD be able to establish a bit of a lead again. We'll see.

We also SHOULD have developed a massive lead over the last 5 years.

We did see.

On SM-G975F using BigFooty.com mobile app

 

[70sDinosaur]

Was Ken Cunningham the umpire?

Most likely he was.

And Graham Cornes coached the SA team.

 

[RussellEbertHandball]

Port had early dominance in the showdowns, winning 10 of the first 14.

And it should have been more. It should have been 12-2. The 2 losses by 7 points each in showdowns 2 and 7 should have been wins. Port blew big leads in both of those games, with Adelaide stealing late wins.

Port were simply better at showdowns than Adelaide in the early days. Always looked more composed, more confident, more likely to win. Adelaide always looked jittery and nervous, more likely to fall apart in the big moments.

I attribute Port's early success and dominance in showdowns to John Cahill. He knew how to motivate his players and get them playing their best in the showdowns. He knew the history and the importance of those games. He only coached for the first 2 years but his legacy and impact continued to be felt into the early Choco era.

I don't think it's a coincidence that Port's ability to dominate showdowns began to wane after the John Cahill effect wore off and a new generation of players came through and the culture of the club changed.

In the last 20 years Adelaide has had more showdown victories than Port and we've copped some very heavy beatings in that time. We've rarely looked convincing in showdowns in that time, which is a complete reversal from the early years.

The crows dominance first started when Neil Craig took over as full time coach. The record went from 11-4 at end of 2004 to 14-13 at end of 2009.

Unlike Ayres, Craig had a 30 year hatred of Port. Plus it harked back to the Oatey vs Williams battles, as Craig was a disciple of both Jack and Robert Oatey and Mark obviously learned from Fos.

Their 2nd dominant crows period was when near enough is good enough Hinkley was on a safe fat contract. Hinkley got his first extension of his original 4 year contract in February 2015 when the record was 20-17. At the end of 2019 it was 23-24. Hinkley had to make finals in 2020 to keep his job.

 

[GremioPower]

Yes, great pick up!

And we also won the AFL premiership that year, as well as in 1913, 1910 and 1890.

Yep. We have FIVE national premierships. I have no clue why Port doesn’t talk about it more often.

We could have five yellow stars above the badge, for instance. Soccer-style

—

️️️️️
1890-1910-1913-1914-2004​

 

[1954]

Port would have at least a 5 plus lead in Showdowns if the old us against the rest attitude John Cahill instilled in the players had continued.

Now, as mentioned by chiwigi these games are the tingles grand final and the importance of winning them has been lost at Port in the koch/hinkley era, which was epitomised by the former draping himself all over his counterpart after a loss in a game we should won by the length of the Flemington straight and literally tongue f****** his ear!