Belligerents
PORT ADELAIDEYear to date: LWWWWWWWLWL
Last five at ground: WWWWL
Currently ranked: 1st
ADELAIDE CROWS
Year to date: LLWLLLLWWLWLW
Last five at ground: not played
Currently ranked: 9th
HEAD TO HEAD
Magpies 1 v 0 Crows
LAST ONE
Magpies 1 v 0 Crows
PLAYBILL
SANFL IGA League – Round 14Port Adelaide v Adelaide Crows
Saturday 26 July
First bounce: 2:10pm
Hashtags: #portcrows
Curtain Raiser: SA Country v WA Country, 11:15am
Broadcast: Seven
Tickets: $14 general admission, $8 concession, children under 18 years free
SEE PORT PLAY CROWS, REDLEGS FOR JUST $30 PLUS MEMBER PACK
TIME MACHINE
Round 5, 2014 South Australia’s oldest footy club came up against its youngest for the first time in the SANFL when Port Adelaide broke away from a plucky Crows to notch a 45-point win in Clare. Mitch Harvey and Ben Haren kicked 3 goals.PORT ADELAIDE 7.1 9.6 14.9 20.12 (132)
ADELAIDE CROWS 2.2 5.3 9.5 13.9 (87)
portadelaidefc.com.au's best: Mitchell, Haren, Summerton, Moore, Krakouer, S. Gray, Neade
Goals: Haren, Harvey 3, S. Gray, J. Butcher, Bruggemann 2, Mitchell, Amon, O’Shea, Summerton, Logan, Renouf, Neade, Moore
at Clare Oval
FOUR POINTS
Heritage reason to be at AlbertonPort Adelaide will commemorate the 100-year anniversary of its unbeaten 1914 team by wearing a replica guernsey against the Crows.
This was arguably Port Adelaide’s greatest performing side, not only being undefeated during the SA Football League season, but also Champions of Australia.
With the club’s cheer squad raising a banner before the start of proceedings and the Power not playing any games this weekend, it’s the perfect opportunity for true believers to go back to their roots at the ground of so many Port Adelaide successes.
The race to September
Plenty hinges on this game for both clubs.
If the Magpies win this weekend, they’ll go two crucial games clear atop the ladder with four games to go.
Lose, and the Double Blues and Eagles – which sit just a win behind having played one extra game – will remain in striking distance.
For the Crows, the arithmetic is simple: win, and stay in the finals race; lose, and stay two games out of the top five, with a tricky run of games to come.
It makes this battle intriguing for so many reasons, and when rolled in with the emerging rivalry between these clubs at SANFL level – let alone in the AFL – you know it’s going to be a bumper game to watch.
Engine room repair
The hopeful inclusion of Cameron Hitchcock should add some class to both the Magpies’ midfield and forward lines.
The elevation of Paul Stewart and Ben Newton to the Power last week will mean they’re ineligible to play, so the return of Hitchcock is timely.
It’s the midfield that has been so critical to the Magpies producing the brave, contested style desired by Buddha Hocking and the likes of captain Steve Summerton and a range of runners like Darcy-Byrne Jones, Andrew Moore, Jake Johansen, Anthony Biemans and Lewis Stevenson on the inside and outside is enough to give the forward the ample supply required. Expect to see plenty of run out of the middle.
The big men fly
Port needs its tall forwards to fire this weekend after a difficult weekend at the office against North.
For the Crows, the arithmetic is simple: win, and stay in the finals race; lose, and stay two games out of the top five, with a tricky run of games to come.
It makes this battle intriguing for so many reasons, and when rolled in with the emerging rivalry between these clubs at SANFL level – let alone in the AFL – you know it’s going to be a bumper game to watch.
Engine room repair
The hopeful inclusion of Cameron Hitchcock should add some class to both the Magpies’ midfield and forward lines.
The elevation of Paul Stewart and Ben Newton to the Power last week will mean they’re ineligible to play, so the return of Hitchcock is timely.
It’s the midfield that has been so critical to the Magpies producing the brave, contested style desired by Buddha Hocking and the likes of captain Steve Summerton and a range of runners like Darcy-Byrne Jones, Andrew Moore, Jake Johansen, Anthony Biemans and Lewis Stevenson on the inside and outside is enough to give the forward the ample supply required. Expect to see plenty of run out of the middle.
The big men fly
Port needs its tall forwards to fire this weekend after a difficult weekend at the office against North.
John Butcher is the commander for the forward stocks, and will be keen to put in an emphatic performance against the Crows, as will Mason Shaw and Mitch Harvey who should be keen to ensure they finish the minor round with polish.
Butcher has been solid in the SANFL, and is the Magpies' leading goal kicker, but with Ken Hinkley leaving the selection door for the Power ajar, he's got extra incentive to kick a bag on Saturday.
