DARREN MEAD is never to be forgotten from Port Adelaide's inaugural AFL season in 1997 considering the key defender has his name in gold lettering on the club honour board as its first John Cahill Medallist. Today, after waiting 28 years, Mead also is to be immortalised as the first Showdown Medallist from that phenomenal first derby won by Port Adelaide at Football Park in 1997.
His name is engraved in silver in the retrospective Showdown Medals to be presented this weekend and at the return Showdown in August when the Port Adelaide and Adelaide football clubs will correct the major omission from derby history books.
Mead from Showdown I, Adam Kingsley from Showdown III and Josh Francou from Showdown VI are now officially recognised - and always to be remembered - as the Port Adelaide champions from the derbies that did not have match-day presentations of a best-afield medal from 1997-1999.
For Francou, the retrospective Showdown Medal from the sixth derby adds to the three he won across 2001-2002 when he also had top-three finishes in the Brownlow Medal.
For Mead, who once wondered if he would be honoured with the Showdown Medal posthumously, the formal recognition of his gladiatorial role as the gatekeeper in defence in the first derby is more about completing the Showdown story rather than his resume.
"People already look at the record books and wonder who won the Showdown Medals from Showdown I-VI, why are there six blank columns ... now there will be a full list from Showdown I to forever; the Showdown picture is complete," Mead said.
Almost three decades after that remarkable first Showdown at West Lakes - and with a son, Jackson, now savouring the derby as a player - Mead easily slipped back to 1997 on being told of his personal honour as a Showdown Medallist.
He speaks as he played that day - the ultimate team man.
"It is an honour, a great honour," Mead said today, as he would have said on April 20, 1997 after Port Adelaide won the first Showdown by 11 points.
Mead collected votes from all five judges in the retrospective review of the Showdown - three acknowledging him as best-on-ground, as VFL goalkicking great Peter McKenna did in the Channel Seven commentary with praise of Mead not allowing any opponent to win an aerial contest.
The Port Adelaide match committee in 1997 awarded Mead best-afield votes in the John Cahill Medal count, as did the umpires for the Brownlow Medal.
"I now look back," says Mead, "with more honour and pride for playing in the first of a very special game in South Australian and AFL football. But just as important is everyone can look back to see the full story of the Showdown with these six medals. We needed to recognise the players who in those first three years made the story of Showdowns what is today."
The finally complete story of the Showdown will now include these six winners -
Showdown I (1997): Darren Mead (Port Adelaide)
Showdown II (1997): Brett James (Adelaide)
Showdown III (1998): Adam Kingsley (Port Adelaide)
Showdown IV (1998): Mark Ricciuto (Adelaide)
Showdown V (1999): Mark Bickley (Adelaide)
Showdown VI (1999): Josh Francou (Port Adelaide)
Francou, now a teacher and radio commentator after stepping away from coaching, is the second most-decorated Port Adelaide player among Showdown Medallists. Robbie Gray has five.
"At my age (50)," says Francou, "football from my time is becoming a distant memory. What this moment does is bring back the memories of what it was like to play a game of footy with my mates and to play in the magnificent games that are the Showdowns.
"This scratches the surface to those great memories. It is taking me back to a very good time for us a football group making its mark for our football club. Nice memories ..."
Kingsley, remembered as a premiership defender in Port Adelaide's 2004 triumph, was best-afield in Showdown III as a midfielder. His seven touches in the third term were critical in setting up Port Adelaide's nine-point win, as the Port Adelaide match committee recognised at the time with the John Cahill Medal votes.
Kingsley today is the senior coach at Greater Western Sydney.
Mead remains proud of the statement Port Adelaide made in Showdown I.
"The rivalry always was going to be big, but this one began well before we even had a Showdown - this was a rivalry born in 1990 when Port Adelaide showed its ambition to be part of the national game, the AFL," Mead said.
"And that first Showdown just made sure the rivalry became even bigger.
"I had my opportunities to go to the AFL earlier. But I am proud I stayed at Port Adelaide to - with that inaugural squad and Jack (Cahill) - build a foundation on which the club could become a force, as was proven with the 2004 premiership.
"We put our hearts into the start of the club's AFL journey. We wanted the club to the right path from the start - and that made that first Showdown so important for us.
"I can remember the day; I still recall how most of us were stuck in traffic on the way to Football Park and (team manager) Bob Clayton getting the calls from all of us to say we would be late.
"And that game made the perfect start for the Showdown story. It was a different game then too - we set up different structures to today, different game plans, more open contests, one-on-one contests rather than today's game of outnumbering at the contest. And it was hard and tough. That is just what the Showdown should be."
THE TALLY BOARD
VOTING for the retrospective Showdown Medals stayed true to the format used on match day in all derbies since the sixth in 2000. A panel of five - with varying judges for each of the first six Showdowns - voted with 3-2-1 ballots making the perfect score at 15.
The record books will now remember the full voting for the first six Showdowns as (Port Adelaide players in bold):
Showdown I
12: Darren Mead
8: Shane Bond
5: Tony Modra
4: Shayne Breuer
1: Brayden Lyle
Showdown II
10: Brett James
6: Gavin Wanganeen
5: Darren Jarman
4: Stephen Daniels
3: Josh Francou
1: Darren Mead
1: Peter Caven
Showdown III
14: Adam Kingsley
7: Nathan Bassett
4: Matthew Primus
3: Gavin Wanganeen
1: Mark Bickley
1: Mark Ricciuto
Showdown IV
15: Mark Ricciuto
10: Peter Vardy
3: Ben Hart
1: Matt Connell
1: Darren Jarman
Showdown V
14: Mark Bickley
11: Matthew Robran
2: Josh Francou
2: Ben Hart
1: Michael Wilson
Showdown VI
12: Josh Francou
8: Brendon Lade
4: Gavin Wanganeen
3: Brayden Lyle
2: Matt Connell
1: Mark Ricciuto.
