Showdown 59 went the way Showdowns usually do: with a goal in the dying seconds and a stadium that could not breathe. Adelaide 11.10 (76) defeated Port Adelaide 11.9 (75) at Adelaide Oval on Friday night, the margin a single point, the winner a Brayden Cook goal from just inside 50 with 10 seconds remaining. Port had led the game with 46 seconds on the clock. The crowd of 53,045 saw the lead change six times in the final term.
Cook the Hero, Curtin the Assist
The match-winner came off a Dan Curtin handball that found Cook 50 metres out, central. Cook, a young winger in only his early years at the club, lined it up off the rapid step and threaded it. The ball had barely touched the back of the net when the umpires looked up at the clock to see 15 seconds remaining. Port could not get past halfway from the centre bounce. The siren blew. Adelaide's bench emptied onto the wing.
The road to Cook's goal was the kind of fourth quarter Showdown 59 deserved. Adelaide had been on top through three quarters and looked set for a comfortable win when Toby Murray, on his senior debut, kicked back-to-back goals from Eddie's pocket and a set shot to push the Crows out late in the third. Port responded through Mitch Georgiades, three goals on the night for the Power forward, then went ahead late through Connor Durdin. Wayne Milera nearly produced the moment of the match minutes earlier with a stirring goal from 50 that was ruled a non-goal because Izak Rachele was judged to have pushed Logan Evans on the line.
Milera Best on Ground, Georgiades Carries Port
Wayne Milera collected 29 disposals and six marks across half-back, his second consecutive Showdown best-on-ground performance, and was the difference for Adelaide either side of half-time. Riley Thilthorpe, Josh Rachele and Toby Murray each finished with multiple goals, and Murray's two on debut put him on the radar in front of 53,045. For Port, Georgiades' three goals were career-defining, with Aliir Aliir, Zak Butters and Jason Horne-Francis the next layer of contributors. Butters' free-kick goal at half-time after a push call drew the chorus of Adelaide boos that always punctuates a Showdown.
The result puts Adelaide back to 4-4 and Port to 3-5. The bookmakers had Adelaide $1.52 favourites pre-game at dabble, line 11.5, and the +11.5 ticket on Port came home by 10.5 points. The points-per-game line of 152.5 finished at 151, a single behind, with the under by half a point.
Where the Markets Land
Showdown 59 was the kind of match that resets a season. Adelaide go to Round 9 with momentum genuinely at home, while Port are now staring at three losses in four weeks and a forward line that needs Sam Powell-Pepper back from suspension. The Crows next host Greater Western Sydney at Adelaide Oval, while Port travel to face the Bulldogs at Marvel Stadium. The line markets will move significantly on both sides of the Showdown coin. Cook himself shifts into the AFL Coleman conversation, his first Showdown goal a winner.
Full match statistics, the late-game video and the post-match interviews are available at AFL.com.au. Round 8 closes Sunday at the MCG with Geelong hosting North Melbourne. Markets at Picklebet and Ladbrokes have already shifted on the back of Friday night's results.