Adelaide recorded its sixth victory of the 2025 season on Saturday night, as it held off a fast-finishing Port Adelaide by five points in a thrilling Showdown 57.
The Crows led at every change en route to the 13.11 (89) to 12.12 (84) victory, which resulted in going ahead 29-28 in the overall Showdown ledger.
Adelaide Senior Coach Matthew Nicks spoke to the media after the game, and delivered five key takeaways from his team’s performance.
Keane and O’Brien stand up in hectic final minutes
Adelaide needed a hero in the dying stages of Showdown 57, as a red-hot Port side drew to within a kick of stealing a dramatic come from behind victory.
Enter Mark Keane and Reilly O’Brien.
The Power sent the ball inside 50 on two occasions in the final two minutes, where both the Irish defender and tireless ruckman each stood up with critical intercept marks to ensure the Crows held on.
“It (Keane’s mark) was a really telling moment, and then ROB followed,” Nicks said.
“There’s key moments in games where you’ve just got to get it done, we are always going to focus on the last minute or so where those two guys stood up, but we’ll look through the game and there will be a lot more moments.
“But there was Alex Neal-Bullen over a ground ball (in the last minute), just important ones that we will rate highly and others might not.
“But when I look at how we won the game, I’ll go to the 10 minutes to start the fourth (quarter), where we put the game in a position where in the end is why we won it.”
The move that released Rankine to become the match-winner
Star Crow Izak Rankine proved to be the difference in the final quarter, booting two classy goals in the space of a minute to build what ended up being a match-winning lead.
Rankine’s golden minute showcased all aspects of his talent, as the first major was a composed shot on the run, and second an incredible piece of quick-thinking where he soccered through a miraculous goal.
His ability to impact around the goals in the final quarter was made possible by the activation of substitute Sam Berry, which allowed the livewire to play as a permanent forward.
“That’s why we love him (Izak) being on our team,” Nicks said.
“I think our mids were beaten tonight, convincingly, and that meant as a coaching group we made a decision to sub on Berry a bit earlier than expected which pushed Izak forward.
“We were hoping that (Izak hitting the scoreboard) would be how it played out, and to his credit he delivered.”
Capitalising on opportunities proves the key to victory
The ability to translate strong patches of momentum into scores on the board was a key reason as to why Adelaide came away with the victory, according to its Senior Coach.
The Crows were beaten in a number of key statistics throughout the night, but when it came to making the most of their opportunities, they got it right in the key moments.
“It was a territory game that we didn’t get right in patches, we overhandballed, and they brought pressure which we invited a little,” Nicks said.
“The game wasn’t where we wanted it for periods, but there were times when momentum was on our side, and I felt we capitalised when we needed to.
“We probably dodged a few bullets where they didn’t necessarily capitalise and finish their work off, but that’s the game.
“But I’m proud of our guys, because when we had our chances we took it, and when it came down to who was going to go out there and win the game, I thought we stood up.”
Worrell goes from strength-to-strength
24-year-old defender Josh Worrell continued his outstanding 2025 campaign with another strong showing in Showdown 57.
Part of a back six that faced 60 inside 50 entries, Worrell consistently repelled the Power’s attacking forays, and finished with 23 disposals, eight intercept possessions and five marks.
“Probably the stand out (in our back linet) is Joshy Worrell’s form,” Nicks said.
“He deserves the accolades he’s getting at the moment, and there is no doubt he’s playing the best footy of his career right now.
“He’s doing it because of his teammates though, our back six is working really well together, and I think we are seeing the benefits of that in how a number of our guys are performing back there.”
Midfield battle favours Port
Adelaide was unable to gain ascendancy through the midfield in Showdown 57, as it faced a slick Port on-ball unit.
The clearance count heavily favoured the Power, who won 56-29, while they also got the better of contested ball, with a 149-135 triumph.
And while the numbers suggest Adelaide’s on-ball brigade was not at its best, Nicks said it was able to hang in there and still impact in a way that allowed the team to come away with the four points.
“From a midfield point of view tonight wasn’t our best (performance), but the group was able to hang on throughout the night” Nicks said.
“I thought they (Port) put a lot of attention into us through there, they obviously came into the game with that as a focus and mixed up there on ball group a bit.
“So our guys didn’t have the impact they had been having (throughout the season), but we came here tonight to pick up four points which we did, and I don’t care how we do it.”