Round 8 – Adelaide v Port Adelaide: A Brayden Cook dagger

 

 

Round 8

Adelaide Crows v Port Adelaide Power

8.10pm, Friday May 1st, 2026

Adelaide Oval

 

By Nick Kossatch

 

 

Classy Adelaide Crows wingman, Brayden Cook, etched his name into Showdown Folklore by kicking the winning goal in the 59th edition of Showdown, an epic 11.10 (76) to 11.9 (75) win.

 

Crow midfielder Sam Berry was awarded the Showdown Medal for best afield in the 11.10 (76) to 11.9 (75) win.

 

Just seconds earlier, Port Adelaide Power’s Joe Berry put his team ahead with 46 seconds remaining.

 

Dynamic Izak Rankine won a free kick for a high tackle, and then the returning Dan Curtin dished off a handball to a running Cook, who did the rest with just 10 seconds left, and Adelaide held on.

 

The Power looked the sharper team earlier in the piece, with goals to Mitch Georgiades (three goals) and Ollie Wines, before Josh Rachele and Cook combined and Luke Pedlar kicked Crows’ first major.

 

Adelaide veteran Taylor Walker limped off early with a hamstring injury and took no further part.

 

While impressively tall Toby Murray (two goals) looked a likely target up forward in Walker’s absence with Crow spearhead Riley Thilthorpe out of touch, the Power’s duo of Jason Horne-Francis and Zak Butters looked to be vying for best-on-ground honours as their team held a lead of two goals at quarter-time.

 

Berry, of the Sam variety, was by far the most consistent midfielder in this classic encounter and he finished the game with 29 possessions and an astonishing 19 tackles.

 

It became a contested game and the home Crow crowd became agitated after Rankine was adjudged to have run too far before his goal, which is, to all aside from the umpires, deemed legal.

 

Butters was pushed softly into the boundary fence and was awarded a free kick. His magnificent resultant goal added more angst among the Adelaide faithful after the contentious umpiring call.

 

The Crows upped the ante despite the superb defensive efforts of Aliir Aliir on Thilthorpe.

 

Murray booted back-to-back goals on a hapless Todd Marshall as a just reward for the Crows inside-50 dominance, which to this point was 42-29.

 

James Peatling and Jake Soligo were important and the latter should’ve kicked a goal if not for the ARC review system doing its controversial thing and his goal was disallowed.

 

Ben Keays (three goals) returned to form with a smart snap and the Adelaide midfield was well on top.

 

The hosts extended the lead to beyond three goals after Rachele masterfully flicked back the ball into Thilthorpe’s hands.

 

The haulking forward snapped truly off his left boot.

 

Showdowns rarely don’t produce fightbacks.

 

And the Power mounted one.

 

Corey Durdin set up Georgiades for his third and when Berry (Joe) marked a raking Kane Farrell kick to goal from the goal-square, the pro-Crow crowd was nervous.

 

Wayne Milera, brilliant for Adelaide all night in defence, was thought to have kicked the sealer, but Logan Evans was pushed in the back on the goal-line by Rachele.

 

Durdin brought Port’s deficit to a point and then the telling final few minutes typified the ‘expect the unexpected’ that is the fabric of Showdowns.

 

 

CHUCK BERRY(S) “YOU NEVER CAN TELL”

 

Just like the title of the Chuck Berry classic “You Never Can Tell” – it matches the Showdown theme of these game’s unpredictability. Both Sam Berry and Joe Berry put on a show.

 

Adelaide’s Sam was brilliant all night with his hard-running, tackling and a constant link between Adelaide’s defence and attack. He was a worthy recipient of the Showdown Medal.

 

Power young gun Joe showed glimpses of excitement and almost got the Power to steal a Showdown win with two goals in the final quarter.

 

 

THE ROCK OF GEBRALIIRTAR

 

Port Adelaide’s Aliir Aliir stood as tall as the iconic Rock of Gibraltar as he repeatedly repelled Adelaide Crows forward entries in which they dominated 59-39.

 

Among the Crows’ 59, Aliir helped himself took 14 marks and 21 disposals in the key defensive post at either centre-half-back or fullback mostly against fellow All-Australian Riley Thilthorpe. If not for Brayden Cook’s match-winning goal, Aliir would’ve had the Showdown Medal draped around his neck.

 

 

ADELAIDE              1.2   3.4   8.9   11.10 (76)
PORT ADELAIDE    3.2   4.4   7.7   11.9 (75)

 

GOALS

Adelaide: Keays 3, Rachele, Murray 2, Cook, Pedlar, Thilthorpe, Rankine.

Port Adelaide: Georgiades 3, Berry, Durdin 2, Wines, Butters, Visentini, Whitlock, Horne-Francis.

 

BEST (Nick’s best)

Adelaide: Berry, Milera, Keays, Murray, Rachele, Peatling, Cook.

Port Adelaide: Aliir, Wines, Horne-Francis, Georgiades, Butters, Sweet, Bergman.

 

Injuries: Port Adelaide: nil. Adelaide: Walker (hamstring), Jordan Butts (groin).

 

Crowd: 53,045.

 

 

Read more from Nick Kossatch (KOSSYPOWERMAN) HERE

 

Visit Nick’s website HERE

 

To read other Round 8 match reports click HERE

 

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Our writers are independent contributors. The opinions expressed in their articles are their own. They are not the views, nor do they reflect the views, of Malarkey Publications.

 

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