The Power are in just their 17th season and have played the fellow interstate side a mere 27 times.
But the quality and drama in those matches has been incredible.
The most famous contest was of course the 2004 Grand Final – won by Port Adelaide to secure its first premiership.
Alastair Lynch wildly throwing punches in the direction of Darryl Wakelin, Simon Black getting frustrated with his arch-rival Kane Cornes – these teams had a genuine dislike for one another.
The Grand Final was the culmination of a four-year tug-of-war that had seen them as the two most dominant clubs of the early 2000s.
The Lions beat Port Adelaide in the 2001 qualifying final by 32 points. They backed up in the 2002 preliminary final to smash the Power by 56 points and finish their season.
In 2002 and 2003 the Power finished minor premiers, only for the Lions to win the premiership.
Neither team finished outside the top three as they won every premiership between them from 2001-2004.
We should have known from early days they were clubs destined for drama.
When they first met in 1997, Port Adelaide won by two points at Football Park, only for the teams to have an even more dramatic contest at the Gabba later that year.
In round 20, they drew. Remarkably when they next met in round 12, 1998, the same result occurred.
And in more recent times, with both clubs struggling to make the finals, they've still had the flair for the dramatic.
In 2008 the Lions turned a 47-point deficit during the third quarter into a 20-point win on a wet night at AAMI Stadium.
Daniel Bradshaw kicked five goals and Jonathan Brown four in one of the Lions' greatest wins.
That was until the following year when new coach Michael Voss – so often at the centre of the rivalry during the early 2000s – watched his team reverse another huge deficit at the Gabba.
On this occasion Port kicked 10 goals in the first quarter and again led by 47 points, only to lose by 15.
In all, the Lions hold a 14-11 (with the two draws) advantage.
Once again they're confronted with a crucial match on Sunday as Port tries to cling on to its eighth position and the Lions vie to keep their September dreams alive.
Voss said earlier this week the rivalry was "irrelevant", but he's not fooling anybody.
Michael Whiting is a reporter for AFL Media. You can follow him on Twitter: @AFL_mikewhiting
