SHOWDOWN 53 will go down in the history books as one to remember, with Adelaide sparking life into its season to overrun crosstown rival Port Adelaide at Adelaide Oval on Saturday night.

The Power led 84-80 at the 11-minute mark of the last quarter before the Crows booted the last six goals to run away 31-point winners – 18.9 (117) to 13.8 (86) – in front of a 48,962-strong crowd.

POWER v CROWS Full match coverage and stats

Young guns Riley Thilthorpe (five goals), Izak Rankine (four) and Luke Pedlar (three) kicked 12 of the Crows' 18 goals, while Charlie Dixon was the Power's leading goalkicker with three.

Crows captain Jordan Dawson claimed the Showdown Medal, with ruckman Reilly O'Brien and veteran midfielders Rory Laird and Rory Sloane also influential.

It's the Crows' first win of the season after losses to Greater Western Sydney and Richmond to start the campaign, while the Power slump to 1-2 after their second straight defeat.

Connor Rozee, Sam Powell-Pepper and Dan Houston tried hard for the Power, but they were ultimately outmatched by a hungrier Crows side.

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There was no feeling-out process among the arch-rivals. Instead, it was a free-flowing contest with 11 combined goals kicked in a high-octane opening quarter.

Both sides had their moments – Thilthorpe kicked an outrageous over the head goal, Mitchell Hinge made a sensational goal-saving tackle, Dixon was clunking contested marks and Junior Rioli kicked a brilliant major from beyond 50 - but couldn't assert their dominance with the scores tied 9.3 (57) to 9.3 (57) at half-time.

The intensity lifted after the break, typified by Max Michalanney's courageous effort. The young Crow, in just his third career game, was cleaned up by Todd Marshall, but shook it off and was soon back impacting the game.

The Crows had plenty of chances to extend their lead in the third quarter, but three straight behinds meant they only took a three-point advantage into the last term.

Thilthorpe's fourth goal gave the Crows the edge, but the Power responded through tactical sub Orazio Fantasia and Powell-Pepper to regain the lead.

But the Crows responded with six straight goals to run away with the game.

The Power still lead the overall Showdown ledger 27-26, but it will mean little in the aftermath of the result.

Exciting young core Crows can build around
The rebuild is tracking nicely at the Crows with a batch of youngsters who are already holding their own. Riley Thilthorpe, Luke Pedlar, Jake Soligo, Josh Rachele and Max Michalanney were all outstanding and made an impact on the game. They are all in their infancies of their careers and give the Crows plenty to work with. Throw in Izak Rankine and Sam Berry and you have a group who can be major contributors for the next decade. Thilthorpe was especially impactful, the No.2 overall pick from the 2020 draft starting to show his immense potential.

Power outage causes early-season headache
Expectations were high on the Power heading into this year, but back-to-back losses have left Ken Hinkley's men on the back foot. The Power sit 1-2 to start the season with the task not getting any easier heading to Sydney to face the Swans at the SCG next Saturday night. Losing a Showdown never goes down well with the Power faithful, but especially so when the Crows were winless heading into the contest. It's going to be a very interesting week at team selection to ensure they stay in touch with the top eight.

Versatile Dawson leading the way
He's only played three Showdowns, but already Crows captain Jordan Dawson looks right at home in the state's biggest rivalry. After kicking the match-winning goal after the siren in his first Showdown last year, Dawson was again influential in a multitude of roles. Dawson was damaging in the midfield, but also made his mark when pushed forward and across half-back. He is proving to be a quality recruit having arrived on a five-year contact at the end of 2021.

PORT ADELAIDE     6.1      9.3      11.5    13.8 (86)
ADELAIDE                 5.1      9.3      11.8    18.9 (117)

GOALS
Port Adelaide: Dixon 3, Powell-Pepper 2, Jones, Duursma, Butters, Rozee, Rioli, Marshall, Fantasia
Adelaide: Thilthorpe 5, Rankine 4, Pedlar 3, Dawson, Rachele, Soligo, Jones

BEST
Port Adelaide: Rozee, Dixon, Powell-Pepper, Drew, Horne-Francis, Houston
Adelaide: Thilthorpe, Rankine, O’Brien, Dawson, Laird, Hinge

INJURIES
Port Adelaide: Nil
Adelaide: Berry (calf)

SUBSTITUTES:
Port Adelaide: Orazio Fantasia (replaced Xavier Duursma in third quarter)
Adelaide: Chayce Jones (replaced Sam Berry in third quarter)

Crowd: 48,962 at Adelaide Oval