AFL round eight Showdown Adelaide Crows vs Port Adelaide live ...

It's a special night for the Crows now, and Rankine has put the cherry on top! He picked up the ball on the wing with three Port players around him, but weighed up his options and fancied his chances.

He stepped inside one and broke the tackle of Houston, took a bounce, ran to 45 and slotted it on the run. Sensational footy.

They have outfought and outplayed Port Adelaide tonight and the Crows will relish Showdown glory.

Port haven't been able to stop the flow of Crows out the back towards goal, and it's happened again there. Keays gets on the end of it in the goalsquare and makes no mistake.

Adelaide might be home! They have held on and held on as Port Adelaide missed their looks, and Rachele may have just struck the finishing blow.

It was a hopeful, aimless kick forward that Bergman looked to have covered. The bounce was cruel and fell straight into the lap of Sholl, who unselfishly handed off to Rachele in the goalsquare. It's back to 20 points with 7:30 to play.

Excellent work from the stoppage by Horne-Francis and Boak, but again the shot misses.

Port have now kicked 5.15. It ain't going to win you many games.

Jason Horne-Francis is playing as a deep forward and he is looking so dangerous. I won't mention what BT just called him on the Channel 7 call, but Horne-Francis is looking like a game-breaker at the moment.

Challenge is being thrown down to the Crows. It's a 15 point lead with 12 minutes left - defend it with your life.

Horne-Francis won the free kick for in the back in a heated contested, and made no mistake with his set shot from 40m out.

It's an even three-goal game with the best part of 15 minutes on the clock. Adelaide have been playing slowly in this quarter. There's a long time left to be shutting it down already.

We're not sure if it's actually last week's hamstring or a new injury that is bothering him, but either way the Port skipper is done for the day. Jackson Mead is on.

Adelaide have also subbed out Dan Curtin, bringing on Brodie Smith in his stead.

The last quarter of the Showdown is under.

The Crows could sense they were a goal or two away from breaking Port in that quarter, but they couldn't quite put it away. That late Horne-Francis goal has kept the door ajar for Port.

But for the Power to pinch this one, they would have to enjoy a rapid and significant increase in form and overall quality. They've been poor tonight, sloppy and disorganised and innacurate. The Crows have been committed and clinical and that has been enough to hold a five-goal lead for most of that quarter.

It's not over yet. Port Adelaide are well within reach. Can the Crows close it out?

That is Port Adelaide's first goal for basically two full quarters, but somehow it is still now only a 23-point game. They are still in it, even if they aren't playing like it.

Kane Farrell got on the move through the middle of the ground and his trusty left boot found JHF out the back. With thirty seconds on the clock, that is a hugely important goal for the Power.

Very weird stuff. He's been off for basically 13 minutes, just sitting on the bench and effectively sulking. He tried to do some run throughs and wasn't moving well.

And now he's back on the field. It's all really strange. I know Port want their captain out there but given what we're watching right now, they need fit players even more.

First Charlie Dixon, now Travis Boak have struck the same left goalpost and let massive chances go begging.

Port Adelaide are creating enough now but aren't taking chances and still look as vulnerable as ever the other way. Seven minutes to play in the third.

It looked as if he might have tweaked that hamstring again early in this quarter. He's been off for a while and looks frustrated on the bench, but there is no sub vest yet and no ice on the hammy.

Certainly one we're keeping an eye on. He hasn't looked close to 100% all night to be honest.

From the Eddie Betts Pocket, Izak Rankine pulls one out of his trick bag and sets Adelaide Oval alight.

The checkside off one step looks so easy for someone like Rankine, but there aren't many in the game who can pull something off like that. The Crows are charging!

And less than a minute into the second quarter, Port's woes deepen. The Crows took it out of the middle and forced a mismatch inside 50, allowing Walker to lead unopposed to the pocket.

It's out to 25 points now.

Another one for the young Crow, who is very much enjoying a breakout year in 2024. If I was to draw up an All Australian squad right now I reckon he would be in it.

He has a game-high 17 disposals, eight contested possessions and two score involvements to half-time. Slick, tough and damaging.

If you can't be at Adelaide Oval, I reckon you should be on a ferry off the Croatian coast. Thanks for following along!

Port Adelaide are still dominating the clearances and inside 50s, but they were beaten by Adelaide in that quarter and not just on the scoreboard.

The Power are disorganised and messy in defence, pensive with their ball movement and inaccurate in front of goal. It's not a great combo. The upside is that Butters is playing well and they are a team who can score quickly, but they aren't playing like that team right now.

The Crows embraced the scrap in that quarter and were the braver of the two teams going forward. They have been rewarded for their speed and bravery, and have been good value for their 19-point lead.

We expect a Port Adelaide response, but will it actually come? And can Adelaide withstand it? Second half not far away.

Somehow Sholl snuck out into space in the forward pocket when Port had so many numbers back in defence. There are gaps to be exploited tonight and the Crows are doing just that.

Port badly need the sort of late-quarter burst they enjoyed in the first term or this is starting to edge away from them on the balance of play.