AFL coaches don’t generally like to admit that external noise has an influence inside the four walls of their footy clubs, but Josh Carr took the universal dismissal of Port Adelaide’s chances of a Showdown win personally.
The injury-depleted, 15th-placed Power was supposed to be no match for the in-form fifth-ranked Adelaide outfit that had won six of its past seven games heading into Saturday night’s clash.
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But Showdown Medal winner Zak Butters and his fired-up team, proudly wearing the 1914 prison bars guernsey, rode roughshod over the top of their more-fancied opponents on their way to a 26-point win.
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“I’d be lying if I said that the external noise didn’t have an influence on your thought process, and that’s me personally, and I have no doubt the players at the same time,” Carr said.
“I think as a footy club, you can never underestimate us.
“We set out with a clear focus, but also about what Showdowns mean to us as a footy club.
“And when I’m talking about us, I’m talking about everyone, I’m talking about our supporters, and everyone involved.
“We know what it means, and we spoke about that, we spoke about that as a group, and we’re not living in the past, we’re respecting what our history is, and we understand how important our jumper is.”
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Butters speaks after ’emotional’ win | 02:02
Stand-in skipper Zak Butters, who claimed the Showdown Medal with a dominant 37-possession performance, admitted he heard the outside noise, but his focus was more inward.
“I guess it’s hard, you live in Adelaide, you’re going to see some stuff,” he said.
“But I feel like, and my message was pretty similar to the boys before the game than what Josh spoke about, but mainly it was about us and our fans and what we’ve done previously.
“They paved the way for us, so it was more about us being together, us being united.”
He added on Fox Footy: “It’s definitely one of the best wins of my career. I thought Kenny‘s (Hinkley’s) last game last year was pretty good, but I think that goes close to topping it.
“It was a pretty emotional week for the footy club. Esava (Ratugolea) and a few other boys, season-ending injuries and it can be pretty emotional sometimes when your mates get hurt.
“Adelaide is a small town and there was a lot of talk during the week. I think just about everyone bar our fans and those inside our four walls wrote us off.
“It’s a pretty special win.”
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The win moved Port’s win-loss record to 5-10 for the season and kept its slim finals chances alive.
It also played a larger role that helps Power fans see what is possible beyond this season, according to Carr.
“I think it just reinforces about enjoying the journey that we’re on,” he said.
“We’re going to have our ups and downs, but I think you see your green shoots, you see your young guys … have a (good) game in a big game against a really good team.
“The confidence win that we get as a footy club, and as a team and individually, but also I reckon the supporters can see that.
“(But) at no stage this year have I ever felt that the supporters aren’t behind what we’re doing and where we’re going, and I feel the support from everyone.
“As frustrating as it has been at times with the close losses that we’ve had, I’ve always felt like we’ve been supported.”