Port Adelaide's injury crisis has taken a worrying turn, with three more players ruled out during their woeful 30-point loss at the hands of rivals Adelaide during Showdown 55 on Thursday night.
Skipper Connor Rozee's hamstring, which he injured a week prior against St Kilda, caused him grief and saw him put on ice at three-quarter time.
On top of that, young forward Mitch Georgiades was also seen with ice on his knee in the final term.
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Georgiades has only recently returned from a ruptured ACL.
Then, key forward Todd Marshall also came to the bench in the final term looking proopy and in pain.
Rozee spent an extended period on the bench in the third term, utilising the warm up bike and coming back on the ground briefly, before the call was officially made to bench him.
The club reported the injury as hamstring tightness.
The further setbacks add insult to injury for the Power, who will also be without Sam Powell-Pepper for the rest of 2024, after it was confirmed earlier in the week that he had ruptured his ACL against St Kilda in round seven.
On top of their growing injury list, Port Adelaide were dismal in front of goal, kicking themselves out of contention.
It took the Power 55 minutes to kick their fourth goal of the night in the final minute of the third quarter, being held goalless in the second term.
They managed to pile on 18 behinds in a shocking display that will leave coach Ken Hinkley scratching his head on what to do next.
Travis Boak kicked three behinds for the night, taking his tally to 0.7 for the season.
Meantime, rivals Adelaide proved that no matter how well each side is travelling, the Showdown always produces a shock result.
https://twitter.com/PAFC/status/1785996953991676277
The Crows sit in 12th after the win, while the Power sit in eighth.
"No matter where we are on the ladder, it's always a great contest," Crows veteran Tex Walker said on 7 post match.
Walker became extremely emotional when discussing his teammate, Rory Sloane, who retired earlier in the week based on medical advice surrounding his most recent retina eye surgery.
"I love him and his beautiful family. To not be able to play again with him is tough," Walker said on 7, holding back tears.
"What he's been able to do in those 255 games, we've been so lucky to be able to see a beautiful man play the game in the right spirit."
52,106 patrons flocked to Adelaide Oval for Showdown 55, which saw the Crows edge ahead of their rivals, holding 28 wins.
The Power remain on 27 Showdown victories.
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