Adelaide Crows star Josh Rachele puts a target on his head after VERY cheeky swipe at Port Adelaide supporters ahead of Showdown clash
- Josh Rachele has lit the fuse for the AFL Showdown
- Rival Port supporters brazenly declared ‘have no teeth’
- Port Adelaide are on their way to the finals, Adelaide Crows are in 15th place
Adelaide Crows star Josh Rachele is encouraging Port Adelaide fans to boo him relentlessly ahead of Saturday’s derby Showdown, and they’ll be doing so en masse after he made a pre-match statement that their fans “have no teeth”.
The young man caused a stir on Adelaide radio station FIVEAA and repeated his comments earlier on Nova FM.
βI’ve said before that the Port supporters aren’t that strong,β Rachele, 21, said cheekily.
‘I shouldn’t have said that…I know (it’s a home game for Port).’
When asked if he expected a hostile reception, the young man was adamant that his comments would only ruin the sporting world.
“No, I don’t care if they boo me,” he said. “I love it.”
Rachele’s comments did not go down well with Premier League player and Port media personality Kane Cornes, who suggested the forward should play the game of his life.
You would like to get a kick [and perform] βAfter I said that,β he said on SEN Breakfast.
Adelaide Crows star Josh Rachele has encouraged Port Adelaide fans to boo him relentlessly ahead of Saturday’s derby Showdown – and they will do just that after he declared before the match that their supporters ‘have no teeth’
Rachele’s comments drew criticism from Port Premiership player and media identity Kane Cornes, who suggested the forward should play the game of his life
He also said, ‘It’s a mini Grand Final’. Josh, you [Adelaide] are in the bottom four…if it’s a mini Grand Final they don’t have much to offer.
‘But anyway, as a young player he will learn and he is quite open and exposed β we like that, the media and the celebrations β but when you go there you also want to play well.
‘If there’s a high ball in the first quarter that he has to sit under, you have to sit under that foot.
‘I don’t want you to drop your head, you have to come back strong, especially when you expose yourself like this.
“It’s fine, as long as you support it. I just want a strong race, because there have been times this year where Josh hasn’t had a strong race.”
Port will be favourites to start at Adelaide Oval as they currently sit second on the AFL ladder with the finals approaching.
It’s a telling statistic that Adelaide has won the last three Showdowns.