A moment in history for women's sport in South Australia.

Tonight, Port Adelaide and the Adelaide Football Clubs will go to battle in Showdown One under lights at Adelaide Oval.

"This is the beginning of something and I'm sure there's going to be a rich history over coming seasons as we've obviously seen in the men's competition," Adelaide coach Matthew Clarke said on Thursday.

Since Round 4, 1997, Adelaide and Port Adelaide have battled in 52 Showdowns in the men's competition.

And it was the Power finishing on top in that first clash.

Now it's the women's turn to fight for bragging rights for the very first time.

That sentiment was echoed by Port Adelaide's inaugural coach Lauren Arnell.

"We trained here last night and that was a real vibe, this venue is amazing. I absolutely love Adelaide Oval and our group does too, so the vibe is unreal," Arnell said leading into the game.

Former players expect plenty of heat

The historic clash will pit the experience of premiership winners Adelaide and Port's young developing side — some only five games into their careers.

"We obviously have a pretty young midfield, but we also have a really quickly developing and connecting midfield that'll have a nice challenge ahead of them [on Friday] night," Arnell said.

It will also be the first time former Crows star Erin Phillips goes up against her former side for premiership points.

She was one of three players who made the switch to the Power in the off-season.

"I definitely don't hate the Crows," Phillips said on Wednesday.

"Obviously, for me, this is going to be a little bit weird, a little bit strange, playing against my former teammates but, at the end of the day, I'm a competitor.

Adding to the experience, there's every chance Phillips could line up against her good friend and former co-captain Chelsea Randall.

"No matter who she matches up on each week I expect [Chelsea Randall] to [compete hard]," Phillips said.

"If it's me she runs alongside, I'd expect that.

"We're great mates and we have a lot of respect for each other but, at the end of the day, we both play to win."

Her former coach said fans could expect to see the pair line up on each other at some stage throughout the match.

"What I know about them both, fierce competitors, and they'll both be desperate to win this game of footy and they'll be doing whatever they can to get their team over the line," Clarke said.

'When we cross the white line, it's game on'

Randall has been one of the dominant defenders of the competition since its inception.

Earlier this week she said she still couldn't believe how far the competition had come.

"It's something that we've been looking forward to for a very long time," Randall said earlier this week.

"It's pretty surreal and you keep kind of punching yourself, the journey that you've been on, the journey that we've shared and the journey that awaits us, it's pretty amazing."