Dangerfield, 19, relocated to Adelaide full time in November after spending his first year on the list finishing his Year 12 studies in Victoria.
The dynamic midfielder moved in with one of the club’s host families, but weeks after unpacking his bags he found himself in need of another new home.
Dangerfield’s host ‘father’, Geoff Dodd, whose past houseguests include forward Kurt Tippett, was offered the job as communications manager at Port Adelaide.
The irony of Adelaide’s prized recruit sleeping with the enemy, or at least under the same roof, was not lost on either club.
But nonetheless, the decision was made to re-house the talented teenager with a member of the Crows’ own staff.
On Saturday night, Dangerfield will do battle with Dodd’s team in Showdown XXVI at AAMI Stadium.
“It will be funny. I loved staying with Geoff and his family, but he was lucky enough to get a job at the Power,” Dangerfield told afc.com.au.
“It will be a good...a little internal rivalry. We didn’t talk about footy much at the dinner table, so neither of us gave away anything there.”
Dangerfield will be one of five Crows to play in their first-ever Showdown this week.
The other Showdown debutants, Andy Otten, Taylor Walker, Myke Cook and Jared Petrenko, all either hail from South Australia or have spent enough time at West Lakes to appreciate the hype surrounding the game.
But Dangerfield, who comes from Moggs Creek near Geelong, has never even seen a Showdown live and admitted he’d been surprised at the build up.
“It’s nothing like I’ve experienced before with how big the rivalry is between the two clubs. I wasn’t around last year when the Showdown was on and it’s pretty amazing really,” Dangerfield said.
“There’s talk of the rivalry over in Victoria, but you don’t really understand what it’s like until you’re over here experiencing it. It’s a lot bigger than I thought it would be and you can definitely feel it in the streets.
“People bump into you and say, ‘good luck with beating Port’. It’s a good atmosphere.”
Coach Neil Craig described Saturday night’s clash as the ‘perfect game’ for his youngest charges.
Dangerfield said he was looking forward to taking the next step in his football education.
“The boys have told me it’s just like any other game, except the rivalry in this one means the heat is on from the first bounce,” he said.
“We’ve gone from Collingwood at the MCG, to Geelong, to St Kilda and to Melbourne, so we’ve had a really good mix in the sides we’ve played against.
“Now, to come up against Port –another physical, hard running side—will be good for all us, not just the younger guys.”
