| Names | |
|---|---|
| Full name | Port Adelaide Football Club Ltd[1] |
| Nickname(s) | Power (AFL) Magpies (SANFL) |
| Motto | "It Starts Here" The Power, The Creed, Since 1870 |
| 2011 season | |
| Premiership | 16th |
| Pre-season Cup | First round |
| Leading goalkicker | Robbie Gray (32) |
| Best and fairest | Travis Boak, Jackson Trengove |
| Club details | |
| Founded | 1870 |
| Colours | Black Teal White Silver |
| Competition | Australian Football League |
| Chairman | Brett Duncanson |
| Coach | Matthew Primus |
| Captain(s) | Domenic Cassisi |
| Premierships | SANFL (36): 1884, 1890, 1897, 1903, 1906, 1910, 1913, 1914, 1921, 1928, 1936, 1937, 1939, 1951, 1954, 1955, 1956, 1957, 1958, 1959, 1962, 1963, 1965, 1977, 1979, 1980, 1981, 1988, 1989, 1990, 1992, 1994, 1995, 1996, 1998, 1999
AFL (1): 2004 |
| Ground(s) | Football Park (capacity: 51,515) |
| Alberton Oval (Training) (capacity: 15,000) | |
| Other information | |
| Official website | www.portadelaidefc.com.au |
| Guernsey: |
|
| Current season: 2011 Port Adelaide Football Club season |
|
The Port Adelaide Football Club is an Australian rules football club based in Alberton, South Australia, which plays in the Australian Football League (AFL) (in which they are known as the Power) and the South Australian National Football League (SANFL) (in which they are known as the Magpies).[2] Port Adelaide is the older of the two clubs in South Australia playing in the AFL and the 18th Australian rules club formed in Australia. Since the club’s first game in 1870 it has won 36 SANFL premierships, including six in a row. The club also won the Champions of Australia competition on four occasions.[3][4]
From its foundation in 1870 to 1996, the club representing Port Adelaide competed in the SANFL as the "Port Adelaide Football Club". The club has had various nicknames over the years, including: the Cockledivers, the Seaside Men, the Seasiders and the Magentas, before finally settling on the Magpies in 1902. In 1997, the club joined the Australian Football League. On entry, Port Adelaide adopted a new nickname, "The Power", and added two more colours (silver and teal). Since joining the AFL, Port Adelaide have added the 2004 AFL Grand Final to their premiership wins, thereby bringing the total premierships to 37 (one AFL and 36 SANFL), as well as the four Champion of Australia wins. The club's AFL licence is held by the SANFL.
The Port Adelaide Football Club was established in late April or early May 1870[5] as part of a joint football and cricket club. The football club played its first match against a team called the "Young Australians" on 24 May 1870 at Buck's Flat, a property owned by club president John Hart jnr in Glanville, South Australia. Football in South Australia at this stage was yet to be organised and there were several sets of rules in use across the state.
In 1877 however, Port Adelaide joined seven other local clubs and formed the South Australian Football Association, the first organisation of its type in Australia. It competed its first few seasons wearing a rose pink outfit with white knickerbockers. The club initially enjoyed modest success, but did not win a premiership until 1884. By this time the outfit had changed to magenta with navy knickerbockers. In 1880, the club moved from Glanville Park Oval to Alberton Oval which, except for the 1975 and 1976 seasons, has been its base ever since. Port Adelaide won its second premiership in 1890 and after defeating the VFA premiers, South Melbourne was crowned the "Champions of Australia" for the first time.
In the 1890s Australia was affected by a severe depression and many of Port Adelaide's working class players were forced to move interstate to find work. This transferred into poor results on the field. In 1896, with the club in crisis, the club committee met with the aim revitalising the Port Adelaide Football Club. It had immediate results and in 1897 Port Adelaide won a third premiership. Stan Malin won Port Adelaide's first Magarey Medal in 1899. In 1900, Port finished bottom in the six-team competition, which it has not done since.
In 1903, Port Adelaide took to the field in black and white for the first time after having trouble finding the appropriate dye for its magenta guernseys. The club, now being referred to as 'the Magpies', won premierships in 1903, 1906, 1910, 1913 and 1914. Port Adelaide also added to its 'Champions of Australia' titles with victories in 1910, 1913 and 1914. In 1914 Port achieved the distinction of going through the entire season without losing a match. At the end of 1914 the SAFA put together a combined team from all other SAFA clubs to play Port which the Magpies won.
The SAFA competition was suspended from 1916 to 1918 because of World War I. Port Adelaide's pre-war success did not continue and from 1919 to 1935, the club recorded only two premiership wins in 1921 and 1928. As it did in the 1890s, the depression of the early 1930s hit the club hard with players moving interstate to secure employment. However, by the late 1930s, the economy and Port Adelaide's form both recovered and Port went on to win premierships in 1936, 1937 and 1939.
Just as had happened in 1914, the SANFL was hit hard by player losses in World War II. Due to a lack of players the leagues 12 teams were reduced to six with Port Adelaide merging with nearby West Torrens Football Club from 1942 to 1944 picking up one premiership in this period. Once the normal competition resumed in 1945, Port Adelaide struggled to regain its pre-war success and played in only one grand final for the rest of the 1940s.
Champion players in this era included Bob Quinn, Sampson Hosking, Les Dayman and Bob McLean
Desperate to improve the clubs performance, the Port Adelaide committee went in search of a coach that could win the club a premiership. In a decision which would influence the next 50 years of the Port Adelaide Football Club, in 1950 the committee hired Foster Neil Williams, a brilliant rover from West Adelaide as captain-coach. Williams brought to the club a new coaching style based on success at any cost. In his second season as coach, Williams led Port to their first premiership since 1939 and the club played in every grand final for the rest of the decade, winning a record six premierships in a row from 1954 to 1959. Williams left as coach in 1958 and Port Adelaide's form declined. With Williams return in 1962, Port Adelaide won three of the next four premierships taking his tally to nine.
This era introduced players such as John Cahill, Peter Woite, Dave Boyd, Geof Motley and Russell Ebert to the football public. However, the club failed to win a premiership over the period 1966–1976. Port Adelaide was frustrated particularly by the dominance of Sturt, which won seven premierships over this period under the leadership of Jack Oatey.
One of Port Adelaide's finest players during the Fos Williams era was John Cahill. He eventually became William's protégé and ultimately took over as coach in 1974. Cahill coached in the Williams style and was, if anything, even more aggressive. Cahill took Port to their first Grand Final under his leadership in 1976. They lost the match but went on to win premierships in four of the next five seasons from 1977 to 1981.
Off-field, a dispute between the Port Adelaide City Council and the SANFL over the use of Alberton Oval forced Port Adelaide to move its home matches to Adelaide Oval for two seasons from 1975 to 1976. Port Adelaide completely dominated the 1976 season, winning 17 of the 21 minor round matches. The grand final against Sturt saw an attendance of 66,897, a record which still stands for the SANFL. Despite losing the Qualifying Final to Glenelg and with their players being labelled "too old and too slow" to defeat Port, Sturt recovered and overwhelmed Port to win by 41 points. The council dispute was eventually resolved with Port moving back to Alberton in 1977.
In 1981 Port's David Granger was to be the first footballer in the SANFL to be suspended on video evidence. Granger's retirement following a 10 week suspension in 1982 is seen as the end to an era of violence in the game that had become common for all the clubs in their drive to win at all costs.
Cahill left the SANFL Magpies in 1983 to coach the VFL Magpies, Collingwood, for two seasons. This saw Port Adelaide's form drop and they failed to win another premiership until 1988. Meanwhile, the 1980s marked the rise of the VFL as the premier football competition in the country and many SANFL players were moving to the VFL for the larger salaries on offer.
As early as 1982, there was talk of a side from South Australia entering the VFL. This was fast tracked in 1987 when a team from Western Australia, the West Coast Eagles, and a team from Brisbane, the Brisbane Bears joined the VFL. This left South Australia as the only mainland state in Australia without a team in an increasingly national competition.
The SANFL had been unwilling to field a South Australian side in the VFL until it could be done without negatively affecting football within the state. In 1990, the Port Adelaide Football Club, frustrated at the SANFL's lack of action and looking to secure its own future, accepted an invitation from the VFL to join the VFL, which had now become the AFL. The AFL signed a Heads of Agreement with the club in expectation that Port would enter the competition in 1991, making that there would be two "Port Adelaide Football Clubs," one in the AFL and one in the SANFL. What ensued was one of the most bitter episodes in South Australian football history that split the state, the fault lines of which are still evident today.[6] Furious at what it perceived to be treacherous behaviour by Port Adelaide, the SANFL told Port Adelaide to decline the invitation and if they didn't, the SANFL would take legal action. The AFL suggested to the SANFL that if they didn't want Port Adelaide to join the AFL, then they can put forward a counter bid to enter a composite South Australian side into the AFL. After legal action from all parties, the AFL finally agreed to accept the SANFL's bid and the Adelaide Football Club was born.[6] It has been suggested "in hindsight" that this was the result the AFL actually wanted. The VFL had previously indicated that it did not want an established team from South Australia, but a composite side. With substantial financial benefits to the AFL if South Australia did field a composite team, Port Adelaide may have been the "fall guy" who was encouraged to force the SANFL to field a team earlier than it had intended.[6]
The fallout from this failed bid was disastrous with some even calling for Port Adelaide to be expelled from the SANFL.[6] However, Port Adelaide continued to compete and continued to dominate. The Magpies followed their triple triumphs from 1988 to 1990 with a premiership in 1992 and three in a row again from 1994 to 1996, then again in 1998 and 1999. This equated to nine premierships in twelve seasons.
But the anger from the failed AFL bid continued to simmer below the surface. In 1994, the AFL announced it would award a second AFL licence to a South Australian club. Port Adelaide seemed to be the obvious choice bid and after much deliberation, the AFL awarded Port Adelaide the second licence and after years of delays, Port was set to enter the premier competition in Australia.
However a licence did not guarantee entry and although a target year of 1996 was set, this was reliant on an existing AFL club folding or merging with another. In 1996, cash-strapped Fitzroy announced it would merge with Brisbane Bears to form Brisbane Lions. A spot had finally opened and it was announced that in 1997, one year later than expected, Port Adelaide would enter the AFL.
Due to the fact that Collingwood, an existing VFL/AFL club was already using the black and white club colours and the Magpie emblem,[7] as well as the Magpies nickname, it was incumbent on Port Adelaide to find new colours and a new nickname to avoid a clash. In 1995, a new guernsey – jumper was created with the look unveiled made up of Black, White, Silver and Teal which represents the water of the Port River. The logo consisted of three strips, reflecting the colours.
Once an entry date had been confirmed, the Port Adelaide Football Club set about forming a side fit for competition in the AFL. It was announced that existing Magpies coach, John Cahill would make the transition to the AFL and Stephen Williams would take over the Magpies coaching role. Cahill then set about forming a group which would form the inaugural squad. Brownlow Medallist and former Magpie, Gavin Wanganeen was poached from Essendon Football Club and made captain of a team made up of six existing Magpies players, players from other SANFL clubs and some recruits from interstate.
Although for the next 10 years, the Port Adelaide in the AFL would enjoy success on and off the field, including a premiership, The Magpies struggled to find form on the field from 2000 onward. The Magpies won the 1998 and 1999 SANFL premierships, they failed to reach any Grand Finals after that.
The Magpies stopped winning Grand Finals, and started to lose more games than games won. At the turn of the century, it seemed to be a change of fortune for the Magpies and the Central Districts Bulldogs. The Magpies, who have been the most successful club in Australia, started to be the laughing stock of the state because they were being thrashed week-in, week-out, while Centrals were joying envied success, winning eight of the next ten SANFL premierships, and becoming the first team to appear in all of the Grand Finals in a decade.
Stephen Williams was appointed coach of the Port Adelaide Magpies Football Club when John Cahill stepped aside mid-season in 1996 to concentrate solely on his job as coach of the Port Adelaide Football Club that had joined the AFL. Williams guided the club to three more premierships (one in 1996 as the previous PAFC and two as the PAMFC) before announcing his resignation at the end of the 2003 season. The 2005 season saw club legend John Cahill return to coach the Magpies for a year, leading the club to finish in third position. Recruit Jeremy Clayton dominated the competition until a rupturing his spleen in the qualifying final victory over the Eagles ended his season and meant that he had to watch from his hospital bed as won the 2005 Magarey Medal. In 2006 Tim Ginever, who was Cahill’s assistant in 2005, took over the reins as senior coach and Mark Clayton as the new captain of the club.
At the end of the 2009 season, Tony Bamford took over the coaching role of the Magpies coach, after the club was sick of poor performances under head coach, Tim Ginever.
Since 2008, the Port Magpies have not reached the SANFL finals series. In 2009 and 2010, the team finished a disappointing 8th, and with financial difficulty, it looked like the Port Adelaide Football Club, in the SANFL and AFL, would be gone forever. But, in early 2011, the SANFL approved the Port Adelaide Football Club merger with both the Power and Magpies, ensured that the football club with remain forever.
On 20 August 2010, the "One Port Adelaide Football Club" movement was launched by a former player, Tim Ginever, in a bid to merge the Power and the Port Adelaide Magpies, in the SANFL competition, as one club. The movement created a website for people to sign so that the Power and the Magpies might become one club. The website claims that it needs at least 50,000 people to sign up for the Power and the Magpies to merge. On 15 November 2010, all nine SANFL clubs came together for a meeting to decide if the merger would go ahead. The meeting decided that the off-field merger between the two clubs would proceed.[8][9]
In May 2011 the SANFL sought to take control of Port Adelaide to ensure the club remains competitive. Despite the SANFL underwriting $5 million of Port's debt in 2010, the takeover failed when the SANFL was unable to get a line of credit to cover Port Adelaide's future debts. On 1 June it was announced that the AFL would underwrite $1.25 million in debt to protect its $1.25 billion television rights. The AFL lay the blame for the situation on a lack of Port Adelaide supporters stating that without more support from fans there are no guarantees that the club would survive after 2017 when the television rights are due for re-negotiation.[10]
Since the start of the 2011 SANFL season, the Port Adelaide Magpies enjoyed a better season, with just missing out on the finals by one premiership point to South Adelaide that came down to the last round, where Port needed to defeat Woodville-West Torrens to get into the finals, and for Port to lose, and South to produce a massive upset victory against 2nd placed Norwood to get into the finals. The overall result was that Port lost to Woodville-West Torrens at home by 32 points and South Adelaide scraped through to the finals for the first time since 2006, after surprisingly defeating Norwood by 22 points. If both Port and South lost, then Port would have been in the finals because of higher percentage over South.
In the 2011 season, Port showed that it could be playing finals by as early as next year, but it also showed how much more they needed to improve after some shock losses to Woodville-West Torrens, West Adelaide and South Adelaide, as well as some dismal perfformances against Norwood, which they lost to by 100 points early in the season, and their disappointing 41 point loss to Centrals late in the season, after losing by under 20 points in their previous two clashes.
On 29 March 1997, Port Adelaide played its first match for AFL premiership points against Collingwood at the MCG, suffering a 79 point defeat. Port won its first game in the AFL in Round 3 against Geelong on 12 April 1997 by 39 points. In Round 4, it recorded one if its best wins for the season when it defeated cross town rivals and eventual premiers Adelaide by 11 points in the first Showdown. At the midway point of the season (round 11) Port were in ninth position out of the eight by just percentage. As late as the conclusion of Round 17 Port Adelaide sat equal second following an impressive 50-point victory over Essendon at the MCG, however a tough run to culminate the regular season dashed hopes of cementing an unlikely finals bid as away trips to Geelong, Richmond and Brisbane and home games versus eventual Grand Finalists Adelaide and St. Kilda reaped just the two Premiership points by way of a draw at the Gabba. Port Adelaide was widely tipped to take the wooden spoon at the start of the season but defied the critics and recovered from its poor start to finish 9th just percentage behind Brisbane. To end the year Michael Wilson won the Rising Star Award.
The 1998 season was looking very similar to the previous year as they hovered around ninth position for most of the year and looked like a threat for finals after Round 14, but after that they lost six of their last eight games including defeats of over nine goals to North Melbourne, Adelaide and Carlton. The Power finished the 1998 season in 10th place, with a record of 9 wins, 12 losses and 1 draw.
In 1999 Mark Williams took over as coach of Port Adelaide. In only its third season the club played in the pre-season grand final against Hawthorn at Waverley Park. Port Adelaide lost 5.6 (36) to 12.11 (83). The season wasn't looking very promising and by Round 12 they had dropped down to a low of fourteenth. But they put together a five game win streak from Round 13 through to Round 17 to eventually finish seventh and earn them a spot in the finals for the first time in the club's history. They were however eliminated by eventual premier, North Melbourne, by 44 points in the Qualifying Final. Port Adelaide had achieved real success for the first time in the national competition.
After a very promising 1999 Port had an extremely poor start to the 2000 season where they won just one game until Round 13. After Round 13 however they had a promising finish to the year winning six of their last ten games. They finished 14th, recording 7 wins, 14 losses and 1 draw.
| 2001 Ansett Australia Cup Grand Final | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Saturday, 17 March | Port Adelaide | def. | Brisbane Lions | Football Park (Crowd: 35,304) | |
| 1.3 (9) 9.5 (59) 15.6 (96) 17.9 (111) |
Q1 Q2 Q3 Final |
1.3 (9) 1.3 (9) 3.6 (24) 3.8 (26) |
Michael Tuck Medal: Adam Kingsley (Port Adelaide) |
||
Port Adelaide had a very successful 2001 season, starting with a maiden pre-season competition victory, defeating the Brisbane Lions 17.9 (111) to 3.8 (26) with Adam Kingsley awarded the Michael Tuck Medal as best afield. They became the first non-Melbourne based club to win the pre season premiership and the first club to win both Showdown's in the same year, defeating the Crows by 65 and eight points respectively. The Power finished their 2001 home and away season with 16 wins and six losses, finishing third on the ladder and qualifying for the finals series. The club travelled to Brisbane for the Qualifying Final, losing by 32 points. They had however earned themselves a second chance by finishing third and had a home Semi Final against the team who had finish 6th, Hawthorn. Port led by 17 points going into the last quarter but failed to convert and lost by three points.
| 2002 Wizard Home Loans Cup Grand Final | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Saturday, 16 March | Richmond | def. by | Port Adelaide | Colonial Stadium (Crowd: 36,481) | |
| 0.1 (1) 2.5 (17) 5.6 (36) 9.8 (62) |
Q1 Q2 Q3 Final |
2.3 (15) 6.6 (42) 7.7 (49) 10.11 (71) |
Michael Tuck Medal: Nick Stevens (Port Adelaide) |
||
| Hilton 2, Ottens 2, J Bowden, M Richardson, Fiora, Krakouer, A Kellaway | Goals | P Burgoyne 2, Tredrea 2, Schofield, Francou, Cockatoo-Collins, Dew, D Murray, N Stevens | |||
| A Kellaway, J Bowden, Ottens, B Holland, Hilton | Best | Port Adelaide: Wanganeen, Francou, N Stevens, Hardwick, D Wakelin, Tredre | |||
| Nil | Injuries | Nil | |||
| Reports | Hardwick (Port) reported by field umpire Ellis and emergency umpire Schmitt in third quarter for allegedly tripping Hilton (Richmond | ||||
Port Adelaide started 2002 strongly, winning the Pre Season competition for the second time in a row (71–62 against the Richmond Tigers) with Nick Stevens awarded the Michael Tuck Medal. The side built on its success in 2002 and won its first minor premiership with an 18–4 record. However, they could not convert this form into a Grand Final berth. Qualifying for the finals series, they were upset in the Qualifying Final by Collingwood 108–95, but won their second match over Essendon 83–59 to qualify for the preliminary final before losing to the eventual Grand Final winners the Brisbane Lions 138–82.
Despite the disappointment of the finals of 2002, Port Adelaide continued its minor round dominance and again finished top to claim the McClelland Trophy in 2003. Port Adelaide lost the qualifying final to Sydney, defeated Essendon in the Semi then lost to Collingwood by 44 points in the Preliminary Final.
| 2004 AFL Grand Final | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Saturday, 25 September 2:40 pm | Port Adelaide | def. | Brisbane Lions | MCG (Crowd: 77,671) | |
| 4.5 (29) 6.6 (42) 12.8 (80) 17.11 (113) |
Q1 Q2 Q3 Final |
2.2 (14) 6.7 (43) 9.9 (63) 10.13 (73) |
Umpires: James, Allen, McInerney Norm Smith Medal: Byron Pickett (Port Adelaide) |
||
| Wanganeen 4 Pickett, Thurstans 3 S. Burgoyne, Carr, Dew, Kingsley, Lade, Mahoney, Tredrea 1 |
Goals | Akermanis, Bradshaw, Notting 3 Keating 1 |
|||
| Pickett, P. Burgoyne, Wanganeen, Thurstans, K. Cornes | Best | Akermanis, Notting, Lappin, Bradshaw | |||
The year of 2004 was arguably the greatest season in the club's history.
Port Adelaide opened the season well with victories over Essendon, West Coast and Hawthorn. After which, the club then faltered slightly winning only four of its next eight games. At this stage Port Adelaide had dropped as low as fifth on the premiership table, three games below ladder leaders St Kilda. From rounds twelve to seventeen Port Adelaide turned their fortunes around and had six consecutive wins and were equal top of the ladder with Brisbane, St Kilda and Melbourne. Although in contention for the Minor Premiership Port Adelaide then suffered another hiccup with an unexpected loss to Essendon.
The following week Port Adelaide bounced back with a comprehensive victory over top to the table Melbourne. In the succeeding two weeks Port Adelaide beat lowly placed Western Bulldogs and Collingwood and were sitting on top of the ladder. With one round to go Port Adelaide needed to beat cross town rivals to claim the Minor Premiership for the third consecutive year. In a hard fought game Port Adelaide accounted for the Adelaide Crows by twenty five points. Port Adelaide was assisted by the ascendancy of soon to be name All-Australian Centre Half Forward Warren Tredrea. Tredrea dominated his opponent Ben Rutten collecting twenty one disposals, eleven marks, four goals and three Brownlow Medal votes.
Port Adelaide easily won the qualifying final against Geelong, earning a home Preliminary Final. Port Adelaide made it through to its first AFL Grand Final after defeating St Kilda in a thrilling Preliminary Final by just six points in front of over 46,000 people at home, with Gavin Wanganeen kicking the winning goal with about a minute to go. On 25 September 2004, Port Adelaide faced a highly fancied Brisbane side attempting to win a record-equalling fourth straight AFL premiership. Only one point separated the sides at half time, however late in the third quarter Port Adelaide took the ascendency and romped home in the final term to win by 40 points: 17.11 (113) to 10.13 (73). Byron Pickett was awarded with the Norm Smith Medal after being judged the best player in the match, tallying 20 disposals and kicking four goals.
After the euphoria of 2004, Port Adelaide struggled to maintain its form and endured a disappointing 2005. After a slow start to the season, they finished eighth to scrape into the finals series where they defeated the Kangaroos by 87 points. In the next round Port faced the highly fancied minor premiers Adelaide. This match, dubbed "The Ultimate Showdown", marked the first occasion where the two cross-town rivals had met in a finals series. The result was an anti-climax for Port, who went down by 83 points in a massive turnaround from their performance the previous week against the Kangaroos.
After having a shaky start to the 2006 season the side played into some form, winning four consecutive matches, before losing four consecutive matches. After having lost to St Kilda, the Power sat in 12th position with only six wins out of a possible sixteen. The Power then went on to lose to the Swans and the Kangaroos which gave them their worst ever losing streak of six consecutive losses. The Power then travelled to Darwin to take on finals bound Western Bulldogs and fought to a gutsy 14 point win after some last quarter heroics from Michael Pettigrew, placing The Power in 11th position with seven wins and 12 losses with three games remaining.
After going down to Collingwood by two points in Round 20 at home, the Power faced the highly-fancied, premiership favoured, but injury-decimated arch-rival Adelaide in Round 21 in Showdown XXI. Adelaide dominated early proceedings, but kept Port Adelaide in the game with their wasteful kicking for goal, with 3.8, and two shots out on the full. The Power youngsters took advantage and fought hard for a 14-point victory, ending the recent Crows winning streak over them and giving their supporters great hope that another premiership was not too far away. Chad Cornes was named Showdown Medallist as best-on-ground in the game.
2006 was seen as a very important year for the Power, as the new guard had begun to show that they are capable of great things and are working towards playing finals again in 2007. The Power had a club record number of nominations for the AFL Rising Star award in 2006, and provided the winner in Danyle Pearce. In the Brownlow Medal count, the Power's best outpolled the favourites from cross-town nemesis Adelaide. 2006 Best and Fairest Brendon Lade and midfielder Shaun Burgoyne each scored 15 votes, while NAB Rising Star Danyle Pearce took thirteen – with Port Adelaide finishing the count with 67 votes – one of the top eight clubs for the night. With 2006 being a fairly disappointing year all up, six of the clubs eight wins that year were to teams that finished in the top eight in 2006, including the beltings they gave to reigning premiers Sydney and future premiers of that year West Coast.
Port Adelaide equalled their best ever start to a season, with six wins and one loss after round 7, after defeating Fremantle, North Melbourne, Collingwood, St Kilda and Richmond, although losing to the Adelaide Crows. Coach Mark Williams believed the Power was now reaping the rewards of its decision to allow seven key players to undergo surgery in 2006 to get them fit to play for 2007.[11]
Many players enjoyed great starts to the season, including Ex-Richmond Tigers player David Rodan, who performed solidly in his first game against his former club, continuing his impressive career revival at the Power. Also, explosive midfielder Shaun Burgoyne was an early contender to win the Brownlow Medal, while Chad Cornes' was also in the hunt. Slightly-built speedster Nathan Krakouer, nephew of North Melbourne brothers Jimmy Krakouer and Phil Krakouer, also showed plenty of raw talent and exciting glimpses of his potential.
Round 8 saw Port incur a 31 point defeat at the hands of last year's grand finallists Sydney at the SCG. Halfway through the fourth quarter the Power cut the gap to just 19 points, but Sydney answered with another two goals and sealed the match. The Power's best midfielders were negated, and although it won the first possessions and the clearances, Port didn't do enough with them. With their second loss of the season, the Power slipped back to second position on the ladder behind the Eagles.
The Power incurred further losses in Rounds 9, 10 and 11, to Geelong, Hawthorn and Carlton respectively, leaving it reeling with four consecutive losses. However in its Round 12 match against Essendon, Port Adelaide had a confidence-boosting win (126 to 95), returning to its traditional attacking style of game, in Tredrea's 200th game for the power, who scored four goals in the match. Robert Gray also booted four goals for the Power, in just his third match[12]
Round 15 saw the Power trashing the premiers West Coast by 91 points, their biggest win that year. Chad Cornes, Justin Westhoff and Daniel Motlop kicked four goals apiece and Kane Cornes restricted Chris Judd to just 11 disposals while getting 35 disposals himself. They finished the minor season 2nd on the ladder, behind eventual premier, Geelong
Heritage-Themed Round: The 2006 controversy concerning the AFL's refusal to permit Port to wear its traditional black-and-white "prison bar" guernsey in the heritage-themed rounds continued in 2007. Earlier in the year, Power chief executive John James said the club was waiting for confirmation from the AFL that it could wear its 1970s prison bar guernsey for the match against the Western Bulldogs. He said Port was also looking for confirmation it would be able to continue to honour its heritage in any future heritage rounds. Port Adelaide wore black-and-white in the SANFL from 1902 until adding teal and silver to its colours when it joined the AFL in 1997 to avoid a clash with Collingwood. Port Adelaide decided not to participate in the 2006 heritage round when the AFL did not approve the club’s 1980s-style black-and-white guernsey for its 80s themed heritage round. Collingwood club president Eddie McGuire has been a vocal opponent of Port wearing the prison bar guernsey, claiming that Collingwood has an exclusive right to wear black and white in the AFL, even in the heritage round. John James stated that the Power possibly received more correspondence from its supporters about the heritage guernsey than about any other issue and that the club would "continue to fight for its heritage and what is right".[13] On 14 May 2007 the AFL and Port reached an agreement whereby Port can wear its prison bar guernsey in the heritage round this season, with the proviso that in future seasons its players can only wear it in home heritage round games and provided that such a game is not against Collingwood.[14]
Some former players also criticised wearing the heritage guernsey and called for the club to distance itself from its previous history to attract a wider fan base. Roger James says he had always viewed the Power as a new club "I understand Port's background but as far as I'm concerned the Power was started from scratch, has only been in the (AFL) competition for 11 years and was made up of players from every SANFL club, to me, its heritage goes back to 1997 and that's why I question the decision to wear a Magpies jumper." Josh Francou commented that "It's time to move on, I can understand Port wanting to recognise its history but there is still a stigma attached with the Port Magpies in that if you don't like them you absolutely hate them and I think Port – while still being respectful of its heritage – has to move away from that."[15]
Port Adelaide started their finals campaign against the West Coast Eagles at AAMI Stadium and won a tight contest by three points. The final score was 9.14 (68) to West Coast Eagles 9.11 (65). That win gave Port the week off, their next game would be the Preliminary final against the Kangaroos, who defeated Hawthorn in the Semi-finals. Port easily defeated the Kangaroos to win by 87 points, 20.13 (133) to the Kangaroos 5.16 (46). This win ensured Port of a grand final berth, their second in four years. However, in the Grand Final they were defeated by Geelong by a AFL record margin of 119 points, 24.19 (163) to Port Adelaide's 6.8 (44) in a crowd of 97,302.
It was a disappointing 2008 for a Port Adelaide side keen to build on the 2007 grand final appearance. Injuries hurt the side late in the season but only after finals became impossible to reach. Port Adelaide was slow out of the blocks, not notching up a win until round five, by when it seemed its season was over. There were convincing wins over St Kilda in round six and Essendon the following week. But there were some extremely poor showings and the season was one of underachievement. Kane Cornes was once again at his consistent best in the middle winning the club's best and fairest at the end of the year, while Daniel Motlop showed at times that he can be one of the most damaging forwards going around, being the Power's leading goal kicker. Early losses in the season also saw the Power labelled as "downhill skiers" in their round 11 clash against Carlton by opposition coach Brett Ratten.[16] Later on, the round 13 game loss to Richmond at home embodied Port Adelaide’s season. The Power looked to have the Tigers’ measure with a strong opening few minutes before Richmond powered away to kick nine goals in the first term and consolidate a lead that couldn't be reclaimed. Richmond lesser lights Cleve Hughes and Mitch Morton starred up forward and put an end to any finals plans Mark Williams may have had. This game was one of too many that Port Adelaide should have easily won but didn't. After the game Mark Williams called the Power's season as "officially off". Many had tipped Justin Westoff to be the heir apparent to Warren Tredrea up forward after an eye-catching debut season in 2007. But Westoff struggled with the extra attention this year and only managed 22 goals despite leading Port Adelaide in the marks category. Brett Ebert also had a quiet year for his standards after he was the AFL’s best small forward with 56 goals in 2007. He only kicked 33 this year and was held goalless on six occasions. In the national competition, one of the pluses of being a non-Victorian team is home advantage. But Port Adelaide only won three of its 12 games at AAMI stadium for the year, which made finals an impossibility.[17] The season also saw the retirement of Power legend, Michael Wilson, due to recurring injuries, which had bothered him for most of his career. Wilson is known for his leadership and toughness, and was one of the players in the Power's first AFL premiership team.[18]
On 5 November 2008, Warren Tredrea stepped down as captain to focus on his own footballing ability. [19]
On 9 February, it was announced that Domenic Cassisi will become the Power's new captain for the 2009 season, with Shaun Burgoyne and Kane Cornes appointed as vice-captains.[20] Cassisi's elevation to captaincy generated controversy due to coach Mark Williams originally wanting Shaun Burgoyne or Chad Cornes to be captain, which was overruled by the Power's administration board. Williams however was happy with the result by stating: "Having gone through the (board administration) process, I'm delighted with the result we got."[21]
On 17 March, the Port Adelaide Football Club announced that they had requested an immediate seven-figure sum from the AFL in a bid to ease its financial crisis. The Power had accumulated a consolidated debt totalling $5.1 million and was unable to pay its players; they had lost $1.4 million the season before, a year in which they finished 13th, and had their average home crowds drop to little more than 23,000.[22] However the financial assistance was denied by the league, with AFL chief executive Andrew Demetriou saying that they would have to undergo an intensive application process and work with the SANFL who own the Power's AFL licence.[23] On 20 May, Port were handed $2.5 million in debt relief by the SANFL, and on 15 June were handed a $1 million grant by the AFL commission.[24][25] By the end of the season the financial situation had reached the point where either the Port Adelaide Magpies (also suffering from crippling debt) or the Power could be forced to fold. The SANFL had announced it could support one club but not both. Plans for a merger of the two clubs to keep the Power in both the AFL and SANFL were later rejected by the SANFL.
For the 2009 season, Port Adelaide improved on its 13th-place finish of last year. The Power notched up an extra two/three wins to climb to 10th position on the AFL ladder and, in the third year of a five-year plan, are slowly heading in the right direction. The club got some important game time into the likes of Hamish Hartlett, Matthew Broadbent, Travis Boak, Alipate Carlile, Robbie Gray, Nathan Krakouer and Nick Salter and appear to have unearthed a player in former Geelong-listed midfielder Jason Davenport.
Warren Tredrea was back to his best, kicking 51 goals for the season and leading Port Adelaide's goalkicking again. One of his highlights in the year was two consecutive hauls of six goals against Melbourne and Hawthorn and a seven-goal haul against Richmond including the one that sealed the game.
Despite the rise up the AFL ladder it could be argued that the club actually went backwards in several key areas. The Power's frustratingly inconsistent form and significant lapses within games raised concerns over the team's mental state and willingness to dig in when the going got tough. The playing list, which was not too long ago considered top-four material, also appears suspect. The new hierarchy of president Brett Duncanson and CEO Mark Haysman worked diligently to minimise the club’s multi-million-dollar debt, but the club itself did not appear sold on its decision to re-appoint long-serving coach Mark Williams. Williams was re-signed as a result of a marathon nine-hour board meeting, but talk of behavioural clauses, succession plans and general unrest has obviously had a negative impact to the club.[26]
The end of the 2009 season also saw the retirements of premiership players Peter Burgoyne, Brendon Lade, and Toby Thurstans.
On 14 September, Port Adelaide Football Operations Manager Peter Rohde announced that premiership player and vice-captain Shaun Burgoyne has requested a trade to Victoria.[27]
The Power's poor year was succinctly summarised during trade week by one player agent as "There is no way I would, or could, recommend any of my players moving to Port Adelaide, no matter how much they were offered. No self-respecting manager could do it."[28]
On 8 October, Shaun Burgoyne was traded to Hawthorn in a four-team trade where the Power received Essendon's Jay Nash, and draft pick selections No. 9, #16, and #97.[29]
The Power emerged from the preseason break and NAB Cup with a more contested and defensively-minded game plan and it was evident with the club winning five of its first seven round games, which included an impressive victory against the previously undefeated Saints, who had only lost three of their past 29 games before that. However, after that, the Power would then go on to lose a club record nine in a row, which included a loss against the then 16th placed Richmond Tigers who had yet to win a game. On 9 July 2010, Mark Williams stepped down as senior coach and coached his final game against Collingwood at Football Park, marking an end of an era for the club. Matthew Primus took over as caretaker coach for Port Adelaide a few days later after assistant coach Dean Laidley rejected the offer.[30] In Showdown 29, Port Adelaide ended its nine game losing streak with a 19 point win over their crosstown rivals, the Adelaide Crows. It was also Matthew Primus's first win as head coach and by season's end he finished with a five wins and two losses record. The Power's administration board had started the search for a new coach and it was widely believed that the Power would appoint someone who had never been associated with the club before.[31] However, on 9 September, Matthew Primus was appointed as the senior coach of the club for the next three years.
The club also saw the retirement of who many fans consider to be the Power's greatest AFL player, Warren Tredrea, as well as 2004 premiership player Josh Carr. The season saw the highs of many Port Adelaide players, such as utility Jackson Trengove who played in 19 games and earned a NAB AFL Rising Star nomination for his 23-possession game against West Coast in round 20. Jay Schulz, who was recruited in the 2009 AFL trade week, rewarded the club for its faith, topping the goalkicking with 33 goals, while many of the club's younger players, such as Andrew Moore, Mitchell Banner, Matthew Broadbent, Cameron Hitchcock and Daniel Stewart, were given valuable game time. Other players, such as Travis Boak and Danyle Pearce, continued their rise to an elite midfielder status, filling the void left by Shaun Burgoyne who had left the club, with Boak averaging 22 possessions, six tackles and one goal during the season. Pearce showed an improvement in consistency and the ability to deal with taggers. Other more experienced players, such as Kane Cornes, Troy Chaplin, Alipate Carlile and captain Domenic Cassisi, continued their good form from 2009. However, not all was positive for Port Adelaide players, with veterans Chad Cornes and Daniel Motlop both struggling to produce their best form this season and being sent to the SANFL at different stages. The club also lost Nathan Krakouer to the Gold Coast Football Club.
The 2011 season saw Port Adelaide finish 16th with only 3 wins and 19 losses, the club's worst season in the AFL, just avoiding the wooden spoon to the Gold Coast Suns on percentages. Rounds 20 and 21 saw the club lose to Collingwood and Hawthorn by club record losing margins (138 and 165 respectively), as well as having their lowest score ever in AFL history of 3 goals and 3 points, equalling a total of 21 points, against Collingwood. Under Matthew Primus' first full year as senior coach, the club put in young players, including Jasper Pittard, Ben Jacobs, Cameron O'Shea, Matthew Lobbe, Matthew Broadbent and John Butcher, as a rebuilding process. Robert Gray (who lead the club in goalkicking) and Jackson Trengove, were the only two players, to have played every game of the season. Former top 10 draft pick John Butcher who played the remaining four rounds for Port, kicked 11 goals, and provided a very strong mark in attack. The season also saw the retirements of premiership players Chad Cornes and Dean Brogan (both later decided to play on for another season with the new expansion club Greater Western Sydney). Chad Cornes had his farewell game in Round 20, at AAMI Stadium, against Collingwood, while Dean Brogan had his farewell game against the Melbourne at Adelaide Oval in the final round of the home and away season, which was the first-ever AFL game to be played at the ground and the future home ground of the club as well as the Adelaide Crows. Port Adelaide defeated the Demons that day, 17.10 (112) to 15.14 (104), in front of a homecrowd of 29,340.
Off-field, the season saw low crowd numbers and financial losses. AFL Chief executive Andrew Demetriou, offered $9 million over the next three years to help the club, ahead of the move to the Adelaide Oval, which resulted in the resignation of the Chief executive of Port, Mark Haysman, who was later replaced by Keith Thomas, and three board members. The AFL gave the money to the SANFL with strict conditions that they give the Power three million dollars a year, for three years.
The first three million dollars of the nine million dollar bonus was used in helping to build up the football department. It was used to secure the signature of assistant coaches Josh Carr (midfield coach), Brad Gotch (defense coach), Shaun Rehn (midfield/ruck coach) and Tyson Edwards (development). [32]
On 1 November 2006, Reebok replaced Nike as Port Adelaide's official apparel partner and manufacturer of the club's guernseys.
A guernsey designed by an 11-year-old indigenous student from Waikerie Primary School[33] was worn by the Power players in the 2007 season's Round 7 match against Richmond. The guernsey was the winning design in a competition which asked primary school children to design a Power guernsey. The competition was run in conjunction with the Come Out Youth Arts Festival, a long-running festival that involves young people throughout South Australia. It is believed to be a sporting first.[34]
In October 2007, it was announced that Bianco Building Supplies would replace it as one of its major sponsors. Bianco signage appears on the front of the club's home guernsey and, in away games, on the back of the away and clash guernseys. Vodafone signage appears on Port's home guernsey on the back and on the front in away games on the away and clash guernseys.[35]
On 15 December 2008, Reebok announced that the Power's 2009's guernseys would have "1870" printed on the back just above the player number. The club's new chief executive officer, Mark Haysman, said that the move to add 1870 to the guernseys formed part of its "Live the Creed" initiative. The Port Adelaide Football Club was founded on 20 April 1870 and played its first match on 24 May 1870 at what was known as Bucks Flat at Glanville.[36]
On 17 July 2009, the Power unveiled a special one-off guernsey, now known as the "Back in Black" guernsey, which was designed by a 7-year-old student from Ardtornish Primary school. The guernsey has a predominantly black design with a white and teal "V" and a prominent Power logo. On 28 October 2009, Port received AFL approval to wear the jumper in premiership matches. On 8 February 2010, Port Adelaide announced its first new sponsor to be My ATM. It wears the sponsor's logo on the front of the guernsey in home games and on the back in away games. On 26 March 2010, Port Adelaide unveiled its second new sponsor to be Aussie ATM which is a sister company to My ATM. It wears its sponsor's logo on the back of home games and on the front in away games.[37]
| Guernsey details | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Season | Manufacturer | Guernsey sponsor(s) | Short sponsor | |||
| 1997–2001 | Nike | Scotts Transport, Vodafone | BP | |||
| 2002 | Aquila | |||||
| 2003 | Bianco Construction Supplies | |||||
| 2004 | ||||||
| 2005 | ||||||
| 2006 | ||||||
| 2007 | Reebok | |||||
| 2008–2009 | Bianco Construction Supplies, Vodafone | Simply Energy | ||||
| 2010 | My ATM, Aussie ATM | |||||
| 2011–present | My ATM, Soaring Securities | Envestra | ||||
Port Adelaide's two current guernseys are:
Port's club mascot is Tommy "Thunda" Power. The song Thunderstruck by AC/DC is typically played when "Thunda" is on field during home pre-match entertainment.
The club also has home game entertainment in the form of The Power Funk Squad, an energetic young dance team who were introduced in Season 2006, The Power 22, which are 22 of the Planet Teal child members who run around the boundary and cheer the Power players onto the field, the NAB Supporter of the Week, who encourages vocal crowd support, and a float known as Thunda Bolt.[38]
The club song is "Power to Win", written for the club by Quentin Eyers and Les Kaczmarek.
Alberton Oval is the spiritual home of the Port Adelaide Football Club.
On 15 May 1880, Port Adelaide played its first match on the ground. In 1881 the decision was made by the club to start leasing the oval from the Port Adelaide Council for the princely sum of 10 shillings a year.
The ground has played host to a number of memorable matches in its time and in 1977 a record crowd of 22,738 attended.
Situated at the eastern end of the suburb of Alberton in Adelaide, the playing surface is surrounded by the Allan Scott Power Headquarters, the Robert B. Quinn MM Stand, the Fos Williams Family Stand, the Port Adelaide Bowling Club and the N.L. Williams Scoreboard.
As well as the facilities facing the oval, along Queen Street there is The Port Club and the Power Megastore.[39]
The Creed was written and spoken for the first time in 1962, by Port Adelaide great Fos Williams
"We, the Players and Management of the Port Adelaide Football Club, accept the heritage which players and administrators have passed down to us; in doing so we do not intend to rest in idleness but shall strive with all our power to further this Club's unexcelled achievements. To do this we believe there is a great merit and noble achievements in winning a premiership.
To be successful, each of us must be active, aggressive and devoted to this cause. We agree that success is well within our reach and have confidence that each member of both the team and management will suffer personal sacrifices for the common end.
Also we know that, should we after striving to our utmost and giving our everything, still not be successful, our efforts will become a further part of this Club's enviable tradition.
Finally, we concede that there can be honour in defeat, but to each of us, honourable defeat of our Club and guernsey can only come after human endeavour on the playing field is completely exhausted."
| Senior list | Rookie List | Coaching staff | |||||||
|
|
|
Head coach Assistant coaches
Updated: 20 December, 2011 |
||||||
Ins
| Player | Previous Club | League | Via |
|---|---|---|---|
| Brent Renouf | Hawthorn | AFL | Traded for pick 33 |
| Brad Ebert | West Coast | AFL | Traded for picks 28 & 49 |
| Chad Wingard | Sturt | SANFL | 2011 National Draft - Pick #6 |
| Brendon Ah Chee | South Fremantle | WAFL | 2011 National Draft - Pick #45 |
| Nathan Blee | East Perth | WAFL | 2011 National Draft - Pick #51 |
| John McCarthy | Collingwood | AFL | 2012 Pre-Season Draft - Pick #8 |
| Darren Pfeiffer | Norwood | SANFL | 2012 Rookie Draft - Pick #3 |
| Danny Butcher | Gippsland | TAC Cup | 2012 Rookie Draft - Pick #21 |
Outs
| Player | New Club | League | Via |
|---|---|---|---|
| Danny Meyer | – | – | Retired |
| Michael Pettigrew | West Perth | WAFL | Retired |
| Dean Brogan | Greater Western Sydney | AFL | Traded for pick 49 |
| Chad Cornes | Greater Western Sydney | AFL | Traded for pick 49 |
| Jason Davenport | – | – | Delisted from senior list |
| Daniel Motlop | Wanderers | NTFL | Delisted from senior list |
| Marlon Motlop | West Adelaide | SANFL | Delisted from senior list |
| Matthew Westhoff | Central Districts | SANFL | Delisted from rookie list |
| Daniel Bass | South Adelaide | SANFL | Delisted from rookie list |
| Callum Hay | North Adelaide | SANFL | Delisted from rookie list |
Presidents:
Port Adelaide has many supporter groups, with every state or territory containing at least one supporter group. In addition, many country towns within South Australia have their own supporter group, many of which travel to both home and away games.
Within metropolitan the official supporter group are known as the Port Adelaide Cheer squad Supporters Group (PACSSG). The group members must pay an annual fee to join the group with majority funds being donated to the PAFC. In addition to this the PACSSG also create banners for home matches and some away games, and can be seen and heard from behind the Northern End goals of AAMI Stadium. The name Port Adelaide Cheer Squad Supporters Club derives from when the Port Adelaide Cheer Squad merged with the Port Adelaide Supporters Group in 2008 in an effort to create a larger official group.
Arguably the largest supporter group are known as the Outer Army, who unlike the PACSSG is not officially aligned with the PAFC. Despite this the Outer Army still provides funds to the club through sponsorship. The name Outer Army comes from the group’s original position at AAMI Stadium, choosing to sit on the eastern side which is also commonly known as the “Outer.” Members of the group however can be seen sitting in many different areas around AAMI Stadium, preferring to several smaller groups rather than one big group. The most well known and largest group however can be seen in Bay 132. And their latest edition is 'The Alberton Crowd' are a group at the back of active supporters at the back of bay 119, who are currently just attending home games and helping make the banners for now.
| Year | Members | End of Minor Round | Finishing Position1 | Average Crowd | Major Sponsor(s) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1997 | 35,809 | 9 | 9 | 35,703 | Scotts Transport, Vodafone |
| 1998 | 38,305 | 10 | 10 | 31,657 | Scotts Transport, Vodafone |
| 1999 | 37,166 | 7 | 7 | 31,270 | Scotts Transport, Vodafone |
| 2000 | 34,295 | 14 | 14 | 26,376 | Scotts Transport, Vodafone |
| 2001 | 33,296 | 3 | 5 | 30,789 | Scotts Transport, Vodafone |
| 2002 | 36,299 | 1st | 3 | 30,414 | Scotts Transport, Vodafone |
| 2003 | 36,425 | 1st | 4 | 31,845 | Scotts Transport, Vodafone |
| 2004 | 36,340 | 1st | 1st | 29,877 | Scotts Transport, Vodafone |
| 2005 | 36,834 | 8 | 6 | 32,911 | Scotts Transport, Vodafone |
| 2006 | 35,648 | 12 | 12 | 28,546 | Scotts Transport, Vodafone |
| 2007 | 34,073 | 2 | 2 | 27,870 | Scotts Transport Vodafone, |
| 2008 | 34,185 | 13 | 13 | 22,126 | Bianco Construction Supplies, Vodafone |
| 2009 | 30,605 | 10 | 10 | 24,349 | Bianco Construction Supplies, Vodafone |
| 2010 | 31,388 | 10 | 10 | 24,256 | My ATM, Aussie ATM |
| 2011 | 36,624 | 16 | 16 | 23,066 | My ATM, Soaring Securities |
1after finals
| Year | Position | Coach | Captain | Club Champion | Leading goalkicker (goals) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1877 | 4 | W.Fletcher | W.Fletcher | A.LeMessurier | |
| 1878 | 3 | W.Fletcher | W.Fletcher | E.LeMessurier J.Carter |
|
| 1879 | 2 | W.Fletcher | W.Fletcher | A.LeMessurier | |
| 1880 | 6 | J.H.Sandilands | W.Fletcher J.H.Sandilands |
H.J.Watt | |
| 1881 | 5 | C.Kellett | C.Kellett | G.Slatter | |
| 1882 | 3 | N.R.Turpenny | N. Frayne | J.E.Litchfield | |
| 1883 | 2 | N.R.Turpenny | E.LeMessurier N.R.Turpenny |
R.C.Roy | |
| 1884 | Premiers | N.R.Turpenny | N.R.Turpenny | R.C.Roy | |
| 1885 | 3 | N.R.Turpenny | N.R.Turpenny C.Kellett |
R.C.Roy | |
| 1886 | 4 | J. McGargill | W. Bushby | M. Coffee (6) | |
| 1887 | 2 | J. McGargill | W. Bushby W. Buchan |
R. Walsh | Alf Bushby (22) |
| 1888 | 2 | J. McGargill | W. Bushby | H. Stephens | Harry Phillips (24) |
| 1889 | Grand Finalists | ||||
| 1890 | Premiers | ||||
| 1891 | 2 | ||||
| 1892 | 2 | ||||
| 1893 | 3 | ||||
| 1894 | 3 | ||||
| 1895 | 3 | ||||
| 1896 | 5 | ||||
| 1897 | Premiers | J. McGargill | K. McKenzie | A. Lees (26) | |
| 1898 | Grand Finalists | J. McGargill | K. McKenzie | W. Stark (31) | |
| 1899 | 3 | J. McGargill | Harry Phillips | W. Stark (13) | |
| 1900 | 6 | J. McGargill | Harry Phillips | H. Tompkins (16) | |
| 1901 | Grand Finalists | J. McGargill | Arch Hosie | Jack Quinn (27) | |
| 1902 | 3 | J. McCargill | Arch Hosie | M. Healy (25) | |
| 1903 | Premiers | J. McCargill | Arch Hosie | J. Tompkins (40) | |
| 1904 | Grand Finalists | J. McCargill | Arch Hosie Jack Quinn |
J. Tompkins (28) | |
| 1905 | Grand Finalists | J. McGargill | Jack Quinn | J. Matheson (30) | |
| 1906 | Premiers | ||||
| 1907 | Grand Finalists | J. McCargill | L. Corston | Jack Quinn (32) | |
| 1908 | 3 | Arch Hosie | E. Strawns M.G. Donaghy |
J.S. Dickson | J. Matheson (33) |
| 1909 | Grand Finalists | Arch Hosie | M.G. Donaghy | Angelo Congear (12) | |
| 1910 | Premiers | Arch Hosie | Jack Woolard | Frank Hansen (46) | |
| 1911 | Grand Finalists | M.G. Donaghy Jack Woolard |
G.P. Dempster | Frank Hansen (41) | |
| 1912 | Grand Finalists | S.T. Cook Sampson Hosking |
W.H. Oliver | Frank Hansen (37) | |
| 1913 | Premiers | Jack Londrigan | Jack Londrigan | H. Eaton | Frank Hansen (39) |
| 1914 | Premiers | Jack Londrigan | Jack Londrigan | J Ashley | J. Dunn (33) |
| 1915 | Grand Finalists | A. McFarlane | A. McFarlane | H. Eaton | Angelo Congear (21) |
1 Matthew Primus only managed to play in Round 3, 2004, leaving Warren Tredrea to captain the club from Round 1 to 2 and Round 4 to the Grand Final.
2 Matthew Primus took over as caretaker coach after Mark Williams stepped down after Round 16.
The Port Adelaide Football Club's history was celebrated on 20 February 1998, when the inaugural 18 members were inducted into the Hall of Fame. Since then there have been two further inductions, one on 5 April 2002, with a further eight members joining the Hall of Fame, and then a further three on 9 May 2003.
In June 2001, Port Adelaide announced its "Greatest Team" from 1870 to 2000.
All 22 members of the team played significant parts in ensuring the club’s rise from the SANFL to the AFL in 1997 – and the demand of the SA Football Commission that a Magpies team be kept in the South Australian National Football League (SANFL).
There are 201 premiership medals held by the 22 players in the Greatest Team; 532 State games; 16 Magarey Medal and a long list of accolades and achievements.
| Port Adelaide's Greatest Team 1870–2000 | |||
| B: | Dick Russell | John Abley | Ted Whelan |
| HB: | Neville Hayes | Greg Phillips | Geof Motley |
| C: | Craig Bradley | Russell Ebert (vc) | John Cahill |
| HF: | Dave Boyd | Les Dayman | Harold Oliver |
| F: | Scott Hodges | Tim Evans | Bob Quinn |
| Foll: | Russell Johnston | "Bull" Reval | Fos Williams (c) |
| Int: | Harry Phillips | Jeff Potter | Peter Woite |
| Lloyd Zucker | |||
| Coach: | Fos Williams | ||
2004
1884, 1890, 1897, 1903, 1906, 1910, 1913, 1914, 1921, 1928, 1936, 1937, 1939, 1951, 1954, 1955, 1956, 1957, 1958, 1959, 1962, 1963, 1965, 1977
1979, 1980, 1981, 1988, 1989, 1990 1992, 1994, 1995, 1996, 1998, 1999
1890, 1910, 1913, 1914
2001, 2002
1961, 1973, 1989
2002, 2003, 2004
2007
1879, 1883, 1887, 1888, 1889, 1891, 1892, 1898, 1901, 1904, 1905, 1907, 1909, 1911, 1912, 1915, 1925, 1926, 1929, 1930, 1934, 1935, 1938, 1945
1946, 1953, 1964, 1966, 1967, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1976, 1984, 1997
1962, 1963, 1964, 1970, 1977, 1979, 1980, 1988,
1989, 1992, 1994
1999, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2007
The Magarey Medal is an Australian rules football award, given annually since 1898 to the fairest and most brilliant player in the Home and Away season of the South Australian National Football League (SANFL) as adjudged by the field umpires. The award was created by William Ashley Magarey, then chairman of the league.
The Norm Smith Medal is the award given in the AFL Grand Final to the player adjudged by an independent panel of experts to have been the best player in the match.
Every round, an Australian Football League rising star nomination is given to a standout young player. To be eligible for the award, a player must be under 21 on 1 January of that year, have played 10 or fewer senior games before the beginning of the season, and not have been suspended during the season.
At the end of the season, nine AFL personalities (typically administrators and All-Australian team selectors) vote for five of the twenty-two rising star nominees, with their top selections earning five votes, their second selection earning four votes, etc. The player who receives the most votes is the winner.
The All-Australian Team is an all star team of Australian rules footballers, selected by a panel at the end of each season. It represents a complete team, including interchange players and a coach, of the best performed during the season.
The International Rules Series is a senior men's competition between an Irish representative team (selected by the Gaelic Athletic Association) and the Australian representative team (selected by the Australian Football League). The Port Adelaide players to have presented Australia during different years are:
See also International Rules Series
Discontinued
The Fos Williams Medal is named in honour of former legendary player and coach Fos Williams and is awarded to the player’s choice for the club’s Best Team Man.
Discontinued
The Gavin Wanganeen Medal is an award to Port Adelaide's best player under the age of 21. The award, struck in 2006, is named after Gavin Wanganeen, a former champion with both Port Adelaide and Essendon who, by the age of 21, had won a SANFL premiership with Port Adelaide, an AFL premiership with Essendon, a Brownlow Medal and two All Australian awards.
Discontinued
The Coaches' Award replaced the Most Improved and Best First Year awards in 2011. This reward is selected by the entire Port Adelaide coaching committee and is bestowed to reward the Port Adelaide player who best exhibits the team behaviours of selflessness, humility and reliability.
Highest Score
AFL – 29.14 (188) vs Hawthorn, Round 13, 2005, AAMI Stadium, Adelaide
SANFL – 37.21 (243) vs Woodville, 19 April 1980, Football Park
Lowest Score
AFL – 3.3 (21) vs Collingwood, Round 20, 2011, AAMI Stadium, Adelaide
SANFL – 1.1 (7) vs North Adelaide, 5 May 1900, Alberton Oval
Greatest Winning Margin
AFL – 117 points vs Hawthorn, Round 13, 2005, AAMI Stadium, Adelaide
SANFL – 179 points vs Woodville, 8 August 1970, Woodville Oval
Greatest Losing Margin
AFL – 165 points vs Hawthorn, Round 21, 2011, MCG, Melbourne
SANFL – 114 points vs Sturt, 1965, Unley Oval
Most Games
AFL – 255 – Warren Tredrea (1997–2010)
SANFL – 392 – Russell Ebert (1968–1978, 1980–1985)
Most Goals
AFL – 549 – Warren Tredrea (1997–2010)
SANFL – 1044 – Tim Evans (1975–1986)
Largest Home Attendances
AFL – 50,275 at AAMI Stadium (Round 20, 2002 vs Adelaide)
SANFL – 22,738 at Alberton Oval (Round 11, 1977 vs Norwood)
Largest Finals Attendances
AFL – 97,302 at Melbourne Cricket Ground (2007 AFL Grand Final vs Geelong)
SANFL – 66,897 at Football Park (1976 SANFL Grand Final vs Sturt)
Longest Undefeated Run
AFL – 8 wins (Rnd 8–15, 2002, Round 15–22, 2003)
SANFL – 33 games (21 June 1913 – 3 July 1915)
Most number of goals in a match
AFL – 8 goals Warren Tredrea (Round 7, 1998 vs Carlton, Princes Park, Melbourne)
SANFL – 16 goals Tim Evans (Round 5, 1980 vs West Adelaide)
<http://www.portadelaidefc.com.au/one%20pafc/tabid/16808/default.aspx>
| Preceded by Brisbane Lions |
AFL Premiers 2004 |
Succeeded by Sydney |
| Preceded by Norwood Norwood South Adelaide North Adelaide North Adelaide West Adelaide West Adelaide North Adelaide West Torrens South Adelaide South Adelaide Norwood West Torrens West Adelaide South Adelaide Sturt Norwood North Adelaide North Adelaide Woodville-West Torrens Norwood |
SANFL Premiers 1884 1890 1897 1903 1906 1910 1913–1914 1921 1928 1936–1937 1939 1951 1954–1959 1962–1963 1965 1977 1979–1981 1988–1990 1992 1994–1996 1998–1999 |
Succeeded by South Adelaide Norwood South Adelaide Norwood Norwood West Adelaide Sturt Norwood Norwood South Adelaide Sturt North Adelaide North Adelaide South Adelaide Sturt Norwood Norwood North Adelaide Woodville-West Torrens Norwood Central District |
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