Every quarter the museum features a new display showcasing a different story in our history. The current display features iconic items from two of our most decorated players: Geof Motley and Russell Ebert. Tour bookings are essential.
New Motley and Ebert collections on display in club museum
They are two of the most decorated players in Australian football history, and now you can celebrate the incredible feats of the legendary Geof Motley and Russell Ebert as part of a new collection on show at the Port Adelaide Football Club Museum.
Thanks to the kindness of the Motley and Ebert families, history buffs and Port supporters alike can now see a selection of items accumulated during the unrivalled careers of two members of the Australian Football Hall of Fame.
Considered by many Port Adelaide’s greatest player, Ebert’s career included a record four Magarey Medals as the fairest and most brilliant player in the SANFL, a record six best-and-fairest titles, and a club record for games played (392).
Such was his skill, strength, creativity, consistency and overall brilliance that he was nicknamed “God” by many.
He was named as centreman in Port Adelaide's greatest team, and his accolades include Port Adelaide Football Club life membership and Hall of Fame Status along with his inclusion in the SANFL Hall of Fame and legendary status in both the Australian Football and South Australian Sport Halls of Fame.
Yet, for all of his individual recognition, Ebert’s greatest desire was team success and his greatest football achievement was captaining Port Adelaide to the famous drought-breaking 1977 premiership.
For the first time since the Port Adelaide Football Club’s museum opened, Ebert’s 1971, 1974, 1976, and 1980 Magarey Medals are now on display together.
Unlike the current day where each medal has the same design, Ebert’s each have a unique design. Today and since 1991, the medal design features an image of William Magarey – the inaugural chairman of the South Australia Football Association and man who came up with the idea of awarding a medal to the fairest and most brilliant player each season with the award first being awarded in 1898.
Ebert’s are among a wider collection of Magarey Medals won by Port Adelaide players on display in the museum dating back to those awarded to Sampson ‘Shine’ Hosking in 1910 and 1915.
A number of other items, including a signed souvenir booklet from March 1985 that commemorates Ebert breaking the Australian record at 433 league games played and a golden boot presented to Ebert in 1984 by his then sponsor Adidas in honour of him becoming the SANFL’s games record holder. Ebert’s overall games tally includes his 392 for Port Adelaide, 25 for North Melbourne in the VFL and 29 state matches for South Australia.
Motley became the tenth Port Adelaide player to win the Magarey Medal and his 1964 medal is among the collection of items his family has kindly loaned to the museum.
Other items include a South Australian state team blazer and tie, his Australian Football Hall of Fame pin, awarded to him at his induction in 2008, and his Order of Australia medal, which he received in 1992 for his service to sport administration and Australian Rules football.
Motley is Port Adelaide’s most decorated premiership player with nine flags to his name. He was part of the Australian record six-in-a-row side which dominated South Australian football in the 1950s, including being playing coach for the sixth of those premierships in 1959.
He was Port Adelaide’s best and fairest in 1958, 1959, 1963 and 1965 but incredibly missed out on the honour in his 1964 Magarey Medal year.
A club captain and 28-time state representative, he is best remembered as a strong and imposing yet balanced player and a proud Port Adelaide man.
The Motley and Ebert collections are part of a rotating display of iconic memorabilia in the Port Adelaide Football Club Museum.
Every quarter the museum features a new display showcasing a different story in the club’s history and items are continuously added and rotated through the space.
Tour bookings are essential.
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2004 Premiership Anniversary
2024 marks a significant milestone in Port Adelaide’s history – 20 years since it claimed its inaugural AFL premiership.
It was fitting that 90 years on from its “Invincibles” team of 1914 going unbeaten on the way to being crowed Champions of Australia after defeating the premiers of Victoria, Carlton, at the Adelaide Oval, Port Adelaide should again finish on top of the nation in 2004.
After decades of dominance in the SANFL, Port Adelaide had entered the Australian Football League in 1997, just seven years prior to its historic premiership.
Against 15 teams from across the nation in a competition with rules that ensure no club remains at the top for too long, Port Adelaide – playing under the Power nickname – battled to the top, finishing in the top four in 2001 and as minor premiers in 2002 and 2003.
Those minor premierships bore no fruit on the grand stage of the AFL finals, and the side coached by Mark Williams readied itself for another tilt at the ultimate glory in 2004, tagged as ‘chokers’ unable to perform when it counted.
Despite external doubts, and season-ending injuries to captain Matthew Primus and leading midfielder Josh Francou, Port Adelaide powered through the season, winning 17 of its 22 games to finish as minor premier again on the way to yet another finals campaign.
With qualifying final losses to open its account in the previous two campaigns, there was much on the line for the Power in 2004 but any nerves were eased with a comfortable win over Geelong at Football Park in the first final.
The next match – the preliminary final against St Kilda - was voted Port Adelaide’s greatest ever game in its 40-year history at Football Park by supporters with the Power escaping with a one-goal victory.
For all the celebrations that night, now came, undeniably, its greatest challenge in the AFL - the Grand Final against Brisbane – a side which had won the previous three premierships and was seeking to become the first team to win four consecutive VFL/AFL flags since Collingwood between 1927-30.
After four years of going head-to-head, the intense Port Adelaide rivalry that started the 21st century in the 2001 Ansett Cup grand final reached its appropriate conclusion at a restricted MCG being redeveloped for the 2006 Commonwealth Games.
For the first time, no Victorian-based team was in the grand final.
The game was a typically tough battle, but the Power’s nerves were eased early with Josh Carr booting the first goal on the run from 40 metres out.
With momentum swinging throughout the first half, the Power came out after the long break and kicked itself clear.
Leading by 27 points after Toby Thurstans’ third major for the afternoon midway through the final quarter, the result was all but academic, even with Stuart Dew and Adam Kingsley joining the goal party before the final siren.
An outpouring of emotion after years of sustained but ultimately unrealised success took over the MCG on the siren, with coach Williams tugging at his tie at the final siren to mock the choking barbs before he joined acting captain Warren Tredrea to triumphantly lift the premiership trophy.
Port Adelaide midfielder Byron Pickett was named best-afield to claim the Norm Smith Medal.
2004 AFL Grand Final
Saturday, 25 September 2004, MCG
Port Adelaide 4.5 6.6 12.8 17.11 (113)
Brisbane 2.2 6.7 9.9 10.13 (73)
Best Port Adelaide: Pickett, Wanganeen, K. Cornes, P. Burgoyne, James
Best Brisbane: Michael, Notting, Bradshaw, Lappin
Goals Port Adelaide: Wanganeen 4, Pickett, Thurstans 3, Carr, Tredrea, Dew, Lade, S Burgoyne, Kingsley, Mahoney
Goals Brisbane: Notting, Akermanis, Bradshaw 3, Keating
Umpires: Mathew James, Brett Allen, Shane McInerney
Crowd: 77,671
Port Adelaide - 2004 Premiership Team (as named)
FB: Michael Wilson 21, Darryl Wakelin 2, Matthew Bishop 19
HB: Damien Hardwick 11, Chad Cornes 35, Brett Montgomery 3
C: Josh Mahoney 22, Josh Carr 9, Kane Cornes 18
HF: Byron Pickett 15, Warren Tredrea (C) 16, Peter Burgoyne 7
FF: Toby Thurstans 28, Brendon Lade 5, Gavin Wanganeen 4
FOL: Dean Brogan 20, Roger James 38, Shaun Burgoyne 8
INT: Adam Kingsley 29, Domenic Cassisi 25, Stuart Dew 17, Jarrad Schofield 6
Coach: Mark Williams
Acting Captain: Warren Tredrea
Club Captain: Matthew Primus (injured)
2004 BOARDS, MANAGEMENT, STAFF & SUPPORT STAFF
PORT ADELAIDE FOOTBALL CLUB LIMITED BOARD OF DIRECTORS
Greg Boulton (Chairman)
Philip Arnfield
Ted Byrt
Frank Hayter
Tony Hobby
Robert Hoey
Max James
Ian McLachlan
Ric Mollison
Mark Wightman
PAFC FOUNDATION LIMITED BOARD OF DIRECTORS
Ric Mollison (Chairman)
Brian Cunningham
Tony Giles
Michael Harrison
Duncan MacGillivray
Michael O’Connor
Des Shannahan
Mark Wightman
PORT ADELAIDE FOOTBALL & COMMUNITY CLUB (PORT CLUB) BOARD OF DIRECTORS
Greg Boulton (Chairman)
John Firth
Frank Hayter (Chairman)
Graeme Hodge
Max James (appointed 24/5/04)
David Judd
Ken McLeavey (appointed 22/3/04)
Gerard Pagliaro
Bob Philp
PATRONS
Reverend Ian George
Allan Scott, OAM
NO. 1 TICKETHOLDERS
Stuart O’Grady
Bob Quinn
MANAGEMENT & FULL TIME STAFF
CEO OFFICE
Brian Cunningham
John James
Margaret Kalleske
FINANCE AND ADMINISTRATION
David Bartlett
Sarah Balkwill
Amber Jeffery
Wayne Lehmann
Stuart Totham
Matthew Webb
FOOTBALL OPERATIONS
Mick Moylan
David Hutton
Mark Williams
Brooke Acquaviva
David Arnfield
Dean Bailey
Scott Barrow
Alastair Clarkson
Bob Clayton
Matthew Greck
Alan Hincks
Geoff Morris
David Pittman
Di Pounsett
Andrew Russell
Alan Stewart
Phillip Walsh
Dave Watkins
PAFC FOUNDATION
Sean Kirchner
Sarah Balkwill
MEDIA AND PUBLIC RELATIONS
Hitaf Rasheed
Daniel Bryant
Simon Gill
SALES & MARKETING
Michael Francis
Jehad Ali
Daniel Buberis
Lauren Byfield
Rachel Cooper
Amanda Dell
Heather Didenko
Russell Ebert
Liam Flynn
Meg Ford
Marissa Konstandopoulos
Jan Mark
Rachel Ridgwell
Stephen Shirley
Sean West
Jenny Williams
Stacey Williams-Bambrick
VICTORIAN OPERATIONS
Chris Pelchen
Bruce Kaider
SUPPORT STAFF
Steve Allen
Peter Barnes
Noel Bellis
Foster Bibron
Kevin Bishop
Darryl Borlase
Greg Boyle
Shayne Breuer
Phillip Bunn
Jamie Casey
Brandon Chaplin
Alan Chivell
Craig Coombes
Murray Cooper
Darryl Crossman
Patrick Custance
Andrew Edge
Desrae Falk
Roger Falk
Mark Fisher
Brian Fitzpatrick
Peter Frank
Alan Gill
David Goodwin
Andrew Hall
Warren Hann
Tim Hart
Mike Heynen
Clarrie Hoffman
Kevin Holohan
Geoff Kaider
Chris Kyriacou
Andrew Lockyer
Mike Middleton
Mark Millington
Malcom Morris
Andrew Mosca
Michael Pace
Bob Page
Ross Parker
Mark Pelchen
Ben Perkins
Shane Regan
Duane Rek
Cam Robbins
Paul Rizonico
Paul Mezzino
Bart Ryan
Geoff Samuels
Ken Thomas
Stuart Totham
Alf Trebilcock
Adrian Votino
Nathan Waters
Peter Weightman
Barry Wilson
Steve Wildschut
Shane Worner
Paul Woolley
Simon Young
VICTORIAN SOCIAL BASE
Oxford Scholar Hotel
CLUB HISTORIAN
John Sincock
MANAGEMENT & STAFF (departed during 2004)
Brian Cunningham
Kylie Barry
Alastair Clarkson
Bob Clayton
Peta-Jane Fee
Marissa Konstandopoulos
Diana Pana
David Pittman
Joanna Poulis
Candice Quinn
Andrew Russell
Alan Stewart
Stuart Totham
