Dear members and supporters,

The 2022 AFL season results have been a long way from our expectations.

There is no hiding from that.

After starting 0-5 we have shown resilience winning eight of our last 13 games but clearly being close enough in some of these games is not good enough. Losing seven games by under 14 points this season just highlights this fact.

The reality is we have put ourselves in this position and haven’t been good enough to win the games we have needed to win, including against the best teams in 2022 – Geelong, Melbourne, Brisbane and Fremantle.

We have four games remaining in the home and away season, and how we finish is really important.

We have great belief in our playing list and our people, but the facts are we have to be better when it matters, in those close games and against the best teams.

SANFL

Our performance in the SANFL has been a challenge all year and last Saturday’s win over Central District highlights one of the key issues.

As a comparison, we played North Adelaide three weeks ago with 6 AFL listed players and lost by 126 points, while on the weekend against an in-form Central District we fielded 16 AFL listed players and won by 23 points.

We’ve had a season where injury, COVID and fixturing has played in part in why we have only fielded an average of 11 AFL listed players. As a comparison, we averaged 17.5 AFL listed players per game in the 2019 season and 19.5 in 2017 when we qualified for the SANFL Grand Finals.

The rules under which the AFL clubs compete in the SANFL mean our competitiveness is significantly impacted by the availability of AFL listed players. This is not a new issue, but has become more acute due to AFL list sizes (reduced from 45 to 42) and the age profile of our list in recent years.

That said, if we have a healthy list, we should be highly competitive at SANFL level.

We’ve made it clear that Port Adelaide values its participation in the SANFL. We are a foundation club with a history of success pre-dating the SANFL, back to 1870.

We need to ensure we are participating in a competition that best develops our players for our AFL team, and gives us a chance to win and respect our legacy.

Whatever structure we exist under it must not compromise our ability to win premierships and develop players.

We understand that this is a complex, multi-faceted issue. There is a high-performance football component, but also a broader club issue as to what Port Adelaide represents at SANFL level.

Whether the current SANFL model genuinely allows for this is an important strategic topic we are exploring at Board level.

TJ & OLLIE’S 200^th

Congratulations to Tom Jonas and Ollie Wines who both play their 200^th AFL games for Port Adelaide this Saturday v Collingwood at the MCG.

Only nine other players - Travis Boak (323 games), Kane Cornes (300), Justin Westhoff (280), Robbie Gray (268), Warren Tredrea (255), Peter Burgoyne (240), Chad Cornes (239), Brendon Lade (234) and Dom Cassisi (228) – are part of Port Adelaide’s AFL 200 games club.

It is an exclusive club and an achievement which Tom and Ollie should be incredibly proud of.

Both have had contrasting journeys to this milestone. Tom was recruited as a nearly 20year old via the 2010 rookie draft from Norwood. He debuted in our 165-point thrashing at the hands of Hawthorn in 2011 when he was asked to tag Hawthorn great Luke Hodge. Talk about a tough initiation. Nothing in football has come easy for Tom. He’s had to work hard for everything he’s achieved and has become a great leader of the Port Adelaide Football Club. Courage, passion, commitment, strength, honesty, true leadership and proud family man are the things that immediately resonate when I think of Tom Jonas (and badminton in Shanghai, but that’s another story!).  Tom is an outstanding captain of our club and I congratulate him and his family on this milestone.

And then there’s the boy from Echuca. Ollie arrived at the club via pick 7 at the 2012 National Draft, vowing to see out his two-year deal and then pack his bags home to Victoria. Ten years on, Ollie is a Brownlow Medallist, Best-and-Fairest winner and is about to reach 200 games for the club he now calls his “family”. Make no mistake, Ollie has had his fair share of challenges too including moving away from his family and injuries. But his genuine care for Port Adelaide, his teammates and his family has always been clear and I would say has become even stronger as he’s matured and found a greater sense of himself on this journey. Ollie is one of the great players of our game and the traits that stands out for me are his power and complete selflessness, underlined by his comments earlier this week that he is striving for a premiership not for himself, but to honour the likes of Travis Boak, Robbie Gray and Tom Jonas who have sacrificed so much for our club.

We wish both Tom and Ollie all the best on Saturday and congratulate them on this outstanding milestone.

AFLW

Our AFLW program continues to build ahead of our Round 1 game against West Coast in Perth on Saturday 27 August.

The AFLW playing list is now complete after last month’s AFLW national draft when we welcomed seven new players to the Port Adelaide family. It was great to see so many passionate young fans at our AFLW open training session last Saturday.

You would have seen the release of our AFLW playing kits last night. Our female athletes will proudly wear the black home and away guernsey and the clash strip is the predominantly teal guernsey, and both look fantastic.

The team continues to train and prepare for our first official practice match against Essendon in Melbourne on Saturday 13 August.

Early next week we will announce our AFLW captain and on field leadership group which will be an historic moment in our club’s history. Stay tuned.

Without doubt, there is something very special about this group. They bring a freshness and enthusiasm which is infectious and great to be around.

If you want to be part of this transformational journey and join as an inaugural AFLW member please follow the link below. Demand for tickets to our early home games at Alberton Oval will be significant, so to guarantee you’ll be part of ‘HerStory in the making’, join or upgrade as a game access member.

In conclusion, a massive thank you to each one of our more than 60,000 members who are loyal and committed to our club. You, our members, are the cornerstone of our club and we thank you for your incredible ongoing support. We wouldn’t exist without you. We look forward to celebrating Members’ Recognition Round in Round 21, our next home game vs Richmond on Saturday 6 August.

Thanks also for your patience in waiting for the opening of The Precinct at Alberton. It’s been great to see our members and supporters back home around the club every day enjoying the new facilities including our museum, retail space and dining facility overlooking the magnificent Alberton Oval. After two long years with Covid and building works, we are so happy to have you back around your football club every day.

We look forward to seeing you at The Precinct or at the footy in the coming weeks.