SOMETHING old, something new, something blue.
Welcome to the newest chapter in one of Australian football's oldest books - Port Adelaide has a new senior team. And it will wear blue, just as the first senior men's team did in 1870.
Port Adelaide's long-debated - and much-awaited - entry to the national AFLW competition has arrived.
Saturday, August 26 becomes part of the Port Adelaide Football Club's key moments in a 152-year storyline of major achievements in Australian football.
The date stands alongside Saturday, March 29, 1997 when Port Adelaide entered the MCG for its first AFL game - against Collingwood.
And Saturday, May 12, 1877 when Port Adelaide - again on the road - at Kensington Oval playing the now-lost Kensington for the start of Australia's first State league.
And Saturday, July 28, 1870 - another road trip - to the cradle of South Australian football on the north parklands around today's Adelaide Oval for the club's first official match against the short-lived Young Australians.
This time, the road trip is one of the longest in the sport. Port Adelaide travels - with its full 30-player squad - to Perth to open its AFLW story on Lathlain Park against West Coast.
Expectation is again high, as it should be for any team from Port Adelaide.
The pundits have learned not to under-estimate Port Adelaide, as they did in 1997 when they declared John Cahill's AFL pioneers would collect the wooden spoon - and probably with no win. Lauren Arnell's AFLW trailblazers are expected to be the best-performed of the four new entries to the national women's league (Essendon, Hawthorn and Sydney complete the full deck of 18 teams in the ALFW).
"Big call: Port Adelaide to be the best-performing team of the expansion quartet, and will pinch a win from a top-eight team."
AFLW writer Sarah Black
STORY SO FAR
IT has been rushed.
Season 7 starts earlier than the previous six, so Port Adelaide's lead-in was cut short - by four months.
"There’s a question between, 'How much preparation you can do?' versus "How ready do you feel?'," notes Port Adelaide senior coach Lauren Arnell. "I feel confident that our players feel ready ...
"And, I feel confident too."
So far, Port Adelaide has played a "secret" Showdown trial with AFLW premier Adelaide at Thebarton Oval (a match kept out of the limelight to protect the build-up for the first AFLW Showdown on Friday, September 30 at Adelaide Oval).
The first "official" trial was against Essendon at The Hangar at Tullamarine in Melbourne where the well-established AFLW observers took note of the young talent that will become the basis of Port Adelaide's approach for sustained success on a new stage. This very much repeats the list-management strategy Port Adelaide worked to deliver an AFL premiership in its eighth season in the big league (2004).
"I am feeling so super confident about the way we have gone about our pre-season, the way we have connected pretty quickly - which we have had to do - and what we have produced in a pretty short span of time. I am super confident going into the game that is for sure."
Port Adelaide vice-captain Ange Foley
"OLD" AND NEW
ERIN PHILLIPS will have the Port Adelaide AFLW team take up a century old tradition from the start - the captain wears No. 1, just as her illustrious father Greg did while collecting his eighth SANFL flag in 1992.
Phillips returns to Alberton - where she was signed as Port Adelaide's first contracted female player in 2015 - after being an AFLW pioneer at Adelaide.
Alongside Phillips will be vice-captain Ange Foley, a strong spirit with the determination to leave a lasting legacy with this inaugural Port Adelaide AFLW squad.
Foley is admiring of the work of Port Adelaide list manager Naomi Maidment in assembling a well-balanced - and exciting - squad at Alberton. The first impression of Port Adelaide assembling a group of "pensioners" is shattered by the young talent gathered at Alberton.
"We have recruited really well," says Foley. "We talk a lot about building a good culture here - and very quickly. This group is made up of, first, great people. I have been so impressed with the way they have bought into what we are trying to create here. They are contributing to it. They are here to work really hard. They want to get better. They want to learn. Every week you see people starting to shine.
"We have some great coaches. They nurture. They explain things really well. They motivate you. We are building our culture. And we are enjoying what we do - so that will translate to playing great footy. This helps build success.
"I am now excited to see what more we can do (in the games)."
"We're just going to play a brand of footy that's the Port Adelaide way - that our fans and members are going to love and, if we play that way, hopefully, success follows. For every single one of us, our goal is to win premierships, and we have a very successful club that exists to win premierships, so that's something we want to build towards." Port Adelaide captain Erin Phillips
WHO TO WATCH
NEW heroes will be added to Port Adelaide's roll call of champions since 1870.
New cult figures will emerge from this inaugural Port Adelaide AFLW squad.
From the pre-season matches, 19-year-old midfielder Abbey Dowrick (No. 5) has emerged as the first contender to wear the badge of "rising star".
"She is just hard," says vice-captain Ange Foley. "She has great hands, great skills. And Abbey is one of those girls who just is willing to learn and get better.
"Amalie Borg (No. 21) was strong in defence against Essendon.
"Alex Ballard (No. 19) ... there are more; it is quite exciting."
STORY TO COME
SEASON 7 has 18 teams, but just 10 games in the home-and-away season with a top-eight final series.
Port Adelaide will have its first home game - at the refitted Alberton Oval where the women's squad is based in the Fos Williams Family Stand - on Saturday week (September 3) against the Western Bulldogs. The match time is now confirmed as 1.10pm.
Port Adelaide's first AFLW fixture has this mix:
LAST SEASON'S FINALISTS: Adelaide (round 6), North Melbourne (round 8),
NON-FINALISTS: West Coast (round 1), Western Bulldogs (round 2), Carlton (round 3), Gold Coast (round 5), St Kilda (round 9),
NEW TEAMS: Sydney (round 4), Hawthorn (round 7), Essendon (round 10).
QUOTE OF THE MOMENT
"We exist to win premierships ... 100 per cent. Our list will reflect that. I was fortunate enough to meet with Jack Cahill a couple of weeks ago. The Port Adelaide trademarks of what kind of player comes into our men's and women's program - you will see a correlation between the two. Hard, contested footy. Good kick. High footy IQ. Competitive as hell. You will see that across both programs. Yep ... Jack said, 'We weren't dirty but if there was a ball to be won you go to win it'. That is certainly how I will be coaching. Win one on one."
Lauren Arnell, Port Adelaide senior coach
BIRD SEED
(all the little stuff that matters)
WEST COAST v PORT ADELAIDE
Opening round of AFLW Season 7
When: Saturday, August 26, 2022
Time: 2.40pm (Adelaide)
Where: Lathlain Park, Perth
First meeting of the teams
West Coast entered AFLW in 2020; Port Adelaide in 2022.
