Dear Members and Supporters,

This Sunday, Port Adelaide will enter the cauldron of Adelaide Oval wearing its famous black-and-white heritage guernsey in the AFL First Elimination Final.

Two days ago, I received a ‘courtesy’ call from the AFL letting us know that we had been scheduled to wear our white clash guernsey for Sunday’s elimination final.

The reason given was that Richmond’s approved clash guernsey does not provide sufficient contrast to our black home jumper.

Over the next 24 hours we waged a furious campaign to have the decision reversed, citing the fact that we had earned the right to wear our preferred home jumper at our home final, having finished higher on the premiership table than our opponent.

The idea of wearing the heritage guernsey was discussed early on Monday morning by our media team - more as a romantic notion than as a serious option (they are all Magpie diehards!)

As the day wore on and media and public reaction intensified, the need for an alternative solution became apparent.

The AFL was not going to budge on the original decision, but were keen to help us to find a suitable alternative.

Enter the Prison Bar!

I know there are some of our supporters who do not readily connect with the club’s SANFL heritage for whom this decision is slightly uncomfortable.

I understand that.

Equally there are many of us who believe we should not have been forced into this compromised situation in the first place.

Having taken all of these valid views into consideration, this is the process by which we reconciled the decision to wear our heritage guernsey:

Firstly, what were our options?

1. Wear the home guernsey and cop a significant fine and the ire of the AFL - that would have been silly and immature.

2. Rollover and wear the white clash guernsey - that didn’t feel right, given the principle we were fighting for.

3. Wear the heritage guernsey - a compromise, but also an opportunity.

That opportunity is to further reinforce our One Club philosophy and celebrate the rich history of our club on the big AFL stage.

Two million people will now watch Travis Boak and Brad Ebert lead our team out in the same strip worn by our 1965 side – a black and white guernsey with white shorts - in Port Adelaide’s last premiership victory at the Adelaide Oval.

There is something very special about that.

Most importantly, the coaches and the players have been right behind us in this little tussle and can’t wait to get out there do us proud!

In the end, that’s all that really matters.

I would like to thank the team from ISC Sport, who are breaking all records in getting the guernseys produced in time for Sunday; they have been incredibly supportive.

Likewise, thank you again to the Collingwood Football Club for its support of this initiative.

Eddie McGuire understood the dilemma we had been confronted with, and as he has many times before, threw his support behind Port Adelaide.

Now we can move on and concentrate on what promises to be a thrilling weekend, with both senior Port Adelaide teams engaged in blockbuster finals at the Adelaide Oval.

The Magpies play Norwood for a spot in the SANFL Grand Final. How does that sound?

The game at Alberton two weeks ago was a cracker, and this will be too.

We’d love to see you there at 5.40pm on Saturday and help get the boys into our first SANFL Grand Final since 1999!

I am aware that the ticketing process for the AFL Elimination Final yesterday was very difficult for many of our members, which is really disappointing.

The unprecedented demand for tickets from two big club membership bases clearly placed enormous pressure on the ticketing system.

We will work to review and learn from the experience and make adjustments to improve the process going forward.

It’s incredible to think that the game is virtually sold out in less than 24 hours, but I understand the frustration it has caused.

We also know that the Richmond army are coming.

They got in and bought a swag of tickets to the game, which is great for the South Australian economy, and will no doubt create an enormous atmosphere inside the stadium on match day.

From our end, we are going to put on a show to remember!

So bring your scarves, bring your voices and bring your passion!

This is going to be a weekend for the ages!

Cheers,

KT