Dear members and supporters,
I read somewhere recently that, ‘Pressure is a Privilege’.
That’s good to hear, because at 3.50 pm last week, as two of the world’s most powerful leaders burst into our changerooms with around fifty journalists and cameras in tow… I was feeling very privileged indeed!
The fact that they were a bit early and our boys were still warming up didn’t seem to faze Chinese Premier Li Keqiang and Prime Minister Turnbull too much, but it wasn’t them I was worried about.
I had my eyes on Kenny!
It’s not like the summer period has been all smooth sailing and there wasn’t an appetite from the Port Adelaide family to get the season off to a good start! There was a fair bit hanging off this match, and there we were, storming through the playing group shaking hands and taking selfies!
To the great credit of the team (and their coach), they handled it well and came out ready to play.
And play they did!
A lot has been written and said about the performance, so I won’t dwell further on it. It was just terrific to see our lads trying so hard and playing so well.
Now our attention turns to the first game at home, and it’s going to have a slightly different feel to it this year.
Firstly, the March to the Mall will follow a different route. With the footbridge reduced in size as a result of the building construction on the other side of the river, our marchers will this year assemble at the corner of North Terrace and King William Street and commence the March from there.
We will travel straight down King William and enter the stadium through the Eastern Plaza.
The Eastern Plaza will be transformed this year.
With so many more people entering that side of the ground, there will be more to see and do in the Creswell ‘Power’ Gardens.
A new, dedicated space with food trucks, music, TV screens, gaming consoles and plenty of seating will be set up to help get you in the mood for the game… it will be a great new addition to game day, I’d encourage you to check it out.
New construction sites have caused another change to our plans.
Unfortunately, Game Day Village will not be operational in 2017.
It’s no-one’s fault, Tennis SA simply need to take back their full compliment of courts as they prepare for some renovations themselves.
We all know how popular GDV has been over the past couple of years, and we have explored all the various options to relocate it. Unfortunately none of them work!
So, we get on with it, and begin working to get GDV operational again next season.
We are relocating a bigger and better Power Playground into the Southern Plaza this year. DJs for the kids, inflatables, Bank SA kicking games, and the Pirateers will all be out in force next Sunday.
In stadium, all the icons will be back, plus Fruchoc and MAC giveaways, the Tyrepower Dash for Cash, Nova’s $100k ‘Bin It To Win It’ competition and more.
All we need now is you.
Sunday twilight. First home game of the year!
It’s Freo.
It’s must win.
Ross Lyon was quoted this week talking about the loudness and the hostility of the Port Adelaide crowd at Adelaide Oval…and how tough it is to play in such conditions.
Let’s show him how right he is.
And I know it’s not that long ago since we were half this number, but I’ve started to get used to having 60,000 members.
We’ve always been known as a passionate football club, but pushing through the 60,000 barrier really does position Port Adelaide in the top echelon of AFL club support.
It’s a strong statement.
We’re at 54,500 today.
If you know someone who’s a bit slow getting around to it…please give them a hurry up!
See you at the footy!
KT
