PORT ADELAIDE’s Good Friday night game against West Coast in 2019 came as a surprise to the club, according to chief executive Keith Thomas.

The AFL announced late on Tuesday night that it will for the first time hold a double-header of games on Friday April 19, with North Melbourne hosting Essendon in a twilight match followed by the Power facing premiers West Coast at Perth’s Optus Stadium.

Thomas was caught off guard by the announcement, but says it was a pleasant surprise.

“It was a real surprise, I only got the notification last night,” Thomas said on Macquarie Sports Radio’s breakfast program on Wednesday.

“There hadn’t been any discussion about it in the lead up but in the end we’re very pleased with it.

“It’s a great opportunity for our club to play in a stand-alone game on a really high-profile day so we’re very happy with it.”

Thomas said the marquee fixture was an incredible opportunity to showcase his club across the nation.

He said he understood there may still be some negativity around the Easter fixture but urged supporters to embrace the positives, suggesting there would be consideration to involving a charitable cause in the match.

“We very much respect and understand the significance of the day so care has to be taken in that regard, but that being said, for a club like Port Adelaide, and just about all AFL clubs, the opportunity to shine a spotlight on your club and your brand isolation is really difficult to achieve,” he said.

“Unless you’re a major Melbourne club where from a ratings point of view it makes great sense for them to be playing in those games regularly, we’re one of many that has to actually fight for that opportunity so we welcome it.

“The China game for us is fantastic, it’s one of those big moments, and this will be another one.”

The Power now knows it will face Melbourne at the MCG in Round 1, West Coast on Good Friday night and St Kilda in Shanghai on June 2.

The rest of the fixture was to be released on Wednesday afternoon but has been delayed with reports some clubs are not happy with what has been proposed.

“We haven’t (voiced any concerns),” Thomas clarified.

“But we acknowledge it’s a really complex thing to put the fixture together – there’s a lot of stakeholders you need to satisfy and a lot of things you need to consider – so it’s difficult.

“We have not had access to the draw, we’ve had access to an abbreviated summary and it looks pretty good for Port Adelaide, I’ve got to say in terms of how it’s falling but obviously there’s been a little bit of unrest in some camps.

“In the end you’ve got to take the umpires call, so that tends to be our philosophy and we take the view that you’ve got to earn your opportunity so your performance generally looks after you, and when you’re not in the finals or whatever, you cop your share.”

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