PORT ADELAIDE midfielder Tom Rockliff has only called Port Adelaide home since 2018, but it didn’t take long for the former Brisbane skipper to relish the rich history within the walls of Alberton Oval.
Port entered 2020 with grand plans to give the club and its supporters a year-long celebration worthy of the club’s 150-year history.
A new logo and historical website were launched in late 2019, the club came together for an incredible 150th Gala evening and a compelling documentary ‘Onward to Victory’ recently went to air.
However, club’s plans have momentarily been pushed to the side as Port Adelaide – and the entire football industry and wider community – have had to change pace in order to cope with the developments of the coronavirus crisis, with the 2020 AFL season postponed until at least May 31.
Rockliff sympathised with the club’s passionate supporter base as their ambitions to celebrate Port’s significant history are put on hold for now.
“I think with everything else going on in the world (our supporters) understand the situation that we are in,” Rockliff said on Melbourne radio.
“It is disappointing we can’t celebrate the 150 years like we had planned – obviously the Showdown in round 2 would have been a sell out with the Prison Bar jumper – that has all been postponed for now.”
However, the Power ball magnet remained positive about his side’s ability to make their mark on that rich history and the position they find themselves in once the football does recommence.
“For us, we felt as a playing group like we were in a really good position to have a really strong season,” Rockliff declared.
“We are trying to do as much as we can at the moment to make sure that when the season comes back that we are ready to hit the ground running and give ourselves the best opportunity to celebrate later in the year.”
Rockliff, who himself played a starring role in the club’s round 1 win over the Gold Coast, has been impressed by the development of Port’s younger players and the balance of depth the club now has across each age group.
“I think across the board we’ve got some real excitement amongst the playing group,” he said.
“We’ve got some older guys that are in decent form and then guys like Dan Houston, Darcy Byrne-Jones, Riley Bonner Tom Clurey, that sort of age bracket in the middle that are really starting to come on and take ownership of the playing group and the direction that they want to take the playing group.
“Then the young boys we’ve obviously seen what they can do last year and then guys like Mitch Georgiades and those guys coming through.”
