Dear Members and supporters,

First of all, happy birthday to all our true believers, the wonderful Members of the Port Adelaide Football Club. You are the foundation of our Club and have been integral to our success since 1870.

Tuesday was a significant day for our club.

Firstly, 150 years ago to the day a group of men met and formed the Port Adelaide Football Club as a sporting club to unite the community of Port Adelaide. What a legacy that group left behind!

Then of course, we had the decision by the AFL regarding their return to play protocols, which effectively made it impossible for us to field a side in the SANFL competition in 2020. 

Clearly this is a significant decision affecting the Club, so  I wanted to provide you with as much information as possible in this wildly changing environment. 

Magpies 2020 season 

Port Adelaide was informed yesterday by the AFL that no AFL player is permitted to play in a second tier competition in 2020 under the industry’s return to play protocols.

It is very disappointing to not have Port Adelaide participate in the SANFL competition this season, especially given it is our 150th anniversary. 

We are a foundation club of the SANFL and proud of this heritage. We look forward to continuing that legacy in the SANFL in 2021.

However, the AFL and Government health authorities have made it clear that for health and safety reasons we need to restrict the number of people our players interact with and competing in another competition opens that up significantly. We respect that view and completely support the need to protect our players from transmission of COVID-19. It is incredibly disappointing, but it’s a necessary measure to protect our people.

Magpies 2021 season

This is a one year only scenario for Port Adelaide. We understand the challenge that all Clubs are going to face to reduce costs in 2021 and beyond, but for us this is not a cost issue. 

For Port Adelaide, the Magpies playing in the SANFL is integral to the fabric of our club, our heart and soul, which underpins important revenue streams for our Club. We’ve already presented our position to the AFL  and they understand how important this is going to be as we all progress into the unknown of 2021 and beyond. 

We signed a 15-year agreement at the end of 2013 to participate in the SANFL and we intend to honour that agreement. 

Future in the SANFL and return to zones

The broader question yesterday’s decision raises is about our longer term involvement in the SANFL and the view that if we returned to a traditional zone structure, where Port Adelaide could again select from local talent, we’d be better for it. In the emotional aftermath of yesterday’s decision I can understand why that line of thinking might appeal to some.

It’s important to remember the journey of our Club since we entered the AFL in 1997 in this conversation. 

We had a good look at a divided Port Adelaide (AFL & SANFL) between 1997-2010. History tells us that despite early on-field success at SANFL level and of course an AFL Premiership in 2004, ultimately Port Adelaide would be severely weakened by the separation. After a prolonged and difficult fight, in 2010 we were finally successful in securing SANFL approval (after two attempts!) in pulling the Club back together under the One Club model.

If we’d not been able to do that, the Magpies would have folded and the Power most likely would not have made it to Adelaide Oval. A united Port Adelaide community, with membership growing from less than 30,000 to over 60,000 proved how important One Port Adelaide was to our people. It’s the very reason Never Tear us Apart has become the best game day ritual in Australian sport.

Then, in 2013 we believed strongly that it was best for all Port Adelaide players to play for Port Adelaide, in the AFL or the SANFL. Up until then, our AFL players were still being drafted out to other SANFL Clubs to play when not selected in our AFL team. 

We believed the best way to develop our players and induct them into the Club was to spend their early years playing with the Magpies, in our traditional Prison Bar guernsey. 

No other AFL Club had a ‘zone’ so the AFL stipulated at the time that we had a choice, be an AFL Club and in doing so relinquish the zones, or go back to being an SANFL Club. Port Adelaide’s charter has always been (from great leaders like Bob McLean and Bruce Weber) to play in the biggest competition in the land. So many people have sacrificed so much to ensure that we lived that mantra finally in 1997… so of course we made the decision to continue progressing the interests of the Port Adelaide Football Club on the national stage. 

In our view we have the best of both worlds, AFL representation and the opportunity to remain in the SANFL with the Magpies. In the six seasons since adopting this model we have played in 3 SANFL Grand Finals and membership of the Club has consistently been in excess of 60,000. 

For us to have an SANFL zone,  would mean that we would have to separate every element of the SANFL program from the AFL program.  

History tells us we would be severely weakened by the separation.

The Port Adelaide Football Club holds the proud distinction of being the only non- Victorian Club in the AFL, to rise from its community roots to compete in the biggest football competition in the land. We also very proudly continue to compete for premierships in our beloved black and white guernsey in the SANFL.

But most importantly, we are all united under the one banner… Port Adelaide Football Club.

Port Adelaide is totally committed to continuing its incredible legacy in the SANFL from 2021 onwards. We are unequivocal about this and unwavering in our desire to return. We look forward to pulling on that famous Prison Bar guernsey in 2021, making Alberton Oval a fortress 
and ensuring Port Adelaide thrives in both the SANFL and the AFL.

Thanks again for your unwavering support!

Take care,

KT