THE PORT ADELAIDE Football Club has ensured that all of its members will be at the Adelaide Oval – at least in spirit - when the players run out in the prison bar guernsey for Showdown 48.

Restrictions on gatherings because of COVID-19 mean that just 2240 members can attend the hugely anticipated clash against the Crows on Saturday night.

But, the club has come up with a way to honour every single person who has signed on as a member for 2020. That includes those who could not afford to continue their membership or elected not to after the pandemic hit.

A huge banner featuring the names of the more than 51,000 people who signed on as members for 2020 will be stationed behind the goals at the southern end of the ground, above where the players emerge from the race.

“We realise this is a largely symbolic gesture, but we want every one of our members to know they are valued and that we miss having them at games with us,” said Executive General Manager, Matthew Richardson.

“We would love to see 50,000 people in their prison bar guernseys and black, white, silver and teal filling the stands to cheer the boys on but in lieu of that we wanted to recognise our people in the best way we could.

“The left side of the banner features the prison bar guernsey, which we will wear on Saturday night and hopefully in future Showdowns, and on the right is the black guernsey with the white and teal V.

"The banner will carry the Never Tear Us Apart message with every single 2020 member printed into the banner. They can’t be there in person, but they are in print and our players will be looking out for them on the night.

“We look forward to having our True Believers back at our games, but until then, the boys will go out there knowing they have the full support of every one of our members.”

Saturday night’s game gets underway from the Adelaide Oval at 7:10pm.