Port Adelaide’s visit to the Riverland was always intended to be more than getting out and having a kick and a catch at the local footy club. Players, coaches and officials wanted to pass on their knowledge to the locals, so that it could be used to make their clubs and schools stronger both on and off the field.

The first night in the Riverland on Tuesday night provided the perfect opportunity for this to happen as the Power invited people from near and far to attend a footy forum. The sessions were always going to be a hit with places for the night filling fast.

Senior coach Mark Williams and his assistants had keen observers from all over the Riverland join him for a talk and display about getting the most out of your list and club.

The players educated the younger members of the community by using their experiences and talking about subjects including team work, goal setting, decision making and preparation. While these subjects may sound very footy orientated the players were able to give examples of how they could be used in day to day life.

The majority of people that attended the forums conducted by the players were year 11 and 12 students. Club captain Warren Tredrea, Michael Wilson, Steven Salopek and Damon White spoke about decision making. They used different scenarios and talked through the processes of making an informed decision. Drink driving, peer pressure and the students’ future beyond the next two years were topics that created a lot of interest among the groups.

Everybody knows the importance of team work in a football club and the Port Adelaide tradition exemplifies this. Team work off the field is also something that shouldn’t be underestimated. Club Best & Fairest Brendon Lade, Josh Mahoney, Brad Symes and Domenic Cassisi wanted to get this message across to the students who attended the forum. They did this by creating problems that needed to be solved using mental and physical prowess. To make things a little more interesting, the players dangled the carrot of setting a new (unofficial) world record in front of those attempting to solve the problem of moving a tennis ball around a group in the fastest possible time. Sounds easy – but the players had stipulated a number of rules to get everybody thinking. Using the players gentle assistance the groups were able to work together to achieve the goal of reducing their time. The benefits were there for all to see as times were reduced from 1 minute 30, to an amazing 2 seconds. Quite clearly everybody had walked away realizing how important team work is.

Meanwhile, Jacob Surjan, Brendon Lade, Nathan Krakouer and Gavin Grose had to put their team work to good use on the side of the road while visiting a primary school in Berri. Waiting for their bus, the players were called upon by a damsel in distress who had managed to park her car in a rather sizeable ditch! It was decided that because Jacob Surjan was the lightest of the four (with his license) he would do the driving while the rest put their weights training to good use. Before you knew it the car was out of the ditch and the thankful damsel was once again on her way with her husband none the wiser!

Coach Mark Williams also took the time to lend an extra helping hand while in the Riverland. Local lad and Power fanatic Chris (pictured) was at an early morning training session and asked if he could have the opportunity to impress the senior coach with his footballing abilities. Mark then emphasized the importance of warming up and sent Chris on a lap of the oval. To the locals delight Chris was then doing laps with the entire squad getting very pumped up by the boys. Chris wanted to work on his left foot and Mark was quick to give some pointers while Alex Lee also gave a hand in the exercise. Chris, who liked to be called “Tredders”, wanted the real Tredders to get in on the coaching session and before you knew the two Tredreas were practicing the finer art of kicking with your wrong foot.

All in all the trip to the Riverland has been a success for both the community and the players with a number of varied and different experiences shared on and off the ground. The Power players now look forward to seeing and hearing their Riverland supporters at AAMI Stadium during the up and coming season.