PORT ADELAIDE defender Dan Houston says he is thankful to be returning to the side for Saturday night’s game against North Melbourne after letting down the club and its members with his breach of the AFL’s COVID-19 protocols.
Houston and ruckman Peter Ladhams were each suspended for breaking the AFL’s strict rules after entertaining visitors at Ladhams’ home last month.
Houston has completed his two-game ban, while Ladhams has another week on the sidelines before he can be considered for selection.
“Obviously, we made an error in judgement,” Houston told portadelaidefc.com.au.
“The protocols are very clear and we obviously regret the decision that we made.
“We’ve obviously let a lot of people down and the last couple of weeks have been pretty tough.
“We’ve had a few tough conversations with the boys and the club and I’m really looking forward to learning from these few weeks and from letting people down and the fans and the people who have stuck by us.
“I look forward to the back end of the year and making amends.”
The 23-year-old was particularly disappointed at the impact his actions have had on the club’s True Believers, many who had pledged their membership funds despite being unable to get to many or any games in 2020.
“The members have stuck by us through tough times and they’ve been along on the journey the whole way and obviously letting them down is not ideal,” he said.
“I really want to turn it around in the back end of the year and play some good footy for them and the club that I’ve also let down as well.
“I’m just looking forward to learning from these two weeks off and playing some good footy.”
Port Adelaide’s General Manager – Football, Chris Davies revealed on Wednesday that Houston would come back into the side for Saturday night’s match against the Kangaroos.
And the defender-turned-midfielder said he felt lucky to be given the chance to travel to the Gold Coast for the game with his teammates.
“It’s obviously been a tough couple of weeks,” Houston said.
“We’ve wanted just to earn back the trust of the players and the club as a start and put in the hard work at training and in our scratch matches.
“I’m very thankful that I’ve been given the chance to come back again this week and just looking forward to playing team footy and tough footy as well.”
Port Adelaide will name the rest of its side for the important Round 16 game on Friday evening.
