Opinion Being Port Adelaide: 1998/2006/2017

[GremioPower]

The Meaning of the Port Adelaide F.C.
Paulo Roberto Tellechea Sanchotene (GremioPower)

I’m from Brazil. I was born a Port supporter, but I didn’t know until I was in my late 30’s. Fate found a way to unite me with the footy club.

I have never been in Australia. Still, as soon as started following Port, the fans received me in open arms. 

They took their time not only to help me understand the game, but mainly the club.

These people taught me on why “We Exist to Win Premierships”. They helped me grasp the meaning of “We are Port Adelaide”. Those are not empty phrases.

As the only traditional club outside of Victoria to be in the AFL, the Port Adelaide Football Club is truly one of a kind. The more I knew about it, the more passionate and connected I felt.

This happened after the One Club Initiative had finally brought the club together. So, I am not scarred by the split. In that regard, I would be similar to kids around my sons’ age.

Yet, I am old enough to know it’s something that needs to be acknowledged. I see my position, being simultaneously an old and a new supporter, as an opportunity for returning the favour of those who helped making me a Portman – working on the construction of a bridge between the old and the new generation of supporters.

It should be possible to reconnect the AFL club to its SANFL history. This would be the last step of the reunification. Today, indeed, we are closer to that than we were in 2014. Unfortunately, however, not by much.

Just to be clear, I’m not talking about the glorious past of the club. I am not comparing our current situation with anything that happened before we entered the AFL.

This is not about the ultimate result, getting there. It’s about aiming at it. This is about mentality. It’s about the essence of the club. It’s on what makes Port Adelaide Port Adelaide.

Three examples should suffice to illustrate my point. Three dates, all of them from our time in the AFL:

I. September 1998



The last time the club acted in the spirit of “We Are Port Adelaide” was in 1998. After that season, Port’s 2nd season in the AFL, the club parted ways with its senior coach Jack Cahill. Cahill had won 6 SANFL flags between 1988 and 1995. Port also was the 1996 SANFL Premiers, with Cahill coaching for most of the season.

Yet, after two season without Finals, in a higher league, that resume didn’t matter. As grateful as they all were at Port, there was an understanding that Cahill had reached his limit. The club wanted more, and, to achieve that, it was necessary to find a new senior coach.

It was the right decision.

II. September 2006

In 2006, Port had the opportunity to do the same. True enough, it wasn’t after two seasons without Finals. However, it should be clear by then that Mark Williams, the man who had replaced Jack Cahill, had reached his limit.

Up until then, under Choco, Port had reached Finals 5 times in 7 years; gotten 3 Minor Premierships; and won the Flag once. Yet, the club had played in a GF only 1 time. In 2005, as title holders, Port finished only 8th. Despite reaching the SF, it was eliminated in a humiliating Showdown defeat. One year later, it finished 12th (the 2nd worse finish in Port AFL history at the time).

The window for a dynasty was closed for good. 2004 hadn’t been the beginning of anything. It had been the end. If Port wanted more, to achieve that, it was necessary to find a new senior coach. The club, however, failed in its duty.

It wasn’t an easy decision. The coach was a Premiership coach and a Williams. But Jack Cahill was a Premiership coach too and a club legend. It wasn’t an easy decision either. Still, it didn’t matter. It didn’t because it shouldn’t matter. If “We Are Port Adelaide”, we must do what is right for the club, as hard as the action might be. In 2006, we couldn’t.

In the same way that courage had paid off after 1998, the lack of it had its price. There was the most one-sided GF in AFL history in 2007. Williams remained. Port was 13th in 2008, and Williams remained. The club failed reaching Finals in consecutive seasons, and Williams remained.

His reign was only over during another failed season in 2010. Then, it came 2011 and 2012, and those seasons were awful on and off the field. Today, there are many people still hurt because of that.

Yet, one can pinpoint where the Road to Disaster was taken. It was in September 2006, when we weren’t Port Adelaide.

III. September 2017

The next time Port had the chance to be Port Adelaide was in September 2017. We had played Finals, that’s a fact, but we had lost a home EF against the 8th-place West Coast. It was the third consecutive season without a Finals win, after reaching the PF in 2014.

Port had a 3-16-1 record against Top-8 teams in 2016-17 combined (0-10 v. Top-4). Including 2015, the records were 10-22-1 (v.T8) and 3-13 (v.T4). The club had lost 5 Showdowns in a row, the last one by 94 points and 29 scoring shots.

By then, it should have been clear that Hinkley had reached its limit. If Port wanted more, to achieve that, it was necessary to find a new senior coach. The club, however, failed in its duty.

It was most probably the easiest of the three decisions. Hinkley hadn’t won anything. He didn’t have any history, any connection to the club prior to his arrival in 2013. He had himself hinted an interest to go somewhere else. Port could simply have let him go. It did not, though.

On the contrary, Hinkley had a contract extension. Thus, his tenure would end in 2020, instead of 2018. Moreover, the contract would be extended for one extra year, if, from then to the end of the term, he lead the club to Finals ONCE.

Think about this. There was no need to win. Not only that, but Port had reached Finals once, and lost, in the previous three seasons. Then, it established that making Finals once in the next three would be enough to coach one more year.

In September 2017, the Port Adelaide Football Club put on paper and signed that making Finals twice in six seasons, regardless of wins, wasn’t just acceptable. It actually was commendable. It was an achievement good enough to warrant a seventh year.

"We Are Port Adelaide"

Now, to finish this, having all that in mind, please answer me a few questions.

If you understand that two Elimination Finals losses in six years is an accomplishment worth of reward, are you really after winning premierships?

If you really wanted more, would this be something you would do?


If you truly believe that “We Exist to Win Premierships” actually means something, would you set such a low bar as your goal?

If you do that, are you Port Adelaide?

The current administration of the club did it. We are in 2024, and they kept doing it. The board in the late 00’s also did it and kept doing it until it was too late.

If you are Port Adelaide, why would you accept all this?

(07.11.2024)

 

[GremioPower]

I have written a shorter version of it.

Spoiler: Being Port Adelaide (tl;dr version)

Being Port Adelaide
Paulo R. T. Sanchotene (GremioPower)

Uruguayana, July 11th 2024​

I’m from Brazil. I have never been in Australia, but I was born a Port supporter. I simply didn’t know it until I was in my late 30’s. Still, Port fans received me in open arms. They helped me grasp the meaning of “We are Port Adelaide” and why “We Exist to Win Premierships”. Those are not empty phrases.

I also learned that Port is a broken club. There had a been a split, and, even after the reunification, we haven’t fully recovered from it. The identity crisis lingers on. There’s a need to reconnect the AFL club to its SANFL history.

I have the advantage of not being scarred by that experience. I think I can help. The key is understanding what “We Are Port Adelaide” means. For that, there is no need to bring back the glorious past of the club. Three moments, all of them from our time in the AFL, should suffice to highlight the essence of the club (that which makes Port Adelaide Port Adelaide) and why it matters.

I. September 1998

The last time the club acted in the spirit of “We Are Port Adelaide” was in 1998, when Jack Cahill was dismissed as the club’s senior coach. Cahill was a multi-champion coach and a club legend. Yet, he was gone after two AFL seasons without Finals.

The club wanted more, and only change could bring that. It was the right decision.

II. September 2006

In 2006, Port had the opportunity to do the same, but failed. It was clear that the window for a dynasty was closed for good. 2004 hadn’t been the beginning of anything. It had been the end. If Port wanted more, change was necessary. However, the club didn’t act like in 1998. We paid for it.

Choco only left during the 2010 season. It followed two seasons so awful on and off the field that there are many people still hurt today. Such a downfall started in September 2006, when we weren’t Port Adelaide.

III. September 2017

The next time Port had the chance to be Port Adelaide was in September 2017. It was the third consecutive season without a Finals win, after reaching the PF in 2014. The club had lost 5 Showdowns in a row, the last one by 94 points and 29 scoring shots. The record against Top-4 teams since 2015 was only 3-13 (18.75%).

It was already clear then that Hinkley had reached its limit. If Port wanted more, change was necessary. Yet, even being the easiest of the three decisions, and having the previous precedent as a warning, the club failed again. Cahill and Choco were Premier coaches and club legends. Hinkley is neither. Moreover, he was willing to move. Port could simply have let him go.

Instead, the contract was extended from 2018 to 2020; and if Port reached Finals once, it would go to 2021. In other words, the Port Adelaide Football Club put on paper and signed that making Finals twice in six seasons, regardless of wins, wasn’t just acceptable. It actually was commendable.

“We Are Port Adelaide”

Now, with all that in mind, I will finish this leaving some questions:

If you understand that two Elimination Finals losses in six years is an accomplishment worth of reward, are you really after winning premierships?

If you truly believe that “We Exist to Win Premierships” actually means something, would you set such a low bar as your goal?

If you do that, are you Port Adelaide?

What is necessary for the Port Adelaide Football Club to finally be Port Adelaide again?

 

[VineValerian]

The Meaning of the Port Adelaide F.C.
Paulo Roberto Tellechea Sanchotene (GremioPower)

I’m from Brazil. I was born a Port supporter, but I didn’t know until I was in my late 30’s. Fate found a way to unite me with the footy club.

I have never been in Australia. Still, as soon as started following Port, the fans received me in open arms. 

They took their time not only to help me understand the game, but mainly the club.

These people taught me on why “We Exist to Win Premierships”. They helped me grasp the meaning of “We are Port Adelaide”. Those are not empty phrases.

As the only traditional club outside of Victoria to be in the AFL, the Port Adelaide Football Club is truly one of a kind. The more I knew about it, the more passionate and connected I felt.

This happened after the One Club Initiative had finally brought the club together. So, I am not scarred by the split. In that regard, I would be similar to kids around my sons’ age.

Yet, I am old enough to know it’s something that needs to be acknowledged. I see my position, being simultaneously an old and a new supporter, as an opportunity for to return the favour of those who helped make a Portman – working in the construction of a bridge between the old and the new generation of supporters.

It should be possible to reconnect the AFL club to its SANFL history. This would be the last step of the reunification. Today, indeed, we are closer to that than we were in 2014. Unfortunately, however, not by much.

Just to be clear, I’m not talking about the glorious past of the club. I am not comparing our current situation with anything that happened before we entered the AFL.

This is not about the ultimate result, getting there. It’s about aiming at it. This is about mentality. It’s about the essence of the club. It’s on what makes Port Adelaide Port Adelaide.

Three examples should suffice to illustrate my point. Three dates, all of them from our time in the AFL:

I. September 1998



The last time the club acted in the spirit of “We Are Port Adelaide” was in 1998. After that season, Port’s 2nd season in the AFL, the club parted ways with its senior coach Jack Cahill. Cahill had won 6 SANFL flags between 1988 and 1995. Port also was the 1996 SANFL Premiers, with Cahill coaching for most of the season.

Yet, after two season without Finals, in a higher league, that resume didn’t matter. As grateful as they all were at Port, there was an understanding that Cahill had reached his limit. The club wanted more, and, to achieve that, it was necessary to find a new senior coach.

It was the right decision.

II. September 2006

In 2006, Port had the opportunity to do the same. True enough, it wasn’t after two seasons without Finals. However, it should be clear by then that Mark Williams, the man who had replaced Jack Cahill, had reached his limit.

Up until then, under Choco, Port had reached Finals 5 times in 7 years; gotten 3 Minor Premierships; and won the Flag once. Yet, the club had played in a GF only 1 time. In 2005, as title holders, Port finished only 8th. Despite reaching the Semifinals, it was eliminated in a humiliating Showdown defeat. One year later, it finished 12th (the 2nd worse finish in Port AFL history at the time).

The window for a dynasty was closed for good. 2004 hadn’t been the beginning of anything. It had been the end. If Port wanted more, to achieve that, it was necessary to find a new senior coach. The club, however, failed in its duty.

It wasn’t an easy decision. The coach was a Premiership coach and a Williams. But Jack Cahill was a Premiership coach too and a club legend. It wasn’t an easy decision either. Still, it didn’t matter. It didn’t because it shouldn’t matter. If “We Are Port Adelaide”, we must do what is right for the club, as hard as the action might be. In 2006, we couldn’t.

In the same way that courage had paid off after 1998, the lack of it had its price. There was the most one-sided GF in AFL history in 2007. Williams remained. Port was 13th in 2008, and Williams remained. The club failed reaching Finals in consecutive seasons, and Williams remained.

His reign was only over during another failed season in 2010. Then, it came 2011 and 2012, and those seasons were awful on and off the field. Today, there are many people still hurt because of that.

Yet, one can pinpoint where the Road to Disaster was taken. It was in September 2006, when we weren’t Port Adelaide.

III. September 2017

The next time Port had the chance to be Port Adelaide was in September 2017. We had played Finals, that’s a fact, but we had lost a home EF against the 8th-place West Coast. It was the third consecutive season without a Finals win, after reaching the PF in 2014.

Port had a 3-16-1 record against Top-8 teams in 2016-17 combined (0-10 v. Top-4). Including 2015, the records were 10-22-1 (v.T8) and 3-13 (v.T4). The club had lost 5 Showdowns in a row, the last one by 94 points and 29 scoring shots.

By then, it should have been clear that Hinkley had reached its limit. If Port wanted more, to achieve that, it was necessary to find a new senior coach. The club, however, failed in its duty.

It was most probably the easiest of the three decisions. Hinkley hadn’t won anything. He didn’t have any history, any connection to the club prior to his arrival in 2013. He had himself hinted an interest to go somewhere else. Port could simply have let him go. It did not, though.

On the contrary, Hinkley had a contract extension. Thus, his tenure would end in 2020, instead of 2018. Moreover, the contract would be extended for one extra year, if, from then to the end of the term, he lead the club to Finals ONCE.

Think about this. There was no need to win. Not only that, but Port had reached Finals once, and lost, in the previous three seasons. Then, it established that making Finals once in the next three would be enough to coach one more year.

In September 2017, the Port Adelaide Football Club put on paper and signed that making Finals twice in six seasons, regardless of wins, wasn’t just acceptable. It actually was commendable. It was an achievement good enough to warrant a seventh year.

"We Are Port Adelaide"

Now, to finish this, having all that in mind, please answer me a few questions.

If you understand that two Elimination Finals losses in six years is an accomplishment worth of reward, are you really after winning premierships?

If you really wanted more, would this be something you would do?


If you truly believe that “We Exist to Win Premierships” actually means something, would you set such a low bar as your goal?

If you do that, are you Port Adelaide?

The current administration of the club did it. We are in 2024, and they kept doing it. The board in the late 00’s also did it and kept doing it until it was too late.

If you are Port Adelaide, why would you accept all this?

(07.11.2024)

Bloody well said.
Sir, I salute you.
Could not have encapsulated it any better.

 

[Jojay]

The Meaning of the Port Adelaide F.C.
Paulo Roberto Tellechea Sanchotene (GremioPower)

I’m from Brazil. I was born a Port supporter, but I didn’t know until I was in my late 30’s. Fate found a way to unite me with the footy club.

I have never been in Australia. Still, as soon as started following Port, the fans received me in open arms. 

They took their time not only to help me understand the game, but mainly the club.

These people taught me on why “We Exist to Win Premierships”. They helped me grasp the meaning of “We are Port Adelaide”. Those are not empty phrases.

As the only traditional club outside of Victoria to be in the AFL, the Port Adelaide Football Club is truly one of a kind. The more I knew about it, the more passionate and connected I felt.

This happened after the One Club Initiative had finally brought the club together. So, I am not scarred by the split. In that regard, I would be similar to kids around my sons’ age.

Yet, I am old enough to know it’s something that needs to be acknowledged. I see my position, being simultaneously an old and a new supporter, as an opportunity for to return the favour of those who helped make a Portman – working in the construction of a bridge between the old and the new generation of supporters.

It should be possible to reconnect the AFL club to its SANFL history. This would be the last step of the reunification. Today, indeed, we are closer to that than we were in 2014. Unfortunately, however, not by much.

Just to be clear, I’m not talking about the glorious past of the club. I am not comparing our current situation with anything that happened before we entered the AFL.

This is not about the ultimate result, getting there. It’s about aiming at it. This is about mentality. It’s about the essence of the club. It’s on what makes Port Adelaide Port Adelaide.

Three examples should suffice to illustrate my point. Three dates, all of them from our time in the AFL:

I. September 1998



The last time the club acted in the spirit of “We Are Port Adelaide” was in 1998. After that season, Port’s 2nd season in the AFL, the club parted ways with its senior coach Jack Cahill. Cahill had won 6 SANFL flags between 1988 and 1995. Port also was the 1996 SANFL Premiers, with Cahill coaching for most of the season.

Yet, after two season without Finals, in a higher league, that resume didn’t matter. As grateful as they all were at Port, there was an understanding that Cahill had reached his limit. The club wanted more, and, to achieve that, it was necessary to find a new senior coach.

It was the right decision.

II. September 2006

In 2006, Port had the opportunity to do the same. True enough, it wasn’t after two seasons without Finals. However, it should be clear by then that Mark Williams, the man who had replaced Jack Cahill, had reached his limit.

Up until then, under Choco, Port had reached Finals 5 times in 7 years; gotten 3 Minor Premierships; and won the Flag once. Yet, the club had played in a GF only 1 time. In 2005, as title holders, Port finished only 8th. Despite reaching the Semifinals, it was eliminated in a humiliating Showdown defeat. One year later, it finished 12th (the 2nd worse finish in Port AFL history at the time).

The window for a dynasty was closed for good. 2004 hadn’t been the beginning of anything. It had been the end. If Port wanted more, to achieve that, it was necessary to find a new senior coach. The club, however, failed in its duty.

It wasn’t an easy decision. The coach was a Premiership coach and a Williams. But Jack Cahill was a Premiership coach too and a club legend. It wasn’t an easy decision either. Still, it didn’t matter. It didn’t because it shouldn’t matter. If “We Are Port Adelaide”, we must do what is right for the club, as hard as the action might be. In 2006, we couldn’t.

In the same way that courage had paid off after 1998, the lack of it had its price. There was the most one-sided GF in AFL history in 2007. Williams remained. Port was 13th in 2008, and Williams remained. The club failed reaching Finals in consecutive seasons, and Williams remained.

His reign was only over during another failed season in 2010. Then, it came 2011 and 2012, and those seasons were awful on and off the field. Today, there are many people still hurt because of that.

Yet, one can pinpoint where the Road to Disaster was taken. It was in September 2006, when we weren’t Port Adelaide.

III. September 2017

The next time Port had the chance to be Port Adelaide was in September 2017. We had played Finals, that’s a fact, but we had lost a home EF against the 8th-place West Coast. It was the third consecutive season without a Finals win, after reaching the PF in 2014.

Port had a 3-16-1 record against Top-8 teams in 2016-17 combined (0-10 v. Top-4). Including 2015, the records were 10-22-1 (v.T8) and 3-13 (v.T4). The club had lost 5 Showdowns in a row, the last one by 94 points and 29 scoring shots.

By then, it should have been clear that Hinkley had reached its limit. If Port wanted more, to achieve that, it was necessary to find a new senior coach. The club, however, failed in its duty.

It was most probably the easiest of the three decisions. Hinkley hadn’t won anything. He didn’t have any history, any connection to the club prior to his arrival in 2013. He had himself hinted an interest to go somewhere else. Port could simply have let him go. It did not, though.

On the contrary, Hinkley had a contract extension. Thus, his tenure would end in 2020, instead of 2018. Moreover, the contract would be extended for one extra year, if, from then to the end of the term, he lead the club to Finals ONCE.

Think about this. There was no need to win. Not only that, but Port had reached Finals once, and lost, in the previous three seasons. Then, it established that making Finals once in the next three would be enough to coach one more year.

In September 2017, the Port Adelaide Football Club put on paper and signed that making Finals twice in six seasons, regardless of wins, wasn’t just acceptable. It actually was commendable. It was an achievement good enough to warrant a seventh year.

"We Are Port Adelaide"

Now, to finish this, having all that in mind, please answer me a few questions.

If you understand that two Elimination Finals losses in six years is an accomplishment worth of reward, are you really after winning premierships?

If you really wanted more, would this be something you would do?


If you truly believe that “We Exist to Win Premierships” actually means something, would you set such a low bar as your goal?

If you do that, are you Port Adelaide?

The current administration of the club did it. We are in 2024, and they kept doing it. The board in the late 00’s also did it and kept doing it until it was too late.

If you are Port Adelaide, why would you accept all this?

(07.11.2024)

Well done, GremioPower ... you ARE Port Adelaide

 

[Us against the rest]

The Meaning of the Port Adelaide F.C.
Paulo Roberto Tellechea Sanchotene (GremioPower)

I’m from Brazil. I was born a Port supporter, but I didn’t know until I was in my late 30’s. Fate found a way to unite me with the footy club.

I have never been in Australia. Still, as soon as started following Port, the fans received me in open arms. 

They took their time not only to help me understand the game, but mainly the club.

These people taught me on why “We Exist to Win Premierships”. They helped me grasp the meaning of “We are Port Adelaide”. Those are not empty phrases.

As the only traditional club outside of Victoria to be in the AFL, the Port Adelaide Football Club is truly one of a kind. The more I knew about it, the more passionate and connected I felt.

This happened after the One Club Initiative had finally brought the club together. So, I am not scarred by the split. In that regard, I would be similar to kids around my sons’ age.

Yet, I am old enough to know it’s something that needs to be acknowledged. I see my position, being simultaneously an old and a new supporter, as an opportunity for to return the favour of those who helped make a Portman – working in the construction of a bridge between the old and the new generation of supporters.

It should be possible to reconnect the AFL club to its SANFL history. This would be the last step of the reunification. Today, indeed, we are closer to that than we were in 2014. Unfortunately, however, not by much.

Just to be clear, I’m not talking about the glorious past of the club. I am not comparing our current situation with anything that happened before we entered the AFL.

This is not about the ultimate result, getting there. It’s about aiming at it. This is about mentality. It’s about the essence of the club. It’s on what makes Port Adelaide Port Adelaide.

Three examples should suffice to illustrate my point. Three dates, all of them from our time in the AFL:

I. September 1998



The last time the club acted in the spirit of “We Are Port Adelaide” was in 1998. After that season, Port’s 2nd season in the AFL, the club parted ways with its senior coach Jack Cahill. Cahill had won 6 SANFL flags between 1988 and 1995. Port also was the 1996 SANFL Premiers, with Cahill coaching for most of the season.

Yet, after two season without Finals, in a higher league, that resume didn’t matter. As grateful as they all were at Port, there was an understanding that Cahill had reached his limit. The club wanted more, and, to achieve that, it was necessary to find a new senior coach.

It was the right decision.

II. September 2006

In 2006, Port had the opportunity to do the same. True enough, it wasn’t after two seasons without Finals. However, it should be clear by then that Mark Williams, the man who had replaced Jack Cahill, had reached his limit.

Up until then, under Choco, Port had reached Finals 5 times in 7 years; gotten 3 Minor Premierships; and won the Flag once. Yet, the club had played in a GF only 1 time. In 2005, as title holders, Port finished only 8th. Despite reaching the Semifinals, it was eliminated in a humiliating Showdown defeat. One year later, it finished 12th (the 2nd worse finish in Port AFL history at the time).

The window for a dynasty was closed for good. 2004 hadn’t been the beginning of anything. It had been the end. If Port wanted more, to achieve that, it was necessary to find a new senior coach. The club, however, failed in its duty.

It wasn’t an easy decision. The coach was a Premiership coach and a Williams. But Jack Cahill was a Premiership coach too and a club legend. It wasn’t an easy decision either. Still, it didn’t matter. It didn’t because it shouldn’t matter. If “We Are Port Adelaide”, we must do what is right for the club, as hard as the action might be. In 2006, we couldn’t.

In the same way that courage had paid off after 1998, the lack of it had its price. There was the most one-sided GF in AFL history in 2007. Williams remained. Port was 13th in 2008, and Williams remained. The club failed reaching Finals in consecutive seasons, and Williams remained.

His reign was only over during another failed season in 2010. Then, it came 2011 and 2012, and those seasons were awful on and off the field. Today, there are many people still hurt because of that.

Yet, one can pinpoint where the Road to Disaster was taken. It was in September 2006, when we weren’t Port Adelaide.

III. September 2017

The next time Port had the chance to be Port Adelaide was in September 2017. We had played Finals, that’s a fact, but we had lost a home EF against the 8th-place West Coast. It was the third consecutive season without a Finals win, after reaching the PF in 2014.

Port had a 3-16-1 record against Top-8 teams in 2016-17 combined (0-10 v. Top-4). Including 2015, the records were 10-22-1 (v.T8) and 3-13 (v.T4). The club had lost 5 Showdowns in a row, the last one by 94 points and 29 scoring shots.

By then, it should have been clear that Hinkley had reached its limit. If Port wanted more, to achieve that, it was necessary to find a new senior coach. The club, however, failed in its duty.

It was most probably the easiest of the three decisions. Hinkley hadn’t won anything. He didn’t have any history, any connection to the club prior to his arrival in 2013. He had himself hinted an interest to go somewhere else. Port could simply have let him go. It did not, though.

On the contrary, Hinkley had a contract extension. Thus, his tenure would end in 2020, instead of 2018. Moreover, the contract would be extended for one extra year, if, from then to the end of the term, he lead the club to Finals ONCE.

Think about this. There was no need to win. Not only that, but Port had reached Finals once, and lost, in the previous three seasons. Then, it established that making Finals once in the next three would be enough to coach one more year.

In September 2017, the Port Adelaide Football Club put on paper and signed that making Finals twice in six seasons, regardless of wins, wasn’t just acceptable. It actually was commendable. It was an achievement good enough to warrant a seventh year.

"We Are Port Adelaide"

Now, to finish this, having all that in mind, please answer me a few questions.

If you understand that two Elimination Finals losses in six years is an accomplishment worth of reward, are you really after winning premierships?

If you really wanted more, would this be something you would do?


If you truly believe that “We Exist to Win Premierships” actually means something, would you set such a low bar as your goal?

If you do that, are you Port Adelaide?

The current administration of the club did it. We are in 2024, and they kept doing it. The board in the late 00’s also did it and kept doing it until it was too late.

If you are Port Adelaide, why would you accept all this?

(07.11.2024)

A brilliant post.
This should be sent to the club and all media outlets, then they will understand the Port Adelaide supporter base.
We're not asking for much, we have been patient, it's time for the club to do the right thing for it's supporters and the club

 

[Enviable Tradition]

Well written mate

On SM-G975F using BigFooty.com mobile app

 

[PAFC Since 1870]

Sensational post. Encapsulates everything perfectly

 

[1954]

The Meaning of the Port Adelaide F.C.
Paulo Roberto Tellechea Sanchotene (GremioPower)

I’m from Brazil. I was born a Port supporter, but I didn’t know until I was in my late 30’s. Fate found a way to unite me with the footy club.

I have never been in Australia. Still, as soon as started following Port, the fans received me in open arms. 

They took their time not only to help me understand the game, but mainly the club.

These people taught me on why “We Exist to Win Premierships”. They helped me grasp the meaning of “We are Port Adelaide”. Those are not empty phrases.

As the only traditional club outside of Victoria to be in the AFL, the Port Adelaide Football Club is truly one of a kind. The more I knew about it, the more passionate and connected I felt.

This happened after the One Club Initiative had finally brought the club together. So, I am not scarred by the split. In that regard, I would be similar to kids around my sons’ age.

Yet, I am old enough to know it’s something that needs to be acknowledged. I see my position, being simultaneously an old and a new supporter, as an opportunity for returning the favour of those who helped make me a Portman – working on the construction of a bridge between the old and the new generation of supporters.

It should be possible to reconnect the AFL club to its SANFL history. This would be the last step of the reunification. Today, indeed, we are closer to that than we were in 2014. Unfortunately, however, not by much.

Just to be clear, I’m not talking about the glorious past of the club. I am not comparing our current situation with anything that happened before we entered the AFL.

This is not about the ultimate result, getting there. It’s about aiming at it. This is about mentality. It’s about the essence of the club. It’s on what makes Port Adelaide Port Adelaide.

Three examples should suffice to illustrate my point. Three dates, all of them from our time in the AFL:

I. September 1998



The last time the club acted in the spirit of “We Are Port Adelaide” was in 1998. After that season, Port’s 2nd season in the AFL, the club parted ways with its senior coach Jack Cahill. Cahill had won 6 SANFL flags between 1988 and 1995. Port also was the 1996 SANFL Premiers, with Cahill coaching for most of the season.

Yet, after two season without Finals, in a higher league, that resume didn’t matter. As grateful as they all were at Port, there was an understanding that Cahill had reached his limit. The club wanted more, and, to achieve that, it was necessary to find a new senior coach.

It was the right decision.

II. September 2006

In 2006, Port had the opportunity to do the same. True enough, it wasn’t after two seasons without Finals. However, it should be clear by then that Mark Williams, the man who had replaced Jack Cahill, had reached his limit.

Up until then, under Choco, Port had reached Finals 5 times in 7 years; gotten 3 Minor Premierships; and won the Flag once. Yet, the club had played in a GF only 1 time. In 2005, as title holders, Port finished only 8th. Despite reaching the SF, it was eliminated in a humiliating Showdown defeat. One year later, it finished 12th (the 2nd worse finish in Port AFL history at the time).

The window for a dynasty was closed for good. 2004 hadn’t been the beginning of anything. It had been the end. If Port wanted more, to achieve that, it was necessary to find a new senior coach. The club, however, failed in its duty.

It wasn’t an easy decision. The coach was a Premiership coach and a Williams. But Jack Cahill was a Premiership coach too and a club legend. It wasn’t an easy decision either. Still, it didn’t matter. It didn’t because it shouldn’t matter. If “We Are Port Adelaide”, we must do what is right for the club, as hard as the action might be. In 2006, we couldn’t.

In the same way that courage had paid off after 1998, the lack of it had its price. There was the most one-sided GF in AFL history in 2007. Williams remained. Port was 13th in 2008, and Williams remained. The club failed reaching Finals in consecutive seasons, and Williams remained.

His reign was only over during another failed season in 2010. Then, it came 2011 and 2012, and those seasons were awful on and off the field. Today, there are many people still hurt because of that.

Yet, one can pinpoint where the Road to Disaster was taken. It was in September 2006, when we weren’t Port Adelaide.

III. September 2017

The next time Port had the chance to be Port Adelaide was in September 2017. We had played Finals, that’s a fact, but we had lost a home EF against the 8th-place West Coast. It was the third consecutive season without a Finals win, after reaching the PF in 2014.

Port had a 3-16-1 record against Top-8 teams in 2016-17 combined (0-10 v. Top-4). Including 2015, the records were 10-22-1 (v.T8) and 3-13 (v.T4). The club had lost 5 Showdowns in a row, the last one by 94 points and 29 scoring shots.

By then, it should have been clear that Hinkley had reached its limit. If Port wanted more, to achieve that, it was necessary to find a new senior coach. The club, however, failed in its duty.

It was most probably the easiest of the three decisions. Hinkley hadn’t won anything. He didn’t have any history, any connection to the club prior to his arrival in 2013. He had himself hinted an interest to go somewhere else. Port could simply have let him go. It did not, though.

On the contrary, Hinkley had a contract extension. Thus, his tenure would end in 2020, instead of 2018. Moreover, the contract would be extended for one extra year, if, from then to the end of the term, he lead the club to Finals ONCE.

Think about this. There was no need to win. Not only that, but Port had reached Finals once, and lost, in the previous three seasons. Then, it established that making Finals once in the next three would be enough to coach one more year.

In September 2017, the Port Adelaide Football Club put on paper and signed that making Finals twice in six seasons, regardless of wins, wasn’t just acceptable. It actually was commendable. It was an achievement good enough to warrant a seventh year.

"We Are Port Adelaide"

Now, to finish this, having all that in mind, please answer me a few questions.

If you understand that two Elimination Finals losses in six years is an accomplishment worth of reward, are you really after winning premierships?

If you really wanted more, would this be something you would do?


If you truly believe that “We Exist to Win Premierships” actually means something, would you set such a low bar as your goal?

If you do that, are you Port Adelaide?

The current administration of the club did it. We are in 2024, and they kept doing it. The board in the late 00’s also did it and kept doing it until it was too late.

If you are Port Adelaide, why would you accept all this?

(07.11.2024)

Well said GP, your passion for the club is admirable!

As you are no doubt aware John Cahill was given only a 2 year contract and Mark Williams as his assistant was given a 5 year contract, so it was fairly clear Choco was going to replace him from the 1999 season regardless of the 1997-98 results, and as you suggest Choco then went too far past his use by date particularly given that 2007 gf debacle and the lack of follow up from it apart from a few comments a season or so later that some players were still struggling.

Whether it would have happened is of course unknown, but there are more than a few Port supporters who are of the opinion Cahill could have got the 2001-2004 team into more than one gf, but what that 2 year deal for him did show is how ruthless the PAFC used to be, eg the non reappointment of other club legends in Fos Williams and Russell Ebert, so absolute chalk and cheese when compared to the rabble we have running the club now.

 

[JohnHinckleyJr]

The Meaning of the Port Adelaide F.C.
Paulo Roberto Tellechea Sanchotene (GremioPower)

I’m from Brazil. I was born a Port supporter, but I didn’t know until I was in my late 30’s. Fate found a way to unite me with the footy club.

I have never been in Australia. Still, as soon as started following Port, the fans received me in open arms. 

They took their time not only to help me understand the game, but mainly the club.

These people taught me on why “We Exist to Win Premierships”. They helped me grasp the meaning of “We are Port Adelaide”. Those are not empty phrases.

As the only traditional club outside of Victoria to be in the AFL, the Port Adelaide Football Club is truly one of a kind. The more I knew about it, the more passionate and connected I felt.

This happened after the One Club Initiative had finally brought the club together. So, I am not scarred by the split. In that regard, I would be similar to kids around my sons’ age.

Yet, I am old enough to know it’s something that needs to be acknowledged. I see my position, being simultaneously an old and a new supporter, as an opportunity for returning the favour of those who helped make me a Portman – working on the construction of a bridge between the old and the new generation of supporters.

It should be possible to reconnect the AFL club to its SANFL history. This would be the last step of the reunification. Today, indeed, we are closer to that than we were in 2014. Unfortunately, however, not by much.

Just to be clear, I’m not talking about the glorious past of the club. I am not comparing our current situation with anything that happened before we entered the AFL.

This is not about the ultimate result, getting there. It’s about aiming at it. This is about mentality. It’s about the essence of the club. It’s on what makes Port Adelaide Port Adelaide.

Three examples should suffice to illustrate my point. Three dates, all of them from our time in the AFL:

I. September 1998



The last time the club acted in the spirit of “We Are Port Adelaide” was in 1998. After that season, Port’s 2nd season in the AFL, the club parted ways with its senior coach Jack Cahill. Cahill had won 6 SANFL flags between 1988 and 1995. Port also was the 1996 SANFL Premiers, with Cahill coaching for most of the season.

Yet, after two season without Finals, in a higher league, that resume didn’t matter. As grateful as they all were at Port, there was an understanding that Cahill had reached his limit. The club wanted more, and, to achieve that, it was necessary to find a new senior coach.

It was the right decision.

II. September 2006

In 2006, Port had the opportunity to do the same. True enough, it wasn’t after two seasons without Finals. However, it should be clear by then that Mark Williams, the man who had replaced Jack Cahill, had reached his limit.

Up until then, under Choco, Port had reached Finals 5 times in 7 years; gotten 3 Minor Premierships; and won the Flag once. Yet, the club had played in a GF only 1 time. In 2005, as title holders, Port finished only 8th. Despite reaching the SF, it was eliminated in a humiliating Showdown defeat. One year later, it finished 12th (the 2nd worse finish in Port AFL history at the time).

The window for a dynasty was closed for good. 2004 hadn’t been the beginning of anything. It had been the end. If Port wanted more, to achieve that, it was necessary to find a new senior coach. The club, however, failed in its duty.

It wasn’t an easy decision. The coach was a Premiership coach and a Williams. But Jack Cahill was a Premiership coach too and a club legend. It wasn’t an easy decision either. Still, it didn’t matter. It didn’t because it shouldn’t matter. If “We Are Port Adelaide”, we must do what is right for the club, as hard as the action might be. In 2006, we couldn’t.

In the same way that courage had paid off after 1998, the lack of it had its price. There was the most one-sided GF in AFL history in 2007. Williams remained. Port was 13th in 2008, and Williams remained. The club failed reaching Finals in consecutive seasons, and Williams remained.

His reign was only over during another failed season in 2010. Then, it came 2011 and 2012, and those seasons were awful on and off the field. Today, there are many people still hurt because of that.

Yet, one can pinpoint where the Road to Disaster was taken. It was in September 2006, when we weren’t Port Adelaide.

III. September 2017

The next time Port had the chance to be Port Adelaide was in September 2017. We had played Finals, that’s a fact, but we had lost a home EF against the 8th-place West Coast. It was the third consecutive season without a Finals win, after reaching the PF in 2014.

Port had a 3-16-1 record against Top-8 teams in 2016-17 combined (0-10 v. Top-4). Including 2015, the records were 10-22-1 (v.T8) and 3-13 (v.T4). The club had lost 5 Showdowns in a row, the last one by 94 points and 29 scoring shots.

By then, it should have been clear that Hinkley had reached its limit. If Port wanted more, to achieve that, it was necessary to find a new senior coach. The club, however, failed in its duty.

It was most probably the easiest of the three decisions. Hinkley hadn’t won anything. He didn’t have any history, any connection to the club prior to his arrival in 2013. He had himself hinted an interest to go somewhere else. Port could simply have let him go. It did not, though.

On the contrary, Hinkley had a contract extension. Thus, his tenure would end in 2020, instead of 2018. Moreover, the contract would be extended for one extra year, if, from then to the end of the term, he lead the club to Finals ONCE.

Think about this. There was no need to win. Not only that, but Port had reached Finals once, and lost, in the previous three seasons. Then, it established that making Finals once in the next three would be enough to coach one more year.

In September 2017, the Port Adelaide Football Club put on paper and signed that making Finals twice in six seasons, regardless of wins, wasn’t just acceptable. It actually was commendable. It was an achievement good enough to warrant a seventh year.

"We Are Port Adelaide"

Now, to finish this, having all that in mind, please answer me a few questions.

If you understand that two Elimination Finals losses in six years is an accomplishment worth of reward, are you really after winning premierships?

If you really wanted more, would this be something you would do?


If you truly believe that “We Exist to Win Premierships” actually means something, would you set such a low bar as your goal?

If you do that, are you Port Adelaide?

The current administration of the club did it. We are in 2024, and they kept doing it. The board in the late 00’s also did it and kept doing it until it was too late.

If you are Port Adelaide, why would you accept all this?

(07.11.2024)

well said

 

[GremioPower]

Every time I read it, I find a new grammar error.

Damn it!

 

[Chewy316]

Well written. I'm not sure I agree with your stance particularly over 2006. It was a rough season but that was in large part due to tredders blowing out his knee in a meaningless preseason game vs the Lions at footy park. Choco was (imo) rightly awarded that one year of grace and subsequently took them to a grand final in 2007. The result of that game was horrific but I would equally challenge you to find another team that year who would have kept the margin to no greater than at least 75 points. That 07 Geelong team is arguably the greatest of the modern era. I would suggest 2008 was when Choco should have been sacked rather than 2006.

2017 was a fork in the road moment though. As was 2022. To keep Ken particularly after 2017 was unforgivable, but to award him a long term contract with such low KPIs on top of that was incredulous.

 

[Willsy10]

The Meaning of the Port Adelaide F.C.
Paulo Roberto Tellechea Sanchotene (GremioPower)

I’m from Brazil. I was born a Port supporter, but I didn’t know until I was in my late 30’s. Fate found a way to unite me with the footy club.

I have never been in Australia. Still, as soon as started following Port, the fans received me in open arms. 

They took their time not only to help me understand the game, but mainly the club.

These people taught me on why “We Exist to Win Premierships”. They helped me grasp the meaning of “We are Port Adelaide”. Those are not empty phrases.

As the only traditional club outside of Victoria to be in the AFL, the Port Adelaide Football Club is truly one of a kind. The more I knew about it, the more passionate and connected I felt.

This happened after the One Club Initiative had finally brought the club together. So, I am not scarred by the split. In that regard, I would be similar to kids around my sons’ age.

Yet, I am old enough to know it’s something that needs to be acknowledged. I see my position, being simultaneously an old and a new supporter, as an opportunity for returning the favour of those who helped making me a Portman – working on the construction of a bridge between the old and the new generation of supporters.

It should be possible to reconnect the AFL club to its SANFL history. This would be the last step of the reunification. Today, indeed, we are closer to that than we were in 2014. Unfortunately, however, not by much.

Just to be clear, I’m not talking about the glorious past of the club. I am not comparing our current situation with anything that happened before we entered the AFL.

This is not about the ultimate result, getting there. It’s about aiming at it. This is about mentality. It’s about the essence of the club. It’s on what makes Port Adelaide Port Adelaide.

Three examples should suffice to illustrate my point. Three dates, all of them from our time in the AFL:

I. September 1998



The last time the club acted in the spirit of “We Are Port Adelaide” was in 1998. After that season, Port’s 2nd season in the AFL, the club parted ways with its senior coach Jack Cahill. Cahill had won 6 SANFL flags between 1988 and 1995. Port also was the 1996 SANFL Premiers, with Cahill coaching for most of the season.

Yet, after two season without Finals, in a higher league, that resume didn’t matter. As grateful as they all were at Port, there was an understanding that Cahill had reached his limit. The club wanted more, and, to achieve that, it was necessary to find a new senior coach.

It was the right decision.

II. September 2006

In 2006, Port had the opportunity to do the same. True enough, it wasn’t after two seasons without Finals. However, it should be clear by then that Mark Williams, the man who had replaced Jack Cahill, had reached his limit.

Up until then, under Choco, Port had reached Finals 5 times in 7 years; gotten 3 Minor Premierships; and won the Flag once. Yet, the club had played in a GF only 1 time. In 2005, as title holders, Port finished only 8th. Despite reaching the SF, it was eliminated in a humiliating Showdown defeat. One year later, it finished 12th (the 2nd worse finish in Port AFL history at the time).

The window for a dynasty was closed for good. 2004 hadn’t been the beginning of anything. It had been the end. If Port wanted more, to achieve that, it was necessary to find a new senior coach. The club, however, failed in its duty.

It wasn’t an easy decision. The coach was a Premiership coach and a Williams. But Jack Cahill was a Premiership coach too and a club legend. It wasn’t an easy decision either. Still, it didn’t matter. It didn’t because it shouldn’t matter. If “We Are Port Adelaide”, we must do what is right for the club, as hard as the action might be. In 2006, we couldn’t.

In the same way that courage had paid off after 1998, the lack of it had its price. There was the most one-sided GF in AFL history in 2007. Williams remained. Port was 13th in 2008, and Williams remained. The club failed reaching Finals in consecutive seasons, and Williams remained.

His reign was only over during another failed season in 2010. Then, it came 2011 and 2012, and those seasons were awful on and off the field. Today, there are many people still hurt because of that.

Yet, one can pinpoint where the Road to Disaster was taken. It was in September 2006, when we weren’t Port Adelaide.

III. September 2017

The next time Port had the chance to be Port Adelaide was in September 2017. We had played Finals, that’s a fact, but we had lost a home EF against the 8th-place West Coast. It was the third consecutive season without a Finals win, after reaching the PF in 2014.

Port had a 3-16-1 record against Top-8 teams in 2016-17 combined (0-10 v. Top-4). Including 2015, the records were 10-22-1 (v.T8) and 3-13 (v.T4). The club had lost 5 Showdowns in a row, the last one by 94 points and 29 scoring shots.

By then, it should have been clear that Hinkley had reached its limit. If Port wanted more, to achieve that, it was necessary to find a new senior coach. The club, however, failed in its duty.

It was most probably the easiest of the three decisions. Hinkley hadn’t won anything. He didn’t have any history, any connection to the club prior to his arrival in 2013. He had himself hinted an interest to go somewhere else. Port could simply have let him go. It did not, though.

On the contrary, Hinkley had a contract extension. Thus, his tenure would end in 2020, instead of 2018. Moreover, the contract would be extended for one extra year, if, from then to the end of the term, he lead the club to Finals ONCE.

Think about this. There was no need to win. Not only that, but Port had reached Finals once, and lost, in the previous three seasons. Then, it established that making Finals once in the next three would be enough to coach one more year.

In September 2017, the Port Adelaide Football Club put on paper and signed that making Finals twice in six seasons, regardless of wins, wasn’t just acceptable. It actually was commendable. It was an achievement good enough to warrant a seventh year.

"We Are Port Adelaide"

Now, to finish this, having all that in mind, please answer me a few questions.

If you understand that two Elimination Finals losses in six years is an accomplishment worth of reward, are you really after winning premierships?

If you really wanted more, would this be something you would do?


If you truly believe that “We Exist to Win Premierships” actually means something, would you set such a low bar as your goal?

If you do that, are you Port Adelaide?

The current administration of the club did it. We are in 2024, and they kept doing it. The board in the late 00’s also did it and kept doing it until it was too late.

If you are Port Adelaide, why would you accept all this?

(07.11.2024)

well written.

Probably a bit harsh on Choco in 2006, we had so many injuries that year and we did end up making a GF in 2007, but he was cooked 2008-09.

I do recall our record against top 8 teams was deplorable 2016-2017, so the 3 and 16 record does not surprise me but we didn't have a draw in those years.

 

[Chewy316]

well written.

Probably a bit harsh on Choco in 2006, we had so many injuries that year and we did end up making a GF in 2007, but he was cooked 2008-09.

I do recall our record against top 8 teams was deplorable 2016-2017, so the 3 and 16 record does not surprise me but we didn't have a draw in those years.

The draw cannot be used as an excuse when in 2015 Port lost to Carlton and Brisbane (who finished 18th and 17th on the ladder that year), and in 2016 Port lost to Carlton (14th), Fremantle (16th) and Melbourne (11th).

 

[JimmyBC]

Well said GP, your passion for the club is admirable!

As you are no doubt aware John Cahill was given only a 2 year contract and Mark Williams as his assistant was given a 5 year contract, so it was fairly clear Choco was going to replace him from the 1999 season regardless of the 1997-98 results, and as you suggest Choco then went too far past his use by date particularly given that 2007 gf debacle and the lack of follow up from it apart from a few comments a season or so later that some players were still struggling.

Whether it would have happened is of course unknown, but there are more than a few Port supporters who are of the opinion Cahill could have got the 2001-2004 team into more than one gf, but what that 2 year deal for him did show is how ruthless the PAFC used to be, eg the non reappointment of other club legends in Fos Williams and Russell Ebert, so absolute chalk and cheese when compared to the rabble we have running the club now.

I think it's an example of a great call, Cahill was excellent as the grounder & guiding us through the first 2 years however I think he was tactically too old school to get us further than Choco. It's not a knock on Jack it was moving in a different direction at that time & Choco was an obsessive with stats, trends & tactics.
I wonder if you could do it all over again perhaps you could've shaped it differently with Jack though e.g. coach the first couple of years & then move into a senior figure role in the football department.

 

[GremioPower]

Well written. I'm not sure I agree with your stance particularly over 2006.

well written.

Probably a bit harsh on Choco in 2006

I’ve said it wasn’t an easy decision, but it would have been the right one. I’m not saying this in hindsight either.

If we had won the flag in 2007, I would have told you Choco had gotten lucky being the coach. Despite the flag, we had to move on.

There will always be excuses: injuries, suspensions, fixture. It happens every year, but one can’t miss the forest for the trees.

What weighed against Choco in 2006 was all the chokes we’ve had. It all made 2004 look like a fluke. The flag was an isolated island surrounded by consecutive disappointing seasons.

Moreover, being fully honest, my soccer mind would want to send him packing after the 2005 SF, actually. One cannot lose the most valuable Showdown in history like that. Flag be damned. So, in 2006, Choco would have been on notice.

 

[ElectricG]

I’m sure you’ve said it on here somewhere before, but how do you end up a dyed in the wool Port fan without ever coming to oz?

 

[Chewy316]

I’ve said it wasn’t an easy decision, but it would have been the right one. I’m not saying this in hindsight either.

If we had won the flag in 2007, I would have told you Choco had gotten lucky being the coach. Despite the flag, we had to move on.

There will always be excuses: injuries, suspensions, fixture. It happens every year, but one can’t miss the forest for the trees.

What weighed against Choco in 2006 was all the chokes we’ve had. It all made 2004 look like a fluke. The flag was an isolated island surrounded by consecutive disappointing seasons.

Moreover, being fully honest, my soccer mind would want to send him packing after the 2005 SF, actually. One cannot lose the most valuable Showdown in history like that. Flag be damned. So, in 2006, Choco would have been on notice.

Yeah I just vehemently disagree with this.

Looking back at history - particularly the 2001-2004 seasons, that rendition of Port was every bit as good as the Lions. They weren't a fake top 4 side in that era inflated by an easy schedule offsetting losses to top 8 teams like Hinkley's Port consistently delivers on. They won some massive games - a few examples being 01 against the unbeatable Essendon, round 22 in 02 vs Brisbane to finish top of the ladder and 03 on the road against Brisbane at the Gabba.

The only question mark against them was their knack for choking in finals. They didn't choke in other big games - they just shat themselves in those qualifying finals at home in particular against Collingwood and Sydney (and the semi in 01 vs Hawthorn).

That 2004 team was a ripsnorter though - so physically and mentally tough. They played with a hard edge all year, and despite a lot going against them with a long injury list, they were deserved premiers. It's no surprise from my perspective that something like 14 of the 22 premiership players are still involved in the league in some capacity.

But 2004 was the end point of that era. There was a mass exodus within the footy department. Alastair Clarkson was off to Hawthorn and took fitness guru Andrew Russell with him. Hardwick retired. Josh Carr moved to Freo as did Schofield. And quite frankly, a lot of the best 22 from 2004 were on their last legs. By the end of 2006, only 11 of the 22 who played on grand final day in 2004 remained at the Club.

Having won the flag in 2004, the hope was that captain Primus and Josh Francou returning from season ending injuries the year prior would act as a fillip and help drive the team in 05. But they were unfit without Russell and struggled mightily trying to fit all of Primus, Brogan and Lade into the same team. In the context of all this, I'm somewhat surprised looking back that the 05 team made it to the semis. I knew they were going to get smashed against Adelaide who imo were the best side in the comp that year. But it signified that a rebuild was necessary.

And in 2006 no matter how you slice it, they were fücked the moment Tredrea injured his knee. It was a rebuilding year and there were some ugly moments. Being 2-6 after 8 rounds was horrific but also not crazily unexpected. And the team showed a lot late in the year blooding some young players which springboarded them into 2007.

Choco was also at the time arguably the best coach in the entire competition.

It would have been borderline crazy to sack him given the amount of success he had in combination with the circumstances of seasons 05-06 in which the Club playing list was well and truly past its peak and they were trying to rebuild on the fly without bottoming out - which they succeeded in given they made the grand final again in 2007.

The biggest mistake the Club made during that era was not properly addressing the 2007 grand final in its aftermath. That game scarred so many and the effects of it were still felt throughout the organisation many years later.

 

[GremioPower]

It would have been borderline crazy to sack him given the amount of success he had

Mate, he failed in Finals. 2004 was an exception.

 

[TeeKray]

Yeah I just vehemently disagree with this.

Looking back at history - particularly the 2001-2004 seasons, that rendition of Port was every bit as good as the Lions. They weren't a fake top 4 side in that era inflated by an easy schedule offsetting losses to top 8 teams like Hinkley's Port consistently delivers on. They won some massive games - a few examples being 01 against the unbeatable Essendon, round 22 in 02 vs Brisbane to finish top of the ladder and 03 on the road against Brisbane at the Gabba.

The only question mark against them was their knack for choking in finals. They didn't choke in other big games - they just shat themselves in those qualifying finals at home in particular against Collingwood and Sydney (and the semi in 01 vs Hawthorn).

That 2004 team was a ripsnorter though - so physically and mentally tough. They played with a hard edge all year, and despite a lot going against them with a long injury list, they were deserved premiers. It's no surprise from my perspective that something like 14 of the 22 premiership players are still involved in the league in some capacity.

But 2004 was the end point of that era. There was a mass exodus within the footy department. Alastair Clarkson was off to Hawthorn and took fitness guru Andrew Russell with him. Hardwick retired. Josh Carr moved to Freo as did Schofield. And quite frankly, a lot of the best 22 from 2004 were on their last legs. By the end of 2006, only 11 of the 22 who played on grand final day in 2004 remained at the Club.

Having won the flag in 2004, the hope was that captain Primus and Josh Francou returning from season ending injuries the year prior would act as a fillip and help drive the team in 05. But they were unfit without Russell and struggled mightily trying to fit all of Primus, Brogan and Lade into the same team. In the context of all this, I'm somewhat surprised looking back that the 05 team made it to the semis. I knew they were going to get smashed against Adelaide who imo were the best side in the comp that year. But it signified that a rebuild was necessary.

And in 2006 no matter how you slice it, they were fücked the moment Tredrea injured his knee. It was a rebuilding year and there were some ugly moments. Being 2-6 after 8 rounds was horrific but also not crazily unexpected. And the team showed a lot late in the year blooding some young players which springboarded them into 2007.

Choco was also at the time arguably the best coach in the entire competition.

It would have been borderline crazy to sack him given the amount of success he had in combination with the circumstances of seasons 05-06 in which the Club playing list was well and truly past its peak and they were trying to rebuild on the fly without bottoming out - which they succeeded in given they made the grand final again in 2007.

The biggest mistake the Club made during that era was not properly addressing the 2007 grand final in its aftermath. That game scarred so many and the effects of it were still felt throughout the organisation many years later.

GremioPower - respect your contribution and perspective but note that you didn't live this era the way others here did. If you're looking for a great summary of the '01-'07 era, the above post is it.

 

[GremioPower]

GremioPower - respect your contribution and perspective but note that you didn't live this era the way others here did. If you're looking for a great summary of the '01-'07 era, the above post is it.

I am aware. I don’t see how this change what I’m saying. I would still have fired Choco after 2006.

Some people wouldn’t. There are always reasons for not doing it. You can find excuses for 2007. You can find excuses for 2008. They are still excuses.

I don’t need to have lived an Era to form an opinion on decisions. I must take into consideration facts and opinions.

Chewy316 wrote that Finals were failure and 2004 was the end of an Era. Our disagreement is that he doesn’t mind. For me, this should be enough.

 

[SonOfKek]

There's an identity issue at the club. Players are coddled and paid obscene amounts of money but none of them have an understanding of what the club is about. And if they do, they obviously don't care. The same can be said for most of the board as well. "We exist to win premierships" is an advertising campaign, just like the renewed push for Prison Bars to be worn. Those bars are sacred those of us who have been there since we took our first breath.

The Port Adelaide of Fos Williams and John Cahill is completely different to what Hinkley/Koch/Davies have moulded. We are a business now, the connection to the people is purely cosmetic. The old legends are being pushed out of the way or are given ambassador roles, and are paid to spruik what Koch and co tell them.

'tis a grim time for us all.

 

[Chewy316]

GremioPower - respect your contribution and perspective but note that you didn't live this era the way others here did. If you're looking for a great summary of the '01-'07 era, the above post is it.

Yeah having lived through the 01-07 period it actually makes me angrier about the state of the on-field product currently delivered by Hinkley and co.

The 02-04 sides in particular were absolutely brilliant, and I still think the standard of footy played at that time is better than the standard we see today. Every off-season I watch the 03 game vs Brisbane at the Gabba and the 04 prelim simply because they are two of the best games you'll ever see, and a reminder of what the game can be if skills are made a priority over how fast someone can run a 2k time trial.

Back in that era, that Port team literally ticked every single box in 02-03 except deliver in finals. They were beating the other contenders, they showed up in the big games - very rarely did they have an off day. I don't think I appreciated it at the time as much as I do now. There was something special about rocking up to Footy Park and the question on everyone's minds was not "geez do you think we will show up today?" but rather, "how much are we going to win by?"

That era had the best playing list, the best coaches in the league, and the best fitness staff. And even though the 04 grand final marked the end of that era, it really was only the end of the era for that playing list. Many of the coaches still remained at the Club (the late Dean Bailey and Phil Walsh for instance in addition to Choco), and many of their key players (Tredrea, the Brothers Cornes and Brothers Burgoyne) were 26 years and under.

I am aware. I don’t see how this change what I’m saying. I would still have fired Choco after 2006.

Some people wouldn’t. There are always reasons for not doing it. You can find excuses for 2007. You can find excuses for 2008. They are still excuses.

I don’t need to have lived an Era to form an opinion on decisions. I must take in consideration facts and opinions.

Chewy316 wrote that Finals were failure and 2004 was the end of an Era. Our disagreement is that he doesn’t mind. For me, this should be enough.

Whilst I respect your opinion, I think there is a simple part of having to have lived through it to be able to get a greater perspective of the landscape at the time. The knowledge and facts you're basing your opinions on are largely based on a set of statistics at a time when the game was not driven by data. It is very hard to judge that period of Port Adelaide if you for the most part are looking at the stat lines and reading a few articles from Rucci and co from that time. Quite frankly I think the reason there are so many "Hinkley Haters" on this forum is because there are so many lifers on here who have lived through the great Port Adelaide eras of the past as opposed to looking at Hinkley's modest achievements in a vacuum without context. You seem to intimate that 2002 and 2003 were failures of seasons. They are if the sole measurement is winning a flag, and I understand the rationale. But at the same time, I don't think anyone who lived through that period would label those years failures considering they were the Club's 6th and 7th seasons in the AFL, and the premiership window had certainly not shut. There was only one problem - the mental side of things in September. They literally had everything else needed to win - and hence in 2004 with a few tweaks to the mental side of their game, they proved it.

The media cry "Poor Kenny" after seeing one "Sack Hinkley" sticker on Port road. All the while they conveniently forget how brutal and complicit they (the media) were when labelling Port as "Chokers" in those 02 and 03 seasons. Whilst it wasn't David Beckham and the English press after the 1998 World Cup, it was pretty damn close for a South Australian equivalent given the media fishbowl we lived in at the time (amplified by the fact of no social media meant all news came from TV, print and radio).

Back to the topic of Choco, dismissing a premiership coach after 2006 (just 2 years after winning the flag) despite acknowledging early on in that year that it was going to be a rebuild year just seems an absurd proposition given everyone could see at the end of the year that they had blooded some really good young talent, were never being outcoached and consistently brought effort even if the result didn't necessarily go their way.

 

[longdonkey]

Yeah I have always maintained that 02-03 were not chokes but a young side that lost a critical game that they needed to win in each year. I get a little annoyed by 05-07 because we need to be greedier and we let Carr and Schofield go too easy because we had that flag we needed to get the monkey off our back.

But we went into a rebuilding mode while what we needed to do is win 2 more premierships while we still had the core of that side together. It was a mini-rebuild but mistakes were made and it was not to be. At the time I wasn't even supportive of sacking Choco when it happened but by them he was trying to do the work of 5 people such were the financial problems at the club.

While I respect other people's opinions on who could have been sacked when there was a bit more stuff going on at the time.

 

[GremioPower]

But at the same time, I don't think anyone who lived through that period would label those years failures considering they were the Club's 6th and 7th seasons in the AFL, and the premiership window had certainly not shut. There was only one problem - the mental side of things in September.

While I respect other people's opinions on who could have been sacked when there was a bit more stuff going on at the time.

Yes. I know that.

I remember Lockhart Road telling how hard it was to fire Russell Ebert. Everyone wanted him to succeed. Still, something was lacking. I can’t see why it would be any different with Choco.

It makes harder because ultimately he won. No one is denying that. However, how fluke was 2004? Didn’t Choco need to answer that?

I imagine that we entered 2004 with Choco forced to at least reach a GF to keep his job. If not, something was already wrong, don’t you agree?

Then, we won. Awesome! That’s the whole point of our existence. We will be forever grateful for it. Still, why would that reset the count for Choco?

In 2005, there was a restart at the club. A lot of people left. All true. But Choco stayed; and he still carried the weight of all those losses with him.

Ultimately, in 2006, there was nothing telling us that Choco could take us there again. Was there?

I remember Lockhart Road telling how hard it was to fire Russell Ebert. Everyone wanted him to succeed. Still, something was lacking. I can’t see why it would be any different with Choco.

 

[GremioPower]

I’m sure you’ve said it on here somewhere before, but how do you end up a dyed in the wool Port fan without ever coming to oz?

Here:

Paulo’s Power in Brazil

Love for the club never too much for this Power supporter

www.portadelaidefc.com.au

The main part to your question:

“Because the colours were similar I would always play as Port Adelaide on the PlayStation game,” Paulo said.

“And then I moved with my wife to America for four years and came back two years ago.

“When we moved back to the family farm I found my old Sherrin footy and it made me think “I wonder how Port Adelaide is doing?” so I looked into it.”
[…]
“I searched the club, I read forums on BigFooty, and I just fell in love with the club because everyone there is so passionate and so welcoming,” he said.

“People on the forums have been really willing to tell me the history and all the stories of the success.

“Suddenly I was so deep into it, I was trapped and now I can’t get away!”