About Port Adelaide Football Club

The oldest club in South Australia, and the fifth oldest in the country, Port Adelaide are a team with a long and proud heritage. Established in 1870, Port Adelaide were instrumental in establishing the SAFA, which morphed into the SANFL (South Australian National Football League), Australia’s second most popular Aussie Rules competition. Winning the SANFL a record 36 times, the Power are one of Australia’s most successful sporting teams.

Port Adelaide were set to enter the AFL in 1991. However, the SANFL considered this as an act of desertion and launched a counter bid, creating the new team the Adelaide Crows, which successfully gained admission in 1991, taking the one spot on offer for a South Australian team. However, when Fitzroy merged with the Brisbane Bears in 1996, a space was opened up for Port Adelaide to finally enter the country’s premier Aussie Rules competition in 1997.

Despite a mediocre first four seasons in the AFL, the Power soon found success under the leadership of coach Mark Williams. 2002-2004 in particular was a standout period for Port, winning the minor premiership three years in a row, before claiming their first and only AFL flag in 2004, with a 40-point thumping of Brisbane, ending the Lions’ premiership winning streak.

Recent times have been a mixed bag for the Power in the AFL. Despite always shaping up as a threatening opposition to face, Port Adelaide have failed to convert their on-field talent into another premiership. Port’s passionate fans will be hoping that they can draw on their winning heritage from the SANFL and replicate that success on the national stage. Furthermore, Port fans will be desperate to get the wood over bitter rivals Adelaide, who have established themselves as the best team from South Australia in the past few seasons.