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For all the infamy that’s now associated with Port Adelaide’s 2007 season and their 119-point grand final loss to Geelong, it’s easy to forget the Power were still a very good team.
Only a week prior to this humiliating defeat they had themselves crushed the Kangaroos to the tune of 87 points in the preliminary final.
As a kid I was a Port Magpies supporter, and when the Power entered the AFL in 1997 I was thrilled.
It was exciting to be a part of this new journey. When the Power and the Lions began to dominate the competition at the turn of the millennium, supporting the Port Adelaide Football Club was a joy.
Work took me to Sydney at the end of 2007 and there in the winter months I would walk myself down to the Court House Hotel in Newtown on a Saturday afternoon to watch my beloved team play.
I must’ve cast a lonely figure as I sat, week after week, with nothing to cheer about and nothing to comfort me but the familiar taste of Coopers Pale Ale. Port became known as the AFL’s basket-case, but over the next five years I stubbornly continued this tradition and while the love remained, the joy of supporting my team had vanished.
In 2013 I returned home to Adelaide where I could actually attend Port games live. While this prospect alone was exciting enough, the amazing thing was they actually started to win again.
The rest up to now is history, with Hinkley, Koch, Burgess, Boak et al having taken what was only two years ago a lost cause and turning it into a genuine September contender.
On Saturday night the Power will take on last season’s premiers Hawthorn at the Adelaide Oval. Two years ago this assignment would have been mission impossible for Port – this week, they go in as favourites.
Yes, the doubters will point to the Hawks’ current list of injuries, but it would be foolish to think that a few outs to Hawthorn make them a weak competitor. Hawthorn are the league benchmark and have been for some years. With this kind of quality comes a particular depth of talent.
Just as Port have had injuries to key players this season – Angus Monfries, Matthew Lobbe, Chad Wingard, Hamish Hartlett and so on – so too have players stepped up from the twos and made a significant impact to ensure continuing success. Hawthorn will come to play this Saturday, and Port will still need to be at their best to claim victory.
I dare not say for certain how long Port’s form will last, and if in fact this will bring the ultimate success of a second premiership. What I can say though is at this stage they appear fit, disciplined and hungry.
With the current campaign their best ever start to an AFL season, the future looks bright.
My love for the PAFC remains, and now the joy is back.
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