Portland Football Club will return to the Adelaide Footy League in 2021, says club president
A lack of players led to an Adelaide Footy League club pulling the pin on its season, but the western suburbs team says it will be back in the competition next year.
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An Adelaide Footy League club is determined to return to the competition in 2021, despite a lack of players forcing it to pull the pin this season.
Portland Football Club withdrew from the league last month after failing to retain enough players to put two senior sides on the field following the COVID-19 shutdown.
Thunder president Kym Gaylard believed the club would be able to get enough players back next season for it to return to the league in division three.
Almost 50 players have sought transfers from Portland to other clubs since the end of 2019, however 30 of those were lodged following the club’s decision not to play this year.
The Adelaide Footy League will allow the Thunder to return to the competition in 2021 following a decision to permit clubs to sit out amid the coronavirus pandemic.
Gaylard said the club had solid numbers prior to the suspension of the season but many players did not return, mainly for work reasons.
“Having that three months roughly off, a lot of blokes just re-evaluated what they were doing in their lives,” Gaylard said.
“Telling some of the lads in the changerooms that they weren’t going to be able to play this year, some of them were tearing up.
“We’re pretty confident on getting the majority of the players back for next season.
“We will be returning to division three – we haven’t asked to go down to a lower division and don’t plan to.”
Players who left the club after it withdrew from the competition departed on special COVID-19 permits, meaning they will be cleared back to Portland following the season.
The Thunder face a constant battle for players with several nearby western suburbs clubs, including Port District, Rosewater, North Haven and SMOSH West Lakes.
Portland was formed in 1997 from a merger of the Alberton United, Ethelton and Riverside football club.
Gaylard said the club could have fielded one team but would have likely had to call on youngsters and past players to help.
“We were probably good for a second side but coming to an A grade side it was just not looking good at all,” he said.
“And we didn’t want to put kids in a position where they could potentially get hurt playing in a grade which is way too high for them at that stage in their footy.”
The club will still run junior sides this year.
The Thunder lost playing coach Lindsay Thomas – a 212-game AFL player with North Melbourne and Port Adelaide – to Great Southern Football League club Yankallila in the off-season.
He was replaced by Matt Stelzer, who will remain as coach next season.
Northfield-based division seven club Greenacres was the only other club to withdraw from the league this year.
The Dragons were also committed to returning in 2021.