Hosting an Anzac Round match is priority No.1 for Port Adelaide, says chief executive Keith Thomas

PORT Adelaide says hosting an AFL match in Anzac Round is a bigger priority for it than the China experiment

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PORT Adelaide says hosting an AFL match in Anzac Round is a bigger priority for it than the China experiment.

Saturday night’s Adelaide Oval clash against Geelong will be the 15th consecutive year that the Power has hosted an Anzac Round game and chief executive Keith Thomas has lobbied the AFL to allow the club to continue to have hosting rights ahead of hometown rival Adelaide.

“It’s an annual request;' said Thomas,

“And they (the AFL) have been very good to us. We know that it’s a great privilege and we put it as our number one priority every single year and we will continue to do that.’’

The AFL has no official agreement with Port to allow it to play at home every year in Anzac Round instead of the Crows, who have expressed interest in hosting a game.

But Thomas believes his club will continue to be rewarded with the event because of the ground work it has done in the past 15 years.

“I think what serves us best is the event that we’ve got and the relationships we’ve built and you don’t do that on a week-by-week basis,’’ he said.

“You build those relationships over many, many years and we are very proud of those and think that helps us.

“Clearly the Anzac Round is a very significant event for the Port Adelaide Football Club every year and this will be our 15th consecutive match and the 15th time we’ve presented the Major Peter Badcoe VC Medal for bravery and skill.

“The relationship between the RSL, the ASC and other members of the defence cluster and Port Adelaide is a very important ongoing one that goes well beyond the game.’’

Thomas said the Power is not interested in lobbying the AFL to play on Anzac Day, which traditionally holds the Collingwood-Essendon clash at the MCG.

“That would be fantastic but the reality is that there is great tradition that has been built between Collingwood and Essendon and I’m a traditionalist at heart and I look forward to that game as well,’’ he said.

“They have spent many years honouring the day and I don’t think our position is that we want to usurp that.’’

Thomas said playing an annual match in China is important to Port for “a whole range of different reasons’’.

“China is very significant to the ongoing financial position and purpose of the club but it’s much newer and is still very immature as a concept,’’ he said.

“We’re very pleased with how the first year went and we’re looking forward to May 19 (when the Power hosts the Gold Coast Suns in Shanghai for the second conscectuive season) and are very confident that we will have a capacity crowd of about 10-12,000. But the Anzac Day round for us is position number one.’’

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