Port Adelaide’s AFL bid in 1990 was stopped by Supreme Court injunction
Former Power president Greg Boulton says Port Adelaide was ready for the courtroom battle after the club’s bid to enter the AFL 30 years ago, but the result created the Adelaide Crows. STREAM THE EPISODE HERE.
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A Supreme Court injunction and mounting legal costs stopped Port Adelaide from entering the AFL in 1991.
After shocking the South Australian football landscape with a bid to join the national competition in 1991, the SANFL and its clubs, led by Glenelg stopped the Port Adelaide move in the courtroom,
Former Port Adelaide president Greg Boulton said the club was prepared and ready for the fight, but the legal battle would potentially cost the club the chance to bid for a second AFL licence in SA.
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“We expected it, the SANFL had a history of wanting to control footy, that was their role in South Australia,” Boulton told The Advertiser’s Divided podcast series.
“We were ready for the strongest attack by the SANFL and the other clubs. We thought the SANFL would use legal maneuvers to strengthen their position.
“That was their history, some of their official holders had legal backgrounds.
“But the problem at the end of the day was it did happen and we probably didn’t have enough funding to fight it hard.”
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The injunction, ordered by Justice Leslie Olsson and initiated by the Glenelg Football Club, was put in place to stall Port Adelaide’s dealings with the AFL, and gave the SANFL the time required to enter its own AFL bid.
The Tigers claimed at the time Port Adelaide had breached the Trade Practices Act by using its membership of the SANFL for its own benefit.
West Torrens, Sturt and South Adelaide joined Glenelg soon after and Norwood also indicated it would take legal action to try to stop Port Adelaide from playing in the AFL in 1991.
“We were concerned that any legal challenge would take time and clearly the AFL wanted a club there the next year,” Boulton said.
“We had an injunction and were unable to talk to the AFL, I think the delay and the timing tactically worked into the SANFL’s favour.”
PHONE CALL SPARKED PORT’S AFL BID
One phone call was all it took for the Port Adelaide Football Club to make a bid to enter the AFL in 1991.
Greg Boulton, who was president at Alberton from 1992-2008 and sat at the board table in 1990, told the The Advertiser’s DIVIDED podcast that call was made by former Port Adelaide general manager Ian McKenzie to then president Bruce Weber.
“He (McKenzie) rang Bruce and said ‘look the VFL are interested in talking to you about joining the big AFL competition’,” Boulton said.
He said the club had no prior national competition plans before the McKenzie call.
“We had a board meeting called soon after Bruce had that call and discussed what was on offer,” Boulton said.
“As a result of that Bruce, myself and Bob Clayton went over to see the AFL people.”
Port Adelaide’s move towards the AFL was kept top secret, Boulton said only the club’s top brass knew of the decision.
“We as a board decided we have to keep this very, very tight, and I’m sure some of us didn’t even tell our wives and kids,” he said.
“We had meetings at Bruce’s house, we weren’t going to restaurants or coffee places.
“We didn’t tell our coach John Cahill until the very, very close to the last minute or anyone else in the club.”
Boulton said the club tried to keep the AFL bid away from the public arena for as long as they could.
“It was page one, two and three,” he said.
“It was very, very severe anti-Port feelings. Turncoats, no loyalty, some very strong and emotional words even in the early days.”
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But Boulton believes the club’s move was not ‘treason’.
“I think the club’s first and most important priority is to look after the interest of the club and our members and that overrides everything else,” he said.
“We took the view because the AFL wanted another club there we saw what was happening in Western Australia.
“If we didn’t grab that opportunity, someone else would.”
Boulton confirmed the $4 million license fee was the asking price to enter the AFL in 1990 and Port Adelaide had the funds, even though there had been rumours the Magpies were offered a lower fee of $1.5 million.
“The bid was always on the basis of $4 million, but it was over a certain number of years,” he said.
“The heads of agreement we actually signed with the AFL before it hit the Adelaide press, had $4 million in there.
“We were not prepared to pay anything but we were prepared to pay the $4 million.”
When the world knew of Port Adelaide’s bold move to the national competition, Boulton said his club was ready for the firestorm which erupted.
“We knew what the reaction of the SANFL and the SANFL clubs would be,” he said.
“Port Adelaide people were very excited, non-Port Adelaide people I think events unfolded that they were violently against it.”
Boulton said the SANFL uniamously agreed in May 1990 not to pursue and AFL licence for the 1991 season.
“That was the view of the SANFL collectively at that stage but that wasn’t Port Adelaide’s view,” he said.
During that time, a potential merger between Port Adelaide and Norwood was rumoured, but Boulton said that was never going to happen.
“It may have been talked about but there was no direct discussions between Port Adelaide people and Norwood people,” he said.
“We took the view Norwood would be very loyal to the SANFL.
“There was no genuine discussion about a merger to get into the AFL.
“We thought Port were strong enough and had strong enough history and a strong supporter base that we can do it within our own right.”
BOYD: THE MIDDLE MAN
Dave Boyd, the seven-time premiership winner, was the man caught in the crossfire of the Port Adelaide AFL bid.
Boyd was a SANFL league director and the club told him to abstain from the league’s AFL bid vote in May, 1990.
Former Port Adelaide president Greg Boulton admitted Boyd was caught in the middle during the 1990 process.
“I think Dave was (caught in the middle),” Boulton said.
“The way the SANFL operated, you had the club board, the president and you had a league director that represented your club around the SANFL table.”
“(It was) very hard for Dave, no doubt about that, but at the end of the day any director has to act in the best interest of the club.
“So Dave had to decide what he was going to do and he decided to resign from the board.
Boyd, a board member at Alberton for 29 years, decided to walk away from his post when Port Adelaide’s AFL bid gained momentum in August, 1990.
The 1956 Magarey Medallist followed the move of finance director Tom Whimpress who resigned in July, 1990 after Port Adelaide made an agreement with the AFL Commission.
Boyd had publicly revealed his disapproval of the club’s AFL plans at a members meeting on August 6, 1990.
At that meeting Boyd told members he feared for the future of the game in South Australia if Port Adelaide went ahead with its bid.
He said he preferred a composite SANFL entry in the AFL.
Boyd said at the time he was resigning from the board “with regret”.
“In these circumstances Mr Boyd considers that he cannot continue to act as a member of the Port Adelaide board and support its decisions in this matter,” the statement said.