Magpies to play Roosters in SANFL curtain-raiser before Port Adelaide’s 150th birthday match against Carlton at Adelaide Oval in May
Port Adelaide to celebrate 150th anniversary birthday bash with SANFL-AFL double-header at Adelaide Oval as Crows also look to join the SANFL curtain-raiser party.
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PORT Adelaide will play a SANFL curtain-raiser before its 150th anniversary birthday game against Carlton at Adelaide Oval in May.
In what would be a massive day for SA football, the Magpies are scheduled to play 2018 SANFL premier North Adelaide prior to the Power taking on the Blues in an AFL round seven, 4.05pm twilight contest on Saturday, May 2.
While the 2020 SANFL fixture is still in draft form and will not be released until next week, Port has confirmed its double-header, which will form a key part of what it plans to be the biggest year in club history.
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The day will feature a motorcade of Port legends and premiership heroes.
It is understood the Adelaide Crows also are in line to play a SANFL match before one of their AFL games next season.
South Adelaide is expected to be their opponent, with the club willing to sacrifice one of its home games at Noarlunga Oval to play in front of a big crowd at Adelaide Oval.
“Our birthday double-header on May 2 will be a great celebration of 150 years of the Port Adelaide Football Club,’’ Port chief executive Keith Thomas said.
“We will celebrate the heroes and all the stories of triumph and tribulation that have made Port Adelaide the club it is today.
“This will be a whole of club celebration that anyone associated with the Port Adelaide family will want to attend.
“Our SANFL team will open the day with a league game against North Adelaide from early afternoon, followed by a celebration on field of our legends and past players which will be a fantastic moment for our members and supporters to acknowledge the players who have represented our club.
“Then our AFL team will take to the field against Carlton, another proud club in the history of Australian football, who our “Invincibles” famously defeated in 1914 at Adelaide Oval to claim the Champions of Australia title.
“To have our whole club together at one time will be a very significant moment.”
The SANFL last year indicated it would look at playing some of its matches as AFL curtain-raisers after an increase in VFL matches being played in Victoria before AFL games.
Nine AFL matches played in Victoria in 2019 featured VFL curtain-raisers – an increase from six last year.
The MCG hosted three VFL-AFL double-headers, Marvel Stadium four and Geelong’s GMHBA Stadium two.
The time between the end of the VFL match and the start of the AFL game was 45 minutes, allowing for fans to watch back-to-back matches.
SANFL football general manager Adam Kelly – in line to be the Crows’ new head of football – last year said the league was “committed to constant review of the match program and how this supports and maximises fan engagement’’.
“To that end we are open to thinking about all possibilities,” he said.
In a letter to club members, Thomas said other features of Port’s 150th celebrations would be a gala dinner on February 28, a home Showdown in round two where the club would wear its famous ‘prison bars’ guernsey for the first time in a derby, a 150th anniversary book launch, a club documentary and plans to redevelop the Alberton Oval precinct, expand the club’s high performance facility and redevelop the Port Club.
Port also is seeking additional funding to build its planned Aboriginal Centre of Excellence.