Port Adelaide chief executive Keith Thomas says he’s dropped the ball at the club and it must be fixed

Port Adelaide chief executive Keith Thomas has told members he should be blamed for the club’s woes this season, not Ken Hinkley. READ THE FULL STATEMENT

Port Adelaide Chief Executive Keith Thomas says he is to blame for the Power’s woes, saying he has “dropped the ball”. (AAP Image/Kelly Barnes) NO ARCHIVING

Port Adelaide chief executive Keith Thomas has said he should be blamed for the club’s woes this season, telling members that he has allowed the club to “drop the ball” and let it stray from what made it great.

In an extraordinary statement to members, Thomas writes that under-pressure coach Ken Hinkley should not be blamed for the problems at Port Adelaide at the moment.

In the statement Thomas, who refers to himself as a “Norwood flog”, said the problems at Port were bigger than on the field.

“I don’t want to focus on the footy in this note,” he said.

“I think we have a bigger problem, and I am to blame not the footy department.

“Back in 2014, the Port Adelaide Football Club was lauded.

“We had arrived at Adelaide Oval playing an exciting brand of football, and we were winning consistently.

“But that wasn’t all. We were also independently recognised as having the some of the most engaged supporters in world sport.

“We were operating in this glorious sweet spot where our on-field performances were mirroring the values our community expected of its football club.

‘Fast, aggressive, never ever give up footy…and a club mindset that always put our community first.”

Thomas also said the Power team putting 30,000 T-shirts on the seats of Adelaide Oval for fans, the vibe of the Game Day Village and getting Port’s players to interact more with fans showed how it embraced the community.

“We encouraged our young recruits to give before you take, and not get sucked into the selfish industry that AFL football has become. And most importantly of all…we did it together,” he said.

“As we doubled in size in the ensuing five years there were moments where our member community felt as tight and close as anyone could imagine possible.

“I personally will never forget the Phil Walsh tribute night against Collingwood, where we stood as one in the candle lit darkness and reflected on the life of one of our great mates. There have been many others.”

But Thomas said “we don’t feel like that today”.

“Somewhere along the road to greater growth and prosperity…I’ve allowed us to drop the ball,” he said.

“It hasn’t been a huge shift in mindset. The club is still filled and surrounded by people who care a lot.

“But it’s there. I know it and more importantly, you know it.

“And we’ve got to fix it.

“This is about more than how we play each week. It’s about putting our members back at the heart of our club.”

It comes as fans turn on the Power and Hinkley as another year without finals approaches, following three straight losses that have resulted in Port slumping to 10th on the ladder.

And the Power have this year had three of the five lowest crowds at Adelaide Oval for football since it returned to the venue.

Thomas said that he believed 2019 “will be marked as the year of the deafening roar”.

“The rumbling from our core has rolled steadily through the disappointments of failed campaigns in 2015/16, to the moment West Coast broke our collective hearts in overtime in 2017, before spilling over following our inability to capitalise on the powerful start to the 2018 season,” he said.

On Monday, Port Adelaide chairman David Koch said finals was still the pass or fail mark for the Power this year and every position at Alberton - including Hinkley’s - would be reviewed at the end of the season.