Port Adelaide to again host an Anzac Round clash on Friday or Saturday night in 2019 AFL fixture

PORT ADELAIDE will host an Anzac Round clash in Adelaide for the 20th consecutive AFL season.

Port Adelaide will be granted hosting rights to a match in the Anzac Round for the 20th consecutive season when the AFL fixture is released on Thursday. Picture: Sarah Reed

• Power set for Good Friday clash with Eagles
• AFL forced to delay 2019 fixture release
• Crows final round clash set for Ballarat

PORT Adelaide will continue its Anzac tradition in the 2019 AFL fixture for the 20th consecutive season with either a Friday night or Saturday night game at Adelaide Oval.

This critical request from the Power is met in next year’s draw that will be released — on a 24-hour delay — by the AFL at 11.30am on Thursday.

Still not detailed to Port Adelaide is the precise timeslot and opponent for the Anzac Round that will begin on a Wednesday night with Melbourne-Richmond game at the MCG.

Port Adelaide has hosted Anzac Round games at either Adelaide Oval or Football Park for every AFL season since 2000 with differing opponents — Geelong, Carlton, Hawthorn, West Coast, Gold Coast, St Kilda, the Western Bulldogs and even Showdowns with Adelaide.

The AFL is juggling a “super fortnight” of football with the Easter long weekend immediately followed by the Anzac Round that is marked by the traditional Collingwood-Essendon clash at the MCG on Thursday, April 25.

Port Adelaide will have prime placement in both the Easter and Anzac weekends.

The Power has confirmed it is to be part of the first AFL double-header on Good Friday. Port Adelaide will play league premiers West Coast at Perth Stadium on April 19 in a twilight game (7.40pm start SA time), following directly after the North Melbourne-Essendon afternoon clash at the Docklands Marvel Stadium in Melbourne.

Port Adelaide chief executive Keith Thomas has described the Power’s call to play on the religious holiday of Good Friday as “an exciting opportunity”.

“Playing the premiers West Coast on a Friday night public holiday is an incredible opportunity to showcase our club across the nation,” Thomas said.

“The rivalry now between the clubs is enormous, especially after the two classic games we have played in recent times,” added Thomas referring to the Power’s past two losses to the Eagles with kicks after the siren at Adelaide Oval.

Thomas expects some pushback from fans who do not endorse AFL games on Good Friday that was a taboo on the league agenda until 2017. He also hopes to establish how a charity can benefit from the match, as a hospital does with the Melbourne game on Good Friday.

“I understand there may still be some objections to the game on religious grounds, but we believe there is general widespread acceptance that people can practice their religious beliefs and also attend or watch a game of footy on television on Good Friday,” Thomas said.

“The AFL, through North Melbourne, have already demonstrated that football on Good Friday can be done in a respectful manner.

Power players run through a banner before this year’s Anzac Day clash with Geelong at Adelaide Oval. Picture: Sarah Reed

“Importantly, our members and supporters still have a choice. I genuinely believe though it is a great opportunity for us to showcase our club on the national stage and I’m confident our people will understand this.”

Port Adelaide has marked hosting a game in the Anzac Round as one of its prime requests for the AFL fixture. The Power has dedicated an award — the Peter Badcoe VC Medal — to the player who best reflects the Anzac spirit in this match.

Port Adelaide also promotes the Anzac match to enhance projects with the Australian Defence Forces.

Already known with the Season 2019 fixture is —

ADELAIDE will open at Adelaide Oval with a blockbuster fixture against Hawthorn on Saturday, March 23.

The Crows also will play Melbourne in Darwin in Round 11 and replace Port Adelaide in the Western Bulldogs’ clash at Ballarat in Round 23 that is a “floating fixture” for the last weekend of the home-and-away season.

PORT ADELAIDE will open at the MCG against Melbourne on Saturday, March 23 and start at home at Adelaide Oval the next weekend against Carlton.

The Power’s Shanghai clash will be against St Kilda — rather than Gold Coast — and move from May to June 2.