Port Adelaide’s 150th anniversary party is still clouded by how the Power will dress in black and white for its big party
Port Adelaide celebrates its 150th anniversary next season — and club legends agree there is one jumper it must wear to honour the milestone. But Collingwood president Eddie McGuire has other ideas.
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Eddie McGuire is quite happy for Port Adelaide to wear the “prison bars”. Just not in black and white.
“Magenta and blue,” says the Collingwood president, referring to the colours the Port Adelaide Football Club wore before adopting black-and-white in 1902.
And he was sincere — and emotional — while delivering his solution to the question the AFL prefers not to touch. He has held this position since late March, after noting it was time for an end to the repetitive jumper stoushes between the two AFL clubs.
Port Adelaide plays Collingwood in Melbourne on Friday night, needing to adopt a “clash” jumper with a white or silver-grey base.
There is no suggestion in the hall of power at Alberton that Port Adelaide would ever wear its traditional black-and-white guernsey against Collingwood, although John Cahill — the man who has coached both clubs in the big league — would sanction it at home games at Adelaide Oval.
And Mark Williams, the Port Adelaide AFL premiership coach who captained Collingwood in the 1980s, remembers the Victorian Magpies in April 1982 having to find an alternative strip (white jumper with black yoke) to avoid a clash with WAFL club Swans Districts in an Escort Cup game in Melbourne.
It is the only time Collingwood has not worn black-and-white stripes in an official match since the club’s start in 1892. Even the indigenous round jumpers have had to maintain the stripes.
Collingwood, and McGuire, become reluctantly embroiled in another jumper saga as Port Adelaide’s enters another heritage moment next year, the club’s 150th anniversary.
Officially — this week at least — McGuire is cautious what he puts on the record.
“In the week of playing Port Adelaide, I’ll say what Port Adelaide wants to do in 2020 is their business,” McGuire told The Advertiser.
“When they work it out, we’ll have a chat ... we’ll gladly listen to them.”
So far, the Port Adelaide Football Club has put no plan to restore the so-called “prison bar” jumper in 2020. There is a social media campaign from Power fans — with an online petition and hashtag that says it all, #bringbackthebars. For 2020, at least.
But club chief executive Keith Thomas notes no 150th anniversary party at Alberton can be complete without the “prison bars” featuring in the celebrations.
“We believe the ‘prison bar’ guernsey is enormously significant in the Australian football story,” Thomas said. “In our 150th year, we will be honouring that jumper ... how that looks, we need to work out.
“But it is absolutely important to our celebrations.”
Port Adelaide’s end game is to get back in the black-and-white jumper for Showdowns against Adelaide, the one AFL match that is more about SA football than any national agenda.
Port Adelaide Football Club executive general manager Matthew Richardson deals with the fanbase — and the club’s image for the 150th anniversary — more than any other front-office staffer at Alberton.
“That (black-and-white) jumper is part of who we are at Port Adelaide; it will always hold a very significant place for the club, its members and its supporters,” Richardson said.
“In 2020, it is so important for our people. There is a lot of passion to make sure that in a significant year for the club that jumper is part of the story told in our 150th year.
“At the same time, our fans love our current jumper. It is our future.”
There was a time when Port Adelaide and Collingwood were seen as “brothers in arms” across the SA-Victoria divide. There were Collingwood players — Stephen Clifford, Murray Batt and Russell Johnston — who became key Magpies at Alberton from the 1970s-1990s.
There were Port Adelaide heroes — John Cahill, Mark Williams, Greg Phillips and Bruce Abernethy — who in the 1980s tried to save Collingwood from its destructive ways in the VFL. And a Port Adelaide premiership player and Magarey Medallist is now the Collingwood coach, Nathan Buckley.
Of the four traditional Port Adelaide men who also represented Collingwood in the 1980s, Williams is the least fussed by the guernsey saga.
“I have truly moved on from which jumper makes the most difference,” Williams said. “The Power is black, white, teal and grey. I like the (jumper) we won the 2004 AFL premiership in ... it worked for us.”
But with a 150th anniversary to celebrate, Port Adelaide cannot honour the heritage that took the suburban club to the national AFL, and the 2004 flag, without presenting itself in black and white.
STORY OF TWO MAGPIES
Port Adelaide and Collingwood football clubs were seen as brothers-in-arms as they wore black-and-white jumpers and honoured the “Magpie” motif in different leagues for much of the 20th century. But Port Adelaide’s move to the national AFL in the 1990s has changed that relationship, particularly with Collingwood president Eddie McGuire insisting only one club — his club — can carry black-and-white stripes on its jumper.
PORT ADELAIDE
Founded 1870.
Started in blue and white. Wore black and white — modifying the SA state jumper — in 1902. Forced to adopt silver and teal to enter AFL in 1996.
COLLINGWOOD
Founded 1892.
Always worn black and white. Replaced Brittania Football Club — founded in 1877 with red, white and blue as club colours — as the Collingwood area’s football team.
THOSE IN BOTH CAMPS
JOHN CAHILL
Played 264 games and coached Port Adelaide for 20 seasons; coached Collingwood for two seasons (1983-84).
I’D love to see the jumper return for Showdowns.
And I’d go as far as to wear the black-and-white jumper against Collingwood in home games. We are entitled to. And Collingwood should be confident in its position to not fear it.
GREG PHILLIPS
Played 343 games for Port Adelaide; 84 for Collingwood
KEEP it in SA for the Showdowns — and remember the Magpies history in the Port Adelaide Football Club story. As a former player, I want to see that jumper worn in the big league. It would make the Showdown a special day for me.
BRUCE ABERNETHY
Played 190 games for Port Adelaide; 58 for Collingwood
WE should always wear the black-and-white jumper when we want. We should certainly wear it three or four times a year — hold it up as something special, as it is to our club’s story.
Eddie McGuire should worry about Collingwood and leave us to worry about Port Adelaide.
MARK WILLIAMS
Played 115 games and coached Port Adelaide for 12 seasons; played 135 games for Collingwood where he was captain for four seasons (1983-86).
I HAVE truly moved on from which jumper makes the most difference. The Power is black, white, teal and grey. I like the (jumper) we won the 2004 AFL premiership in ... it worked for us.
michelangelo.rucci@news.com.au
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