Pre-season fixtures for Adelaide Crows and Port Adelaide released, Port to play in Whyalla
Whyalla saviour Sanjeev Gupta is helping to bring AFL back to the city for the first time in decades. See where the Crows and Port will play their pre-season.
Port Adelaide
Don't miss out on the headlines from Port Adelaide. Followed categories will be added to My News.
- Hopes fade on Friday night Showdown
- Prizes, discounts, freebies: Check out the latest subscriber rewards
An AFL game will be played in Whyalla for the first time in more than 20 years, while Noarlunga will also get in on the action.
As part of the Marsh Community Series, formerly JLT, Port Adelaide will host one of its pre-season matches in the Upper Spencer Gulf city when it takes on the Western Bulldogs at the redeveloped Bennett Oval.
Port Adelaide chief executive Keith Thomas said the return of AFL action to the city owed much to Whyalla “saviour” Sanjeev Gupta – whose company GFG owns the region’s steelworks and is a major sponsor of the Power.
“The Port Adelaide Football Club has a longstanding relationship with Eyre Peninsula; it’s part of our regional heartland,” he said.
Stream over 50 sports Live & On-Demand with KAYO SPORTS on your TV, computer, mobile or tablet. Just $25/month, no lock-in contract. Get your 14-day free trial and start streaming instantly>
MORE NEWS
Nicks’ ally behind enemy lines
“The area is part of our traditional recruiting zone and has given us many talented players including the likes of Greg Phillips, the Burgoyne brothers and our current ruckman Scott Lycett.
“Our membership base is also strong in Whyalla and the surrounding area, and we’ll use the visit to spend some additional time in those communities.
“It’s great to be able to give back to people who have supported us for so long and it’ll be an added bonus to have the local facilities upgraded to leave a legacy of our visit.”
The last game featuring AFL sides in Whyalla was in February 1999 when the Adelaide Crows defeated Geelong by 11-points in the old Ansett Cup.
A pre-season game was due to be played at Bennett Oval in 2006, but was shifted from Whyalla after a last-minute pitch inspection with the uneven surface ruled to be too much of an injury risk.
Bennett Oval has undergone a $2.8 million redevelopment by the Whyalla City Council to allow it to host the Power’s pre-season game.
Gupta said it would help him realise his goal of making Whyalla a destination for people from across the world.
“Since our purchase of the Whyalla operations several years ago, I’ve stated the vital importance of the community growing and developing alongside our operations,” Gupta said.
“My family’s partnership with Port Adelaide will hopefully play a key role in that, helping put Whyalla on the map through this game – and possibly more to come.”
Thomas also said in partnership with GFG the Power had committed to increasing its engagement in the area after its 2019 community camp in Whyalla in February.
That match will be held on March 7 at 3.40pm.
The Power’s other March Community Series game is against Brisbane at the Moreton Bay Central Sports Complex on February 23.
This means for just the third time in the past 10 years there will not be a meeting of the two South Australian clubs in the pre-season.
The Crows will take on Melbourne at Casey Fields in Cranbourne on February 22 and then welcome the Gold Coast Suns to Noarlunga Oval for their SA game on March 6.
Ticketing details will be released shortly, while the home and away season fixtures will be released on Thursday.