Port Adelaide president David Koch turns guernseys for China game into issue of national significance

JUMPERGATE. Port Adelaide president David Koch has managed to turn the guernseys for the China game into an issue of national significance, validating theories Power are style over substance.

IT takes a special kind of lunacy to make Gold Coast blowhard Tony Cochrane sound reasoned and rational by comparison.

David Koch, stand up and accept your prize.

The Port Adelaide chairman has somehow ratcheted up an trifling issue — jumper colours for the China game — into an issue of national significance.

And in the process validated all those critics who believe the Power are a Hollywood club who believe in style over substance.

Thank goodness the likes of Jeff Kennett and Koch instantly broke their promises to be seen and not heard given the lack of colour in the AFL these days.

They provide theatre and anger and quotable quotes in an era of one-week-at-a-time guff.

In between swearing on breakfast radio and again whacking away at Koch on Wednesday while also stating Gold Coast was “dead set out of excuses”, Cochrane’s latest interview was captivating.

But this football turf war comes with Port Adelaide having promised it would not be swayed by exactly these kind of distractions in a make-or-break year.

Robbie Gray, Port Adelaide president David Koch, AFL CEO Gillon McLachlan, Gold Coast chairman Tony Cochrane and Touk Miller at the announcement of the China game between Port Adelaide and Gold Coast. Picture: Getty

Port Adelaide coach Ken Hinkley, aware there is “blood” in the water over his own future, promised just that during last year’s John Cahill Medal.

“Let’s be recognised for the way we play and not the noise we make,” he stated.

He reinforced that stance later in the pre-season with this: “As I said at the best-and-fairest we will talk when we’ve got something to talk about.”

Spending weeks feuding with Gold Coast over a determination to effectively pilfer the Suns’ colours for the China game seems the very definition of wasted energy.

The Power want Gold Coast to wear their white clash strip rather than red and gold because they are China’s national colours and will have a commercial value to the club linked to them.

Gold Coast, through Cochrane and now new boss Mark Evans, have effectively told them to get stuffed.

Now Kochie wants to take his bat and ball and go home, threatening to strip Gold Coast of their involvement in the game from 2018 onwards.

The problem for the Sunrise host is that Tourism Australia have poured into this game a figure the Herald Sun believes is a much as a million dollars.

Port Adelaide don’t want Gold Coast wearing its red and yellow home guernsey as they are China’s national colours. Picture: Getty

And they are well aware the Gold Coast is the perfect place and opponent to include in this game.

The Minister for Trade, Tourism and Investment, Steven Ciobo, also has an electorate that includes the Gold Coast.

So threats to strip Gold Coast of the game in future years will almost certainly ring empty.

“We’ll be wearing our home strip and there’s some very good reasons for that,” Evans said on Wednesday.

“As I’ve found out, tourism on the Gold Coast is pretty important — 3.6 million Chinese tourists were interviewed as to their favourite destination worldwide and Gold Coast came up fourth.

“So it’s a pretty good reason to maximise that opportunity for Tourism Australia and the Gold Coast.”

Everyone is battling for the little guy here, not Koch as he scrutinises the fine print of the $500,000 contract to relocate the Suns’ home game.

Consider this: if he had enlisted Collingwood for this China extravaganza then subsequently told them Port was wearing black and white, how would that conversation go?

Eddie McGuire’s replay would be two words, and the second one would be OFF.

Koch should be using the blowtorch and applying it to every part of the Port Adelaide operation in a quest to return to finals.

Before that Round 8 China game his mediocre Power takes on Sydney, Fremantle, Adelaide, GWS and West Coast.

If Port Adelaide takes its eyes off the real game and continues in its attempts to steal another team’s colours, the China contest will be the least of its troubles.

Originally published as Port Adelaide president David Koch turns guernseys for China game into issue of national significance