Port fans flocked to Alberton but the faithful’s dreams were dashed after a preliminary final loss

Port fans flocked to Alberton, but the faithful’s dreams were dashed after another preliminary final loss.

Denim Withnell with her son Tanu Reid, 12 at Alberton Oval, during the Port Adelaide vs Sydney AFL match, Friday, Sept. 20, 2024. Picture: Matt Loxton

Young Port diehard Tanu Reid spent three days making a cardboard cutout of his Power hero Zak Butters to take to Alberton Oval as a good luck mascot last night.

Having predicted Port’s three-point semi final win against the Hawks last week to the exact margin, he was confident they’d come out on top again, this time by seven points.

Tash Dodd, 18, Grace Taylor, 14, and Sienna Madigan, 15 at Alberton Oval, during the Port Adelaide loss. Picture: Matt Loxton

Tanu was among the thousands of the Port faithful who gathered at the club’s sacred home last night to watch the preliminary final against the Sydney Swans play out on a big screen.

“Zak Butters is my favourite player,” Tanu told The Advertiser before the game, the cutout hoisted on his shoulders.

“I got really bored and I made this awesome cut-out (of him). If we won tonight, I would cry.” His friend and fellow Port fan Bella Plastow, 16, was just as excited but nervous before the first bounce.

Michaella Thompson, Zack Miller, and Cheryl Bartlett at Alberton Oval. Picture: Matt Loxton [0416149057]

“I feel like after the massive win we had against them (recently), they’re gonna try and fight back,” she said of the Swans. “They’re going to try to prove themselves.

“If we won, I would probably bawl my eyes out and then book tickets to go to the grand final.”

Tanu added: “I have Melbourne flights on speed dial. If we win, I’m not waiting until the flights are $809.”

But is wasn’t to be, as the throngs who braved the conditions to gather in solidarity and cheer on their team went from shivering with excitement to just enduring the cold.

After the game, dejected fan Jake Brooks said: “Another year wasted, don’t know where to go from here.”

Originally published as Port fans flocked to Alberton but the faithful’s dreams were dashed after a preliminary final loss