Has Port Power Lost Belief in itself?

Ando’s Weekly Banter by Matthew Anderson

Port are not called Port Collingwood or Collingwood Power their name is Port Power. There has been a lot of fuss made in the past week about a prison bar guernsey design. The Port club song has the words “silver teal and black and white” in it so why would a successful club like Port Power want to wear another clubs guernsey. Love the team or hate the team it really doesn’t matter either way you can ignore the fact that they have been a success story. Port in their 24 years in the competition already have won 1 premiership and been minor premiers 3 times.

Collingwood is a highly successful club and lots of their fans wear their club guernsey to show their support for a club they look up to and admire. Port Power wants to wear the Collingwood guernsey for when they play the Adelaide Crows. The question needs to be asked why.

Firstly lets clarify one thing when Port entered the Afl they agreed on colour of the guernsey at the time and that was not the “prison bar” colours and design of Collingwood Therefore it seems strange that when they play their home state rival they don’t want to wear their guernsey remembering they have won a premiership in it instead they want to wear one from another club. Maybe it is because Collingwood have a far better head to head record against Adelaide Crows than Port does?

Then there is Collingwood it seems strange the way they reacted when Port requested to use their guernsey. There is really no reason for a request like that to upset Collingwood in anyway for two reasons The first obviously the AFL wont allow it and rightly so. The second is by Port basically wanting to copy the guernsey of another club for the showdown it could be seen as Port Power paying Collingwood a compliment by choosing to wear that guernsey instead of their own.

The guernsey doesn’t make the club the players do and the question could be asked did Port Power wanting to wear the “prison bar” guernsey for showdown this week and the Afl saying no cause them to loose focus on the weekend when they were comprehensively outplayed by Brisbane in every aspect of the game.

The players make the club proud strong and successful and the guernsey they wear just helps pay the bills through the sponsorship logos they wear on it.

It really is time to move on and all clubs should wear their own guernsey and be proud to wear it and represent their club in it. There have been some amazing games of football this season so far some incredible marks and goals. That’s what the game is all about isn’t it? That should be the headline and picture in the paper and in the news and not what guernsey a club does or doesn’t want to wear for a particular match.

It really is a bit of a sad inditement, on the game of football that an disagreement between 2 clubs over a guernsey makes headlines instead of the game itself. It is time for Port to stop getting distracted and regain it’s focus and work on what the game is really all about Winning Premierships.

Download the Magazine to continue reading >>