Reserves - PAFC accepts invite from SA Football Commission

[areaman]

http://www.portadelaidefc.com.au/news/2013-09-09/from-the-ceo-aflsanfl-magpies-update

Interesting viewing to say the least

I trust KT will be awarded his Order of the Red Star shortly.

[Aerie]

Those members that walk away from their own SANFL club are going to do the most damage. The same type of damage that the members who walked away after 1991 did. If it makes you feel morally superior by walking away then good for you.

So wrong Aerie.

Fair call. That was a stupid thing for me to say.

I guess I feel like our clubs were backed into a corner. I am disappointed that it may be our clubs who suffer because current members might boycott. I think it is important to stick by them and make sure the 8 SANFL clubs are stronger than the Afl ones. If at this point next year we have 5 Sanfl clubs in finals, it might be a better scenario than present.

I know some won't agree.

[Dutchy]

Dear Members and supporters,

Tonight members of the Port Adelaide football community attended a special information evening at Alberton Oval.

It was a special moment for our club to have so many of our true believers and faithful followers welcomed into the heart of our proud football club to discuss what could be one of the most significant decisions our club makes in our lifetimes.

That decision will be made by our board tomorrow and it will be to answer the question of how our club looks into the future.

To understand our club, you only need look back to last Saturday.

In Melbourne, AFL chief executive Andrew Demetriou was singing the praises of our club – the most successful in the history of senior Australian Football – as our AFL side fought its way to its first finals victory in six years against our old ‘sister club’ Collingwood.

Earlier that day, back in Adelaide, our SANFL boys fought their way back to a fantastic win over our old enemies Glenelg down at the Bay, believing it was their last game in the mighty prison bar guernsey!

Both performances epitomise the spirit of Port Adelaide. Both teams against the odds, displaying a will to win and never say die attitude that has been the envy of sporting clubs all over Australia for 143 years.

No longer should we view our club strictly in terms of Power, or Magpies.

We have never worn the same guernsey or had the same nickname throughout our history, but we have always been Port Adelaide.

We should view ourselves and fight for our future as the Port Adelaide Football Club.

Our current fight is about preserving the very essence of this great club.

Are we prepared to fight this battle together as ‘One Club’ or will we continue to allow outside forces to again drive a wedge into the Port Adelaide community and divide it against itself?

Our club has been compromised since 1997. We’ve paid a heavy price:

- No premierships for the Magpies since 1999
- No finals appearances in the AFL for six years
Before 2010 the proud Magpies were banished to Ethelton, and we know the state the Power has been in since 2007!

That is not what this club is about.

We need to construct a future that enables us to win AFL and SANFL premierships, gives our kids the opportunity to play and play well for Port Adelaide and, perhaps most importantly, be united as a club that is all pulling in one direction.

Without unity, I doubt that we can ever be truly successful again. Notwithstanding all of our grit and determination, it’s simply all too hard out there! We’ve got to be on the same bus.

Tonight I explained to those members in attendance at Alberton everything that we’ve been through over the past four months. This is an emotional issue and, as you read this I do ask that you consider it carefully.

Our original proposal to the SANFL Commission was as follows:
- AFL (Power)
- SANFL League (Magpies)
- SANFL Reserves
- U18, U16, U15-U13 talent squads.
- A reduction of our metro and country zones to 75% of current and
- A salary cap at 25% of current.

Simply put, this was rejected by the commission.

Why? I get the feeling that the SANFL want us to, in a way, be either an AFL or an SANFL club as opposed to an organisation that operates two distinctly separate structures.

At the same time that our proposal was rejected, the Adelaide Football Club submitted a proposal that was subsequently accepted by the SANFL.

We were offered a ‘reserves’ team under those conditions by the SANFL. While many encouraged myself and our chairman to fight to the death on that issue, I have been concerned that a move to dissolve the Magpies’ license on November 1 could be a genuine consideration by the League.

We are not considering the very expensive option of uprooting our club and playing in the VFL competition.

Nor have we considered the possibility of completely throwing the Magpies out the window!

What we have done is worked closely with the SANFL to negotiate a solution that suits the needs of our club and the integrity of their competition.

What the SANFL have come back to us with is the following model:

1. Port Adelaide AFL (playing as the Power)

2. Port Adelaide SANFL League (playing as the Magpies and retaining our traditional guernsey)
This team is made up of those players not selected for the AFL team each week and members from a pool of 15 contracted SANFL-only players. As of today the SANFL has allowed us to contract players to this list without an age-cap. In return, the salary cap for these players has been significantly reduced.

3. Port Adelaide SANFL Reserves (also as the Magpies and wearing the traditional guernsey)
From 2014 onwards this team will be our elite talent academy made up largely of 18-22 year old players. Our pool of 15 League-contracted players will be able to play at this level.

4. A series of youth development academies including a country and indigenous development program, an international player pathway, a father/son academy (much like those used by Victorian AFL clubs) and a metropolitan development program.

In 2014 we are required and will continue to operate junior Magpie teams in the U18, U16 and junior talent squad competitions.

I think this is a really good model that will help ensure a competitive Magpies team in the SANFL and help to keep our proud state league as the second-best competition outside of the AFL. That is something important to all of us.

In return, we will hand back our annual dividend from the SANFL to the competition for a right to maintain this model.

I believe this model was positively received by those members and supporters in attendance tonight.

I hope it will be similarly received by our wider supporter base.

For me the headline is that Port Adelaide is open for business, that we’re the Power in the AFL, the Magpies in the SANFL and, most importantly, we are Port Adelaide.

Our board of directors will vote on this model tomorrow. It has already cleared the SANFL with a 7-1 vote. For me that means that most of the league clubs are supportive of us, understand our commitment to them, and want to have a Magpies side that they can try and beat every week of the year.

If it is passed, we will begin work immediately towards building a football club for every Port Adelaide supporter and working tirelessly to make us truly ‘One Club’

Congratulations again to the Magpies boys on their great win to finish 2013, and make sure you cheer hard for our AFL lads against the Cats on Friday night.

We Are Port Adelaide
KT

[beenreal]

MAKES FOR GREAT READING !!

[Wedgie]

LMAO. He should go into fairy story writing, this guy runs an organisation?
I suppose if people in this world are gullible enough to believe in religion you'll probably get some mindless idiots that believe most of that dribble.

[RustyCage]

LMAO. He should go into fairy story writing, this guy runs an organisation?
I suppose if people in this world are gullible enough to believe in religion you'll probably get some mindless idiots that believe most of that dribble.

It's already accepted by the SANFL Commission and the SANFL clubs, it's happening

[Lynwood]

The vote was 7-1 which club said no to it

[Hodges 153!]

CDFC.

KT met Directors from all clubs, except them because there was no point (his words, not mine...).

[RustyCage]

Wasn't it West that voted no?

[Jim05]

LMAO. He should go into fairy story writing, this guy runs an organisation?
I suppose if people in this world are gullible enough to believe in religion you'll probably get some mindless idiots that believe most of that dribble.

It's already accepted by the SANFL Commission and the SANFL clubs, it's happening

Yep its done and dusted

[saintal]

LMAO. He should go into fairy story writing, this guy runs an organisation?
I suppose if people in this world are gullible enough to believe in religion you'll probably get some mindless idiots that believe most of that dribble.

It's already accepted by the SANFL Commission and the SANFL clubs, it's happening

Mindless idiots right there

[Wedgie]

LMAO. He should go into fairy story writing, this guy runs an organisation?
I suppose if people in this world are gullible enough to believe in religion you'll probably get some mindless idiots that believe most of that dribble.

It's already accepted by the SANFL Commission and the SANFL clubs, it's happening

Wasn't referring to the proposal, just the bullshit he used to dress it up.
ie when they win its because of the Port Adelaide spirit and when they lose its everyone else's fault

I didn't even take in the proposal as I was laughing too hard at the bullshit in there.

[RustyCage]

LMAO. He should go into fairy story writing, this guy runs an organisation?
I suppose if people in this world are gullible enough to believe in religion you'll probably get some mindless idiots that believe most of that dribble.

It's already accepted by the SANFL Commission and the SANFL clubs, it's happening

Wasn't referring to the proposal, just the bullshit he used to dress it up.
ie when they win its because of the Port Adelaide spirit and when they lose its everyone else's fault

I didn't even take in the proposal as I was laughing too hard at the bullshit in there.

True but when you are talking to members of your club of course you take a pro your club stance.

One thing that interested me was the Rooch's reaction when KT bagged the media reporting of the issue. He then went back to emailing Twiggy and browsing ebay instead of paying attention to what was actually being said

[on the rails]

North was a vocal NO vote re the Port model.

We wanted the same model for the Power as the Crows got which makes sense so not sure why the other Directors allowed a further attack on the credibility and integrity of the League by allowing another model into the equation to confuse even further an already confused SA Football landscape?

[cennals05]

Might not be a done deal yet...

http://www.adelaidenow.com.au/sport/afl ... 6716043237

[saintal]

Interesting development there. Faith in the commission was already non-existent after the Ravens deal, and now this..

[Dutchy]

PORT Adelaide's board has put off its vote on a proposal to place the "Power" reserves in the SANFL amid concerns it is no longer possible.

SANFL clubs are stunned today that Port Adelaide Football Club chief executive Keith Thomas has removed a ruling that any "top-up" player used in the Power reserves be aged 23 and under.

Port says it wants to contract 15 "top-up" players who would cover injuries when the Power does not have enough players to field a team in the SANFL.

But the league directors are adamant these "top-up" players cannot be aged more than 23.

They are stunned the SANFL executive on Monday agreed to lift the age limit.

One SANFL club leader told The Advertiser today: "We may as well hand Port Adelaide the (SANFL) flag right now. We are working to all sorts of restrictions and they won't."

If Port's board, as expected, votes to accept the chance to field the Power reserves in the SANFL next year, the SANFL league directors will reconvene to challenge the no age limit on "top-up" players.

This will send the long-running debate on AFL reserves in the SANFL league competition into another spin.

Port today declared: "The board has received a recommendation from the club's senior executive team to proceed with the proposal.

"Given the significance of this long-term decision and that new information relating to the model's top-up players was only received late yesterday, the board has requested more time to consider the recommendations."

Thomas on Monday night presented to Port Adelaide Football Club members at Alberton a 30-minute rundown on the how the Power reserves and Magpies could coexist.

He told the meeting Port Adelaide would:

FIELD an AFL team (the "Power")

KEEP its AFL-listed players together in the SANFL (with the "Magpies"). This team would keep the Magpies' black-and-white jumper.

RUN the Magpies under-age teams and recruiting zones in 2014. But these would go in 2015 and be replaced by an academy team for 18-22-year-olds playing in the SANFL reserves competition.

[Hazydog]

So let me get this straight. The Directors are asked to vote on a model for Port entering a Power reserves team into the SANFL, and accept it. Port then ask the SANFL to change the model without the Director's consent, and are successful. They then present this new model to their supporters and put it to the vote internally.

If this sequence of events is true, I would hope the next meeting of Directors is to put forward a vote of no confidence in those who are allegedly running the SANFL. Absolute disgrace.

[Macca19]

Theres no point to the proposal if the top up players cant be any age.

[smac]

Do what you ******* like.