Port Adelaide fans must have been disgusted with the back page of the latest edition of the Sunday Mail which read ‘Pretenders’ with an image of the Power players walking off the field after their 48 point loss to the Geelong Cats.

Cross-town rival Adelaide Crows fans would’ve laughed at the headline and some would’ve agreed.

Inside the same edition another headline read ‘Port Adelaide Finals Dreams In Tatters’.

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Only a day later the same reporters in The Advertiser were writing about how another team’s season is back on track in the same city.

The Adelaide Crows are sitting on the same win-loss tally as the Port Adelaide Football Club.

It is clear that Port Adelaide’s goal at the start of the year was to gain respect from the league, play out games and be competitive.

After a 5 – 0 start nearly everyone in the AFL media were saying “Who would’ve thought?” when discussing Port Adelaide’s astonishing season start.

If you looked up the word pretenders in a dictionary it would be defined as something similar to this: One who simulates, pretends, or alleges falsely.

Ken Hinkley knew exactly what the Port Adelaide’s position was when taking over the Power squad.



Hinkley set no limits at the start of the season but he didn’t say either that Port Adelaide would be a top eight side.

The team was going to deliver the best football they’ve got and “never ever give up.”

Power can’t be pretenders if they are 5 – 4 and are sitting outside the eight. The Port Adelaide Football Club never claimed they would stay in that top four position.

Every person associated with the Port Adelaide Football Club knew the position the team was in and realised they had to enjoy it while it lasted.

In Andrew Capel’s article in the Sunday Mail he wrote “Forget finals. Port Adelaide just needs to regain respect again”.

Isn’t that what players and coaches were aiming for at the start of the season, respect?

Port Adelaide’s road to respect has been shaken by four straight loses but the club has a great chance to bounce back against the Bulldogs this Saturday night in Darwin and still have half a season to maintain a top eight spot.

Port Adelaide are placed ninth on the AFL ladder due to percentage.



If Port Adelaide kick straight, remain competitive and stop the slow starts by the next Geelong game, towards the end of the season, it may be a very tight contest.

Port Adelaide only lost the last three quarters by nine points overall on Saturday afternoon.

AFL supporters should be able to see the bright side of Port Adelaide and observe how much they’ve improved from last year.

Port Adelaide are not pretenders, the players are giving their best and David Koch and the coaching staff have continued to be realistic throughout the season but at the same time are setting high standards.