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Port Adelaide is an existing club that plays in the Australian Football League, and has previously played in the South Australian NFL with a two team overlap. The club was formed in 1870 and has won thirty seven premierships.
Formation[]
The club was formed at a meeting intending to form a sporting club to benefit the growing number of workers at the wharfes and growing businesses in the area. This was on May 12, 1870 and incorporated not just the football club but also a cricket club.
Early years[]
Port Adelaide played it's first match against a team called Young Australians out of North Adelaide in 1870. This game was played on the family proprty of John Hart Junior, the club's first President and the son of soon-to-be South Australian premier John Hart Senior. Consequently Port's matches were spasmodic, mostly against Kensington and the original Adelaide.
SAFA (1877-1906)[]
The SAFA was formed in 1877 and Port Adelaide were a founding member. Finishing fourth in the first season, Port finished second two years in a row to the team that would be their major rivals - Norwood. Port struggled for a couple of years, including a wooden spoon in 1881, but they fought back to third in 1882 and second again in 1883 again to Norwood. But in 1884 Port won it's first premiership ahead of their rivals. In 1885 they dropped back to third and then fourth in 1886 which would also be their second wooden spoon in the small competition at the time. They came back again to finish second to Norwood the next two years before in 1889 the two sides couldn't be separated forcing the first SAFA grand final. Norwood would win by two goals. Port Adelaide made sure of it in 1890 winning their second flag, but two more second place finishes followed - the second to South Adelaide. For the next three seasons Port finished third and then in 1896 the club got it's third wooden spoon before rising from there to win it's third flag in 1897 in the last season the top side was normally the premier without a deciding match or finals series.
In 1898 a top three was recognised and Port faced Norwood for the right to play South Adelaide which they did. But South won the grand final. Over the next three seasons the SAFA experimented with finals ending up with single deciders. Port Adelaide failed to make the first two, finishing third and then getting another wooden spoon. They made the final in 1901 but old rivals Norwood defeated them. In 1902 the SAFA settled on the Argus finals system and Port finished third after forfeiting their semi final due to refusing to play under who they saw as a biased umpire. But they recovered to win their fourth flag in 1903 defeating South Adelaide by 7 points. In 1904 they lost to old rivals Norwood again and in 1905 they were beaten convincingly by North Adelaide, but in 1906 it was flag number five by 21 points as revenge over North.
To World War 1 (1907-1915)[]
The league changed it's name to the SAFL in 1907 and Port were minor premiers winning their semi final. But Norwood beat them twice to win the flag. In 1908 they finished third and lost their semi final - again to Norwood. In 1909 Port won another minor premiership, but Norwood won the semi final. Norwood didn't win the final however and West Adelaide came over the top to again deny Port Adelaide.
But in 1910 Port made up for it finishing second and winning their semi final before defeating minor premiers Sturt twice in a row for their sixth flag. Another minor premiership followed in 1911 and a semi final win, but another two losses in a row this time to West Adelaide denied Port another flag. History repeated itself in 1912 with Port going through the home and away season undefeated but losing both it's finals to West again. It seemed since the name change that the minor premiership was their Achilles heel. But finally in 1913 they fixed that winning the minor premiership and both their semi over Sturt and the final over North Adelaide for flag number seven. And in 1914 they made up for the 1912 debacle by going through the whole season undefeated smashing North in the final. Yet another minor premiership followed in 1915, but Port lost the semi final to West. Sturt defeated West in the final and then went on to defeat Port to deny them their third flag in a row.
Post War (1916-1924)[]
The SAFL went into recess for World War 1 and returned in 1919 with Port making the finals finishing fourth. West Torrens eliminated them in the semi final. In 1920 Port finished second but old rival Norwood eliminated them on this occasion. It was clear that Port needed a minor premiership for some protection and in 1921 they won it. They ran into Norwood again - and the two sides played a draw. Norwood won the replay, but Port had the right to challenge when Norwood won the final and did so to win the premiership for the ninth time.
It was in 1921 that the SAFL added Glenelg for the eight team competition that would serve the league for the next 40 odd years. But in 1922 for the first time since the full finals were introduced, Port missed them - finishing fifth. And it got worse in 1923 when they finished seventh. But things were rectified in 1924 as Port got back into familiar territory finishing fourth. Sturt ended their season in the semi final.
To World War 2 (1925-1942)[]
In 1925 Port finished second but they were eliminated by West Torrens. The dose was repeated in 1926 with North Adelaide eliminating them, and third in 1927 led to another elimination this time by West Adelaide. That was the first season the league was known as the SANFL. It was clear again that they needed a minor premiership and that was achieved in 1928. Again, they lost their semi final - to old rivals Norwood. But with the right of challenge they faced Norwood again and this time got their first finals victory since their last premiership year in 1921, and won the premiership.
It was around this time that Port started regularly being called the Magpies. In 1929 they finished second, but this time it would be victory in their semi final over West Torrens. They met West Adelaide in the final and won again but minor premiers Norwood ended that run in the grand final. In 1930 the Magpies finished fourth but they got on to another run defeating Norwood and then Sturt to get to the grand final, only to be stopped again this time by North Adelaide.
In 1931 the SANFL adopted the new final four. Port finished on top of the ladder, but would go out in straight sets defeated by Sturt and North Adelaide. And in 1932 the Magpies would finish third but lose again to Sturt, leading to missing the finals in 1933 finishing fifth - only the third time they had missed the finals. But they were back in 1934 and would continue to make the finals into World War 2. In fact they would make the grand final every year from 1934 to 1939. They would lose the first two - to Glenelg and South Adelaide despite being minor premiers both times. But then they would win three flags in the next four years, beating Sturt in 1936 and South Adelaide in 1937 as well as West Torrens in 1939. The blip in the radar in 1938 was a loss to South.
World War 2 started and in 1940 the Magpies would miss the grand final for the first time since 1933 when they again exited the finals in straight sets to Sturt and South Adelaide. In 1941 they would lose the first semi final to West Adelaide before the SANFL went into war time mode. Port merged with West Torrens and won the 1942 premiership.
Post War (1943-1959)[]
In 1943 and 1944 the Port/Torrens merger were defeated in the grand final by the Norwood/North Adelaide combination before pre war arrangements resumed in 1945. Port Adelaide finished on top and defeated Norwood in the second semi final. But their former partners West Torrens came through and took the flag. In 1946 the Magpies finished second but were beaten by old rivals Norwood in the second semi. They bounced back over West Adelaide but the Redlegs repeated the semi win and won the flag. It was second again in 1947, but this time Port went out in straight sets - defeated again by Norwood in the second semi and then eliminated by West. In 1948 the Magpies missed the finals for the first time since 1933 finishing seventh. Then the unthinkable happened - Port missed the finals again in 1949 finishing sixth. This was the first time since the finals were first played in 1902 that the Magpies had missed out two years running.
But in 1950 they were back and would have a hugely successful decade. In 1950 they finished third and defeated West Torrens in the first semi final. Glenelg though ended their season in the preliminary final. Port would bounce back in 1951 going through the season with only one loss to West Torrens. It was a relatively simple finals series winning both the second semi and the grand final over North Adelaide to win it's first flag since 1939. In 1952 Port finished second but went out in straight sets courtesy of North and then Norwood. In 1953 the Magpies finished on top on percentage from West Torrens, who beat them comfortably in the second semi. Port rebounded strongly over Glenelg, but the Eagles came from behind in the final quarter to deny the Magpies another premiership.
But it would be the rest of the decade that Port Adelaide would dominate. From 1954 to 1959, the Magpies would win every flag - six in a row. This would equal the league record held by Norwood in the 19th century. Only two teams featured in the premiership decider during this period. West Adelaide faced them four times and Norwood faced them twice. Five out of the six times Port finished on top of the ladder, and three out of the five times they did they won the second semi final. Two out the three times they faced their second semi opponent. The exception there was West Adelaide going out in straight sets in 1957 allowing Norwood through. The two losses in the second semi were to Norwood in 1955 and West Adelaide in 1959. Port won the preliminary final over Sturt and Glenelg respectively. The tough one was 1958 when the Magpies finished the season in third spot. But they made their way to the grand final defeating Norwood and North Adelaide before defeating West Adelaide by just two points.
1960's[]
In 1960 it looked likely that Port would break the record when they finished on top of the ladder. But North Adelaide defeated them in the second semi final, and then maybe to protect their share of the record Norwood effected the straight sets exit to create an SANFL grand final without the Magpies for the first time since 1952. And in 1961 history would repeat itself with another top place finish leading to a straight sets exit courtesy of West Adelaide and Norwood with the preliminary final loss painful due to very poor conversion. But there would be no repeat in 1962. Another top place finish, but this time Port thumped West in the second semi final. West came back and the grand final was a lot closer but Port Adelaide resumed their mantle at the top of the tree with the win and the premiership. The Magpies finished second in 1963 and then defeated West Torrens in the second semi final before securing their second flag in a row over North Adelaide.
The admission of two new clubs in 1964 barely dented Port's efforts finishing on top again, but they had to squeeze past South Adelaide by a point to get to the grand final. But South came back and won the grand final comfortably. However in 1965 the Magpies scored another top place finish and again had a narrow win over the Panthers by less than a kick. In the grand final Port Adelaide faced Sturt and had to withstand a last quarter fightback to win the flag by 3 points.
In 1966 the Magpies finished second four games behind Sturt. That didn't bother Port though who won the second semi in an upset by a point. Sturt though came back snarling and handed Port Adelaide a 56 point drubbing in the grand final. In 1967 the Magpies finished third but got to the grand final defeating Glenelg and North Adelaide, only for Sturt to beat them again, this time by 11 points. In 1968 it was second place and Sturt - who had finished three games clear on top - beat them in the second semi. Port Adelaide came back for another crack at the Two Blues via a preliminary final victory over North Adelaide but for the third time in a row Port came up short against the Double Blues. Finally it took it's toll and for the first time since 1949, in 1969 the Magpies failed to make the finals finishing sixth.
1970's[]
Port reacted to the failure to make the finals by jumping back to finish on top of the ladder in 1970. But the Magpies went out in straight sets, first to Sturt (again) in the second semi final and then Glenelg in the preliminary final. In 1971 Port finished second but lost the second semi final again, this time to North Adelaide. They rebounded against Central Districts in the preliminary final but the Roosters claimed the premiership. It was second again in 1972, and history repeated itself with the same teams and another grand final defeat.
In 1973 the SANFL introduced the final five, and Port Adelaide finished fourth and contested the elimination final being beaten by old enemies Norwood. In 1974 the club finished second missing out on top spot by half a game. A good win over Norwood had the Magpies faced with Sturt again but they were beaten by them again and Glenelg ended their season in the preliminary final. In 1975 Port finished fourth and defeated North Adelaide in the elimination final, and then finally got a monkey off their back beating Sturt in a final for the first time since 1966. But Norwood put the brakes on the run winning the preliminary final.
In 1976 Port Adelaide finished on top for the first time since 1965 and after the week off defeated Glenelg in the second semi final. But past horrors came back as Sturt came through and beat them yet again in the grand final. The Magpies bounded back in 1977 with another top place finish and this time no Sturt to worry about. A good win over Glenelg in the second semi final put them through to the grand final and finally with an exciting eight point victory Port had won their first premiership since 1965.
The Magpies slipped to fourth in 1978 and looked to get onto a roll again, defeating West Torrens in the elimination final and then Glenelg in the first semi final. Norwood though would end their season in the preliminary final. In 1979 Port Adelaide finished second and won the qualifying final over South Adelaide and followed that with a win over minor premiers Central Districts in the second semi final. It would be South who would win through to the grand final, but Port were too good in a low scoring game to win the flag.
1980's[]
In 1980 Port Adelaide finished on top and smashed Sturt in the second semi final to get to the grand final where they met Norwood. The Redlegs led half way through the final quarter but the Magpies came home with a wet said to win by 18 points for their second flag in a row. In 1981 Port finished second and scored two strong wins over South Adelaide and minor premiers Glenelg to enter the grand final. Glenelg came back but a six goal first quarter that could have been even more set the Magpies up for a good win and three flags on the trot.
Another top of the ladder finish in 1982 made Port the favourites for a fourth flag, but a shock straight sets exit ended that run thanks to Norwood and Glenelg with the Tigers winning by just one point. That exit hurt as the Magpies slipped with three straight losses before the final round in 1983 having them finishing sixth and missing the finals for the first time since 1969. And just like 1970, in 1984 Port Adelaide leapt up to finish on top of the ladder. This time unlike 1970 they won the second semi final defeating Glenelg, and they faced Norwood in the grand final only to be defeated in a massive upset as the Redlegs had come from the elimination final.
In 1985 the shock seemed to hurt the Magpies and they slipped to seventh, their lowest finish since 1948. But they were back in 1986 finishing third, only to go out in straight sets courtesy of Glenelg and Woodville. Finishing second in 1987 made no difference as Port went straight out again, this time thanks to Norwood and Glenelg. In 1988 Port Adelaide finished on top and this time they would not be denied - defeating Norwood in the second semi final and then Glenelg in the grand final to win the flag. In 1989 the Magpies finished second but there would not be a straight sets exit this time as they thrashed Central Districts in the qualifying final. A good win over North Adelaide in the second semi final sent the Magpies to the big one again where they destroyed the Roosters for their second flag in a row.
1990's[]
1990 was probably the most turbulent year in the history of the club. When the SANFL decided to wait for three years before considering entering a team into the AFL, the Magpies started secret negotiations possibly on the back on the then proposed merger in Victoria of Fitzroy and Footscray creating a vacancy. But word got out and fans of the other nine SANFL clubs were livid. Despite that, on the field Port had a fine season finishing on top of the ladder and played the second semi final against Glenelg. The Tigers won but Port bounced back over North Adelaide to play the last truly independent grand final and win it for their third flag in a row. Adelaide's admission to the AFL in 1991 meant that things would never be the same again.
In 1991 Port finished fourth and went straight out courtesy of West Adelaide who went on to make the grand final. The Magpies reacted in 1992 by winning the minor premiership and beating Woodville Torrens in the second semi final to return to the grand final where they met and defeated Glenelg for yet another flag. In 1993 Port Adelaide finished second and beat Glenelg in the qualifying final. Woodville Torrens smashed the Magpies in the second semi final however and Port couldn't recover and went out courtesy of Norwood.
In 1994 Port Adelaide again finished second and defeated Central Districts in the qualifying final, only for Woodville Torrens to win convincingly again in the second semi final. But the Magpies bounced back in the preliminary final over the Bulldogs and after trailing at three quarter time by two goals in the grand final Port rattled off a nine goal final term to over run Woodville Torrens and win the flag. In 1995 the club finished third and continued the run of wins in the qualifying final beating Norwood. A narrow two point win over Central Districts in the second semi final put the Magpies into the big one again where a stronger second half nailed the second flag in a row.
In 1996 - in what would be the club's seniors last season in the SANFL - Port Adelaide finished third yet again. Another qualifying final victory followed, again over Norwood and another second semi final victory over Central Districts put them into the grand final. Centrals came back, but Port finished the season off in style with a 36 point victory and their third flag in a row.
In 1997 Port Adelaide would make it's debut in the AFL, with a new guernsey and a new nickname - the Power. Their first game against the established AFL Magpies, Collingwood was a disaster with a 79 point drubbing. It would be in round 3 at Football Park that the Power won it's first AFL game over Geelong and then the very next week they would defeat cross town rivals Adelaide in the first ever Showdown. Port were so close to playing finals in their first season, missing by just percentage finishing ninth.
In 1998 the Power slipped a bit as they finished tenth, but in 1999 they would make the AFL finals for the first time finishing seventh. But they were greeted in their first final by North Melbourne and beaten.
2000's[]
Port went in to the new millenium with their worst performance thus far in the AFL, finishing fourteenth. But a big turnaround in 2001 had the Power in the top four for the first time finishing third. A loss to Brisbane in the qualifying final was a setback, but worse Hawthorn would pip them by three points in the semi final at Football Park to end their season. In 2002 though Port Adelaide would take a spot they were all too familiar with in the SANFL - the top of the ladder. But a loss to Collingwood in the qualifying final invited another exit. However Port finally won an AFL final defeating Essendon in the semi final. But Brisbane ended their season en route to the flag with a strong preliminary final victory.
In 2003 the Power finished on top again only to suffer another loss in the qualifying final, this time to Sydney. Port bounced back over Essendon for the second year running, only to fall to Collingwood in the preliminary final.
So in 2004 it was redemption time. Another minor premiership and another qualifying final. This time though the Power made no mistake, dealing with Geelong comfortably to get the week off. And in the preliminary final Port Adelaide knocked off St Kilda by 6 points to enter their first ever AFL grand final. Their opponents were Brisbane and in a sound display the Power won the game by 40 points to win their first AFL flag and their first flag since the 1996 SANFL triumph.
In 2005 the club had a hangover but managed to nail eighth place with a last round victory over Fremantle. A strong elimination final win over North Melbourne led to the first ever Showdown in the finals against Adelaide. The Crows though were way too good. A slip to twelfth followed in 2006.
But in 2007 Port Adelaide were back again finishing second. The qualifying final was a narrow win for the Power over West Coast by 3 points for the week off, and in the preliminary final they thrashed North Melbourne to enter their second AFL grand final against top side Geelong. But it wasn't even close. The Cats embarrassed the Power winning by a record 119 points. This loss would cause long term hurt for the club.
That hurt was immediate on the field with a crash to thirteenth in 2008. Things only got a little better in 2009 as Port Adelaide finished tenth.
2010's[]
Season 2010 would be a history making season for Port Adelaide for all the wrong reasons. For the first time in the club's history it would miss the finals for the third season running, finishing tenth. And it got worse as the Power fell to sixteenth in 2011 which, if it hadn't been for tha admission of Gold Coast, would have meant a wooden spoon - their first since 1900. A slight rise to fourteenth in 2012 was another missed finals campaign.
But it stopped at five in a row in 2013 when Port returned to the finals finishing seventh. A good win over Collingwood in the elimination was a fine start, but they they ran into Geelong and were beaten by 16 points. In 2014, Port Adelaide finished fifth and scored a healthy 57 point victory over Richmond in the elimination final. A good win over Fremantle in the semi final followed putting the Power into the preliminary final. They went so close, but failed by just three points against Hawthorn who would go on to win the flag.
In 2015 Port Adelaide would miss the finals again, but now the club knew how competitive things were. They finished ninth, and then finished tenth in 2016. They were back in the finals in 2017 finishing fifth, but they lost a heartbreaking elimination final in extra time to West Coast with a kick after the siren by 2 points. In 2018 they slipped back to tenth again and repeated the finish in 2019.
2020[]
The Power started 2020 with a strong win over Gold Coast before the season was shut down due to the COVID-19 pandemic. On the return in June Port started with a record 75 point win over Adelaide in the biggest winning margin in the history of Showdown. It sent a message to the rest of the competition as the Power slammed itself into top spot with two more wins. That roll was stopped by Brisbane, but Port Adelaide didn't lose top place. Likewise three weeks later when they lost to St Kilda. And again four weeks later when they suffered a ten goal loss to Geelong. The Power would not lose another game in the home and away season and finished on top.
The qualifying final was against Geelong at the Adelaide Oval. Aware of the thumping defeat, Port turned it around and scored a 16 point victory to get the week off into the preliminary final. There they played reigning premiers Richmond, again at the Adelaide Oval. But despite an effort, the Power fell short by six points in a low scoring game typical of the 2020 season.
2021[]
The Power started the 2021 season with two resounding wins to claim top spot before being toppled by West Coast. That put Port out of the top two where they would stay despite three follow up wins in a row. A bad loss to Brisbane was followed by a rebounding Showdown win but then another loss this time to the Western Bulldogs had the Power out of the top four where they stayed through to the bye despite two wins. After the bye a loss to Geelong didn't help, but then three wins on the trot put Port Adelaide back in the top four. However another loss to Melbourne dumped them back to fifth again. But then the Power really got going, and didn't lose a game for the rest of the home and away season. The final round win over the Bulldogs put Port back into the top two for the first time since round 2.
The qualifying final at the Adelaide Oval was again against Geelong and Port did it again, this time in convincing fashion by 43 points to go straight through to the preliminary final for the second year in a row. Their opponents were the Bulldogs and a close game was predicted. But the Power put in a shocker at home and the Bulldogs won easily by 71 points.
2022[]
Port Adelaide's start to the new season was the worst in their history in the AFL. Five straight losses had them on the bottom of the ladder. The recovery though was excellent as this was followed by four straight wins. A win and a loss sent the Power into the mid season bye three spots outside the finals but they couldn't get any higher despite three wins and two losses. Port dropped out of finals contention with four straight losses, but they finished the season with two strong wins including a 56 point pasting of Adelaide in the Showdown to finish eleventh - two games outside the eight.
2023[]
2023 didn't start great for the Power with two losses after the opening round win over Brisbane, including a loss in Showdown. But then Port Adelaide got onto a tear - winning the next thirteen games with the only gap being the bye mid season. The bye actually cost Port top spot as they had got there the previous week. The roll ended in round 18 at the hands of Carlton, starting a four loss run that had them fourth and threatening to drop out of the top four. They turned that around and finished the home and away season with three more wins, but only rose to third at the end of the home and away season.
That meant travel for their qualifying final - and it was to Brisbane where they were beaten well by 48 points. And it ended the next week with a loss by 23 points to West Sydney, who the Power had beaten well in the three in a row roll to end the home and away season.
Reserves and Magpies post 1997[]
Initially, the SANFL introduced a reserve grade competition in the days of the SAFA in 1906. Since that time Port Adelaide won a total of 17 reserves premierships. Upon it's elevation to the AFL, the Power were forced to spread it's players that didn't make the senior team over the other SANFL clubs to be consistent with the Crows. This ended in 2014 when Adelaide first fielded a stand alone reserves team, and Port's Magpies in the SANFL became their reserves team.
The Magpies continued to play as a separate team even though the same hierachy ran both the AFL and the SANFL clubs. During this time the Magpies senior team won two more premierships. In 1998 they defeated Sturt and in 1999 they defeated old rivals Norwood. But in this form they would not win another flag or even make a grand final.
After the Magpies became the Power's official reserves in 2014, the team made the grand final for the first time since 1999 but were beaten by Norwood. This was also the first SANFL grand final back at the Adelaide Oval since 1973. Port also plated in the 2017 grand final, beaten by Sturt. In 2020, for the first time ever, no Magpies played in the SANFL. This was due to the COVID-19 pandemic.