Premierships can’t be won in February but they can definitely be lost.

A strong pre-season is vital. It sets you up, builds confidence and demands focus.

We begin the chase for greatness this week backed by meticulous preparation, and most importantly, resounding belief in what our football group and our people can achieve this season.

There’s plenty to be excited about in 2022!

Our high-performance team, led by Stu Graham and Tim O’Leary, have done a terrific job ensuring the players are ready to go. Ken Hinkley, Chris Davies and Jason Cripps have certainly built a strong football program with a focus on quality people.

The nine contract extensions announced last week – Sinn, Visentini, Lord, Houston, Clurey, Burton, Drew, Butters, Rozee – say a lot about the playing group’s confidence and belief in our Club.

Culture doesn’t guarantee anything, but without it, you’ve got no chance.

People want to stay at Port Adelaide – and for good reason. The commitment shown by the players who’ve recently tied their futures to Alberton is testament to that.

Our club has high expectations and our people demand success and this can become recurring if the culture is right. Port Adelaide has proved that. Era after era has been built on tradition and bold ambition which grow stronger with time.

We’re hungry for success and we’re ready to go!

Port Adelaide has a lot to look forward to across every part of our Club, and everyone is driven to play their role.

The AFLW program is coming together quickly, with Juliet Haslam building a fantastic team, and the new changerooms under the Fos Williams Family stand are just weeks from completion. We’ll be ready if the season comes forward and starts on the weekend of the pre-finals bye of the AFL season.

Picture this: Adelaide Oval, a standalone AFLW Showdown on the Friday night to launch Port Adelaide’s entry into the AFLW … do you think we could break the record crowd for an AFLW game in our very first attempt? And yes, a Port Adelaide home game of course.

The new social club, ‘The Precinct at Alberton’, is progressing well and is on track to open in late April. We are planning a series of events which will allow members the opportunity to enjoy the full experience first. It’s your new home and we can’t wait to welcome you back to Alberton.

Our first home game is next weekend versus Hawthorn on Saturday night.

We’ll be honouring Russell Ebert, with a number of special tributes in the lead-up and on the night -  more about that next week.

We are back to 100% capacity at Adelaide Oval which means members can once again sit in their favourite seats and enjoy the game with family and friends.

Someone asked me last week, ``who’s performing at the first Port home game for entertainment?”

I replied: ``The Port Adelaide people are our entertainment – haven’t you heard them stand and sing Never Tear us Apart in full voice before? It’s incredible!’’

I can’t wait for the first spine-tingling rendition, with a full stadium for the first time since 2019.

Apologies for the delay in the fulfilment of our membership packs. They have been held up by COVID challenges in supply chains but are arriving now. Thank you for your patience and understanding.

We have transitioned to mobile ticketing this year, and are one of the last clubs in the AFL to do so. When we made this decision last year, we weren’t sure what 2022 would look like in terms of stadium capacity and the potential for change, and this was the best solution. It also brings us in line with major event ticketing around the country. The benefits include easy access, simple ticket forwarding and added security.

Please remember our Membership team is always here to help – on the phone, via email, at the counter at Alberton Oval in the new Precinct, and on match days at each of the entry gates.

If anyone is unsure about what to do, please just contact our team and we’ll have an easy solution to help.

And finally, this Saturday we start our season against Brisbane at the Gabba.

It’s a big challenge and the perfect way to begin the Chase for Greatness in 2022.

Cheers,

Richo