Dear members, supporters and club partners,

Firstly, I want to acknowledge the passing of one of the great football people in Neale Daniher who sadly left us this week. Diagnosed with MND in 2013, he chose not to retreat. He built FightMND into a movement that has raised more than $115 million for research, and he did it with humour, grace, and a grin that never left him. On behalf of everyone at Port Adelaide, we express our deep condolences and best wishes to Neale’s family and friends. He leaves an incredible legacy. Play on, Neale.

Our Football Program at the Halfway Mark

The mid-season bye arrives at a good time. It gives us a moment to breathe, take stock of where we are, and sharpen our focus for the second half of the season.

There has been significant change to our AFL program this year, and I want to acknowledge the excellent job Josh Carr has done navigating that as our new AFL Senior Coach. He is calm, measured and completely clear-eyed about what we’re building — in our game style, in our standards, and in the expectations of our playing group.

There is a new group of coaches and staff right across the football program and the approach inside the club week to week has been terrific. Josh and our players have a great group of people around them.

Our record sits at 3-8, which is a couple of wins short of where we feel we should be with narrows losses to West Coast, Hawthorn, Adelaide and the Western Bulldogs stinging.

Aside from rounds one and eleven, there is a definitive style emerging — one that has us competing hard and at our best, difficult to score against. At the mid-season break we sit third in the competition for points against. The playing group have bought in to a new game plan and the system is taking shape.

Looking ahead

We expect to come out of the bye with Lachie Jones and Jack Lukosius returning, with Miles Bergman a few weeks behind them. Sam Powell-Pepper is close to playing football again which will have a major positive impact on our playing group, let alone all of us who just love what Pep brings to our club.

Jase Burgoyne

A member of the public has been charged by Victoria Police in relation to allegedly racist online abuse directed at Jase Burgoyne last year.

Racism has no place in our game or our society. The cowardly nature of this type of behaviour — hiding behind a screen to racially abuse someone — is reprehensible, and we will pursue every available avenue to hold those responsible to account.

From the moment Jase came to us about this, we were absolute in our support of him and his family.

We respect that this matter is before the courts and will not comment further on the specifics of the case.

To Jase, his family, and every First Nations person in our community — we stand with you. Unconditionally.

2026 AFLW Season

The AFLW team are back full time and into week 3 of their pre-season program. Our team is on camp this weekend up in the Riverland as we ramp up our preparation for a 2026 season with high expectations.

The AFLW fixture was released last week, and we are pleased with our mix of feature Alberton Oval games, including a Saturday night Showdown, Collingwood on a Friday night and a string of Saturday afternoon home games which we know are great for families.

The Power of Sport to Change Lives

The work our club does in the community through Power Community Ltd has gone to another level over the last few years. The Santos Aboriginal Power Cup, Power to End Violence, Power to Thrive, ADF Veterans Program, Multi-Cultural Power Cup and Community Youth are the pillars of using sport to change lives and build better communities.

Last week I had the privilege of travelling to Darwin as we expanded the Santos Aboriginal Power Cup into the Northern Territory, following two years of a highly successful pilot. More than 220 students across the NT participated in the program across the first two school terms, resulting in meaningful school attendance change in the schools it is operating. Last week, the PCL team backed up in Adelaide with more than 600 students participating. The scale and impact is extraordinary - and we should be very proud of the work our staff and players do in the community and how they represent the Port Adelaide Football Club.

Alberton Oval Transformation

Stage four of the Alberton Oval re-development will be completed by 30 June, allowing our AFLW program to move into their new changeroom facilities at the northern end of the MG High-Performance Centre. The Eastern Stands are now complete and we look forward to seeing our fans utilizing this fantastic aspect for the remainder of the SANFL season and the upcoming AFLW season.

Our focus now shifts to the Bowling Club re-development and raising the balance of funds needed to commence that project.

Thank you

On behalf of everyone at the club, thanks for your support across the first half of the 2026 season. Enjoy the weekend off football and if you’re like me, possibly doing all the jobs you are supposed to have done around home over the last few months, but already can’t wait for the next game v West Coast.