For the first time, the Russell Ebert Tribute Game comes home.
When Port Adelaide takes to the field at Alberton Oval to face West Adelaide this Sunday, the occasion will carry a weight that stretches well beyond the SANFL ladder.
It will be the fifth chapter of the Russell Ebert Tribute Game and the first time it has been played at the spiritual home of the club Ebert served so magnificently for 392 games.
The Russell Ebert Tribute Game began in 2022 as a way to mark the passing of one of Australian football’s true greats — a man whose four Magarey Medals, six club best-and-fairest titles and games record tell only part of the story.
Post-football, Ebert forged an equally impressive legacy with his work within the community and Port Adelaide's community programs.
The fixture pits Port Adelaide against West Adelaide for a reason that goes deeper than football geography: West Adelaide’s primary recruiting zone is the Riverland, the region that shaped Ebert from his earliest days in Berri, through junior football at Loxton and senior football at Waikerie, before he made his way to Alberton and into the pages of football history.
The first two games were played at Loxton Oval, the third at Waikerie, and last year’s edition was held at Richmond Oval.
The Ebert family will be at the centre of the occasion, tossing the coin before the first bounce and presenting both the trophy and the best-on-ground medal after the final siren.
Port Adelaide holds a 3-1 record in these tribute games. Previous best-on-ground medallists are Xavier Duursma (2022), Tom Scully (2023), Kobe Ryan — West Adelaide’s sole winner to date (2024) — and Ewan MacKinlay (2025).
Ebert left us with a line that echoes from the old Football Park to the hearts of every Port Adelaide fan who lived the 12-year drought from 1965 to 1977. Amid the throng of thousands of Port Adelaide fans and encircled by his team-mates and club staff, Ebert took the Thomas Seymour Hill premiership trophy from SANFL president Judge Don Brebner and said:
"It has taken us a bloody long time but by geez it’s worth it!"
Decades later, Ebert's legacy at Alberton is his testament to every Port Adelaide player following his footpath to uphold the club's mantra of existing to win premierships.
This weekend, at the ground where he gave everything, we remember him again.
Russell Ebert Tribute Game
Sunday 14 June 2026, 1.10pm
Port Adelaide vs West Adelaide, Alberton
