PORT ADELAIDE chief executive officer Keith Thomas chatted with media after the club announced a five-year joint major partnership with MG Motor on Tuesday afternoon.

Here are the key takeaways from Thomas’ press conference:

Thomas on the significance of the partnership with MG Motor:

“Any joint major partner you can bring to the club is significant.

“It provides financial stability and security. The five-year term enables you to plan with confidence.

“More than anything else, it is just a great brand alignment. MG have a great history but a really exciting outlook for the future.

“We are thrilled to be a part of it.

Thomas on Port Adelaide’s growing portfolio:

“Everyone in the football industry understand how significant these partnerships are.

“They give the club great confidence and they are not easy to attract. We are thrilled with it.

“It’s such a great alignment with such powerful global brand. If you mix that with the partnership with GFG and the other corporate partners we have, it really is a pretty significant portfolio.

Thomas on MG Motor’s strategy:

“The MG strategy is very much an Australian market play.

“The association with China was a lovely bonus, so the game isn’t significant for this partnership.

Thomas on the club’s approach to its Shanghai fixture with St Kilda in May:

“We are like everyone else at the moment and watching it really closely.

“We are concerned about the Chinese community in particular and the pressure they are under and the difficulties they are facing.

“From our point of view, we don’t play until May 31, so we’ve got time. We will take our time to make what will be a very important decision.

“We will take the best advice that is possible to us. We are getting that from the Australian Government, the Chinese Government and the World Health Authority.

“At this point it’s a wait and see, but we are concerned about it.

Thomas on what factors will come into consideration:

“There are probably a couple of factors.

“Firstly, it’s the football factor, and you actually have more time. We could make this decision in May if it was purely about the footy, but it’s not.

“It’s about giving people confidence that they can travel to China and we can hold an event in China that’s safe.

“That decision will have to be made sooner, but we aren’t rushing it.

Thomas on the financial implications if the Shanghai fixture was cancelled:

“There will be a financial impact if it doesn’t go ahead.

“That impact gets bigger the closer you go to the game, as you start to build infrastructure around it. That’s a consideration but it’s not the most important consideration.

“We see this as a short-term moment that we are having to deal with. It doesn’t adversely affect our thinking about China as a strategy, it’s just a moment we are needing to deal with, just like about every other company in Australia.

“There are costs involved but they are manageable.

Thomas on insurance for those who have already booked to go to Shanghai:

“We are very conscious of that and we have tried to be an open and helpful as we possibly can.

“If the booking were made before the virus outbreak, there is good opportunities for insurance, and if the game is cancelled.

“The problems start to occur if you’re booking into the game after the virus was announced, then there is a question mark around that.

“Our understanding is that most people booked before, so we think we should be able to manage that.

Thomas on the players’ stance on the Shanghai fixture:

“The reality is our players are keen advocates for the game.

“They trust the club’s processes and that we have their best interests at heart, and we will make a decision that will in no way compromise anyone’s health.

“If we decided to make that call and a player decided he didn’t want to go for whatever reason, there’s no way we would force that.

“Our players have not expressed any of those concerns. They are simply waiting for us gather all of the information we need.

Thomas on what will happen to the game if Shanghai is cancelled:

“I think there are four scenarios being bandied around.

“Monday night was one of them. I’m not sure about that - that will be an AFL decision.

“I’m almost certain it will be in Melbourne but that will be up to them.

“The situation reverts back to being a standard St Kilda home game.

Thomas on Port Adelaide’s ambition to join AFLW:

“We don’t have a clear line of sight on that.

“We are very keen to get into the AFLW and we see it as part of our future.

“We are preparing to enter in 2022 but it may not be 2022. Early indications are that it may be 2023 but that decision hasn’t been made.

“We are keen to get in the next intake. We like how the game is developing and we are now in a position where we are capable of doing China and AFLW.