Port Adelaide President Vows to Respect AFL Guernsey in Finals, Won’t Pursue Prison Bars

Port Adelaide president David Koch has declared that his club will not be making an appeal to the AFL to wear their traditional prison bar strip during finals. The Power recently moved to the top of the table and appear to be destined for September action. Earlier this year, Collingwood allowed Port Adelaide to don their traditional SANFL strip for their Showdown, which was a stark contrast to the 2022 controversy that saw Power players wear the prison bars despite the AFL’s orders not to. When asked if the club would appeal to the AFL to wear the prison bar strip in a grand final, Koch responded by saying that Port Adelaide respects the heritage of the prison bar and the Magpies and that they value their AFL history as well. He also stated that for a grand final, they will respect the AFL guernsey. Koch defended the club’s decision to wait until August to determine coach Ken Hinkley’s future, adding that they are not a club that makes knee-jerk reactions during the year. He stated that the coaching decision got emotional in the first couple of rounds and they ignored it. The club is comfortable with the strategy they have chosen, and they will analyze it in August.