George Orwell said that “It is the same in all wars; the soldiers do the fighting, the journalists do the shouting, and no true patriot ever gets near a front-line trench, except on the briefest of propaganda tours”.
And lately it seems the shouts coming out from the Port Adelaide Football Club employees are becoming louder and more desperate. And reminiscent of the former Iraqi Information Minister known as “Comical Ali”, they keep yelling “nothing to see here”.
“Nothing to see” despite Port being one of only 5 clubs to have not made a grand final since 2007.
“Nothing to see” despite Port having only won 2 finals in the last 9 years.
“Nothing to see” despite Port going out in straight sets in 2023 with the “best list” in coach Ken Hinkley’s time.
“Nothing to see” despite a significant portion of the membership base being clearly disenfranchised.
“Nothing to see” despite club employees referring to members as “white noise”, “outsiders”, “idiots” and “Hinkley haters”.
For a proud club like Port Adelaide the results of the last decade have been quite simply not good enough. Certainly not when compared to previous SANFL glories in the straw man arguments of chief club propagandists like Michaelangelo Rucci and Kane Cornes. And more importantly they simply aren’t good enough when benchmarked against even the top half of the AFL field. Especially if you “exist to win premierships”, not revel in minor round glories as the “true patriot” President David Koch is prone to do. No matter how much these chief propagandists cry about “myth and misrepresentation” the numbers just don’t add up for the longest serving one club coach without premiership success.
The fact that those ‘true patriots” and “journalists” employed by and connected to the club see it as their job to convert the club members to their way of thinking, rather than listening to the true custodians of the club, says it all about the need for a truly disrupting influence on the board. This despite the club constitution clearly stating that “The Company will maintain the Club for the benefit of the Club Members.”
A cynic would say that club employees talking down the chances of incumbent member elect board member Kathy Nagel is designed to split the vote of the two “Hinkley hating” former premiership stars, who might have expectations of success, and thus allow the status quo to continue. It does seem that the current regime always thinks that the very best people for the job are those who have already been “educated” into the ways of the current board.
A club employee suggesting that current, signed up, 2024 members would not be allowed to vote in the upcoming elections despite the constitution clearly stating that “All Club Members have a right to vote in relation to the election of Club nominees for appointment by the AFL to the Board” does not help with the members disconnection either. I wonder what newly badged member and 5AA media personality Stephen Rowe will think when someone reads him the club constitution.
The same employee states that Tredrea “has told the club he will not engage in any media interviews before the election” without referencing the fact that candidates have been specifically told not to by the current regime.
So if you think there is “nothing to see here” then vote for Nagle or Abernethy.
If you think there is trouble brewing behind the smoke and mirrors that needs disrupting, then Tredrea is your man.
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