The 1960’s were a time of revolution. Civil rights, counter culture, anti-war protests and yet it is rare to look at a document written in the 1960’s and not think that it seems dated, including in relation to the masculine pronouns that were prevalent at the time. Yet somehow Fos Williams, whether intentional or not, laid down a Creed for the Port Adelaide Football Club that has stood the test of time.
At Port Adelaide it has never been about your club of origin, your state of origin, the colour of your skin or even your gender. The question has always been; are you willing to live by the Creed and are you here to help us win premierships?
And this week another group of players added their names to the folk-lore of the clubs “enviable tradition”. They showed themselves to be “active, aggressive and devoted to this cause”. They showed that “success is well within our reach and have confidence that each member of both the team and management will suffer personal sacrifices for the common end”.
A very young team, playing in their first ever finals series, 22 points down at the final break (a margin never before breached in the history of the AFLW, minor round or finals) they decided to “strive with all our power to further this club’s unexcelled achievement” and they did just that. This young team of enviable women showed the grit and determination that made the Port Adelaide Football Club the most successful club in the country. They attacked the ball and the player with a ferocity that brought a tear to the eye of even the most resistant AFLW sceptic and caused many a member to reminisce about Magpies players of old who had been similarly written off in finals series, only to triumph.
It was a gutsy display that has etched these women into Port Adelaide history as the first every AFLW finals winners and regardless of what happens in the next game (or hopefully two), if these women can show the same “personal sacrifices for the common end” that they have shown to date in this finals series there is not doubt that they will further etch themselves into the clubs “enviable tradition” and set a tone and a standard for both the womens and the mens programs to aspire to.
Well done Port Adelaide!
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