David Koch, You Were Wrong

At the 2004 Grand Final, Mark Williams delivered football’s most emphatic comeback: after tugging at his tie and declaring, “Allan Scott – you were wrong!”, silencing the cynics who said Port Adelaide could never win under his coaching. That moment, synonymous with Port Adelaide’s long history of backs against the wall accountability as a member‑controlled club, epitomised everything the Board under David Koch claims to value. Yet today, with the current board in place, barely changed in a decade and mostly unelected by the membership, these cultural values are all but gone. 

Of course the Chairman isn’t directly responsible for all of the following decisions (and he is just one voice on the board) but when you’re in the top job, the buck stops with you. And after a decade of stability, if the job isn’t getting done, then things need to change. In our opinion David Koch you were wrong about the following things.

David Koch, You Were Wrong About Stability Over Accountability

Koch says “it is up to the members” how long he stays as Chairman, yet has made no effort to actually return that decision to the members who didn’t elect him. He repeatedly leans into “stability” as the rationale for retaining long‑serving administrators, coaches, and executives. That stability hasn’t produced premierships, nor even a grand final. The coaching and administration setup has barely changed over ten years, and we’re becoming a club known for finals fade outs, not winning flags.

David Koch, You Were Wrong About Keeping Ken Hinkley for 2025 (and probably 2019)

When David Koch extended Ken Hinkley’s contract through 2025, he doubled down on a coach who has consistently fallen short in big moments. No Grand Final appearances in over a decade, repeated finals fadeouts, and a team that routinely flatters to deceive. The membership spoke loudly, again, calling for fresh direction, but Koch dismissed that sentiment, branding it as emotional or reactionary (white noise). In reality, it was informed, passionate, and grounded in evidence. Clubs with similar records have long since moved on. Instead, Koch rewarded stagnation with security, locking us into another season of “just enough”, and falling short even of that, rather than aiming for greatness. Once again, the members were right.

David Koch, You Were Wrong About Internal Promotions

Look at our internal promotion blueprint where the best person always seems to be coincidentally right in front of us. Promoting Matt Richardson to CEO and appointing Stuart Graham, our current fitness boss, just to name two, hasn’t changed our fortunes. Injuries and underperformance continue, and the football outcomes remain poor. These appointments illustrate a board unwilling to take bold steps for real improvement. Let’s not make the same result with a proposed transition to Chairmanship by the equally stale Cos Cardone when the current Chairman moves on. 

David Koch, You Were Wrong About Co‑Captaincy

When Koch approved the leap to co‑captains, he ignored the members’ misgivings. The experiment flopped, our leadership lacked clarity, our season suffered, and the policy was reversed within a year. That backlash should have been a clear signal: decisions imposed from above don’t align with the club’s ethos.

David Koch, You Were Wrong About The Push For The Prison Bars Jumper

Once a symbol, the prison‑bars jumper has devolved into annual Showdown novelty. We don’t honour it on ANZAC Day, ignoring that it was worn by fallen soldiers. When it mattered most, tradition was sacrificed on Koch’s watch because boldness wasn’t part of the agenda. We pushed to wear it at Showdowns only rather than all home games bar Collingwood, and as a result predictably got even less than that. 

David Koch, You Were Wrong About Administrators Running the Football Committee

Our footy committee is stacked with administrators and sycophants, not people with genuine football expertise. Accountability? Virtually none. The result: players and coaches get praised for mediocrity. Contrast that with the Adelaide Crows under John Olsen, they put football first on their board, brought in the likes of Neil Balme and this year they will go deep into finals. At Port, it’s admin‑led direction with football outcomes as an afterthought to financial and community goals. 

David Koch, You Were Wrong About Member Control

Koch has dismissed member‑control, claiming it would lead to too many  “footballers on the board”, a lesser skills base and inferior results. But the most successful clubs of recent years are exactly that, member‑controlled. He even insisted at the PAFC AGM that recent premiers Brisbane weren’t member‑controlled. That was plain wrong. Koch misled the members and used fear to justify minimal member influence.

David Koch, You Were Wrong About Player Accountability 

At the 2015 AGM, Koch publicly attacked the playing group after finals failure, but quickly backed off when players pushed back, notably Travis Boak. That schism entrenched a culture where criticism can’t stick and accountability is absent. The message sent: poor performance is accepted, and players are insulated, while the board lets it happen.

David Koch, You Were Wrong About Existing To Win Premierships 

Koch changed our mission statement, from “we exist to win premierships” to something friendlier, adding “and make the community proud.” Suddenly off‑field feel‑good replaced on‑field focus. We emphasised personal stories and community over football excellence. The result? A dilution of purpose, a drop in standards, and less accountability for results. Yes it has changed back, but the results have not.

David Koch, You Were Wrong About Wanting To Be Everyone’s Second Club

Koch shapes Port a “nice club” that lacks ruthlessness. It shows at the trade table where the club helps players like Houston and Impey return home. Meanwhile, clubs like Geelong drive hard bargains at trade table, pay less, still get more, think the Ratagolea trade. We pay above market, we lose assets, and we’re “nice.” That soft approach has cost us list depth and trade options.

The Members Called It, Then and Now

In every instance above, members called Koch wrong at the time. 

* We rejected co‑captaincy from the jump.
* Indeed, members flagged the dangers of internal appointments far earlier than the board would admit.
* We made calls for greater governance accountability.

David Koch has repeatedly dismissed member concerns, only to be proven wrong.

Right now, members hold two board positions. That’s tokenistic. A future third spot? Maybe. But it’s not enough. To restore accountability, ambition, and real football‑first decision‑making, a majority member‑elected board is essential. Members are the club’s heart and soul. Time to put them in charge.

In 2004, we proved them all wrong. Today, we are proving ourselves wrong. The club needs its original ethos restored. And that means true member control, not comfort seats for admin pals, not hollow listening posts, not claiming success in the face of all evidence to the contrary. Members must have the majority. Port Adelaide was built by its members. Let them lead it again.

Let them really decide who should be Chairman!