- Finished third in the AFL standings
- Crashed in straight sets
- Facing scrutiny
Port Adelaide president David Koch has launched an embarrassing defense of the beleaguered club, screwing up finals statistics from 20 years ago in a bid to respond to the club’s critics.
Port Adelaide is under fire for crashing out of the AFL finals in straight sets this season, after missing out on the finals altogether in 2022.
The club finished third in the table but lost consecutive matches to the Brisbane Lions and then to GWS at home to meekly exit the finals.
This led to heavy criticism of players and coach Ken Hinkley, with Koch trying to douse the flames using 2004 as an example.
He claimed that the government had to endure suffering in the finals in previous years before claiming the prime ministership, but he got his figures completely wrong.
“We came out in two sets in 2001, 2002 and 2003. The club stayed together and really focused in 2004,” he told FiveAA radio.
“Everyone has a very short memory. »
President David Koch incorrectly stated that the club lost in straight sets in the 2002 and 2003 finals series.
It will be another offseason of soul-searching for Port Adelaide players following their elimination in the 2023 finals.
Port Adelaide won the AFL premiership in 2004, but David Koch’s claims that the club had been knocked out of the previous three finals series in straight sets were false.
However, Port Adelaide did not go out in straight sets in two of those seasons, beating Essendon in 2002 and 2004 to reach the preliminary final.
“Kochie is just lying, we didn’t come out in two sets in 02 and 03,” one fan pointed out.
“@Kochie_online take a history lesson,” another fan replied.
“We didn’t go out in straight sets in 2002 or 2003. We played Essendon in back-to-back semi-finals, each winning, and played Brisbane in Brisbane and then Collingwood at the G in the preliminaries.
“I was in those two. Were you?
The club’s finals match preparation was also called into question, with Port Adelaide reportedly using the Second World War film Oppenheimer as inspiration while champion goalscorer Jeremy Finalyson was controversially dropped.
Star striker Charlie Dixon has hit back angrily at the club’s critics, suggesting their opinions are worthless.
Speaking to Channel Ten, Dixon was furious: ‘That’s what they’re going to do, put their two cents in there’
Whether it’s worth anything, it’s probably worth that, two cents,” he fumes.
‘It is more or less that.’
Striker Charlie Dixon has hit back at the club’s critics and said their opinions are only worth two cents.
Port Adelaide coach Ken Hinkley is under pressure after Power’s stacked side went out in straight sets in the 2023 AFL final.
Port Adelaide began the 2022 season with an 0-5 start, which put coach Hinkley under pressure heading into this season,
Despite the failure in the final, Koch said he remained the man for the job.
“Ken is the best person to take the club forward,” he said.
“He developed a capable midfielder who didn’t work hard enough in the final.”
Dixon said players took personal responsibility for dropping out in the final, with younger players better for experience.
“They wear it, of course they wear it,” he said.
“They see the statistics… but these are young children who will learn from it.
