Port Adelaide President David Koch has revealed how the deal was done with Collingwood to allow the Power to wear their historic Prison Bar guernsey in this year’s home Showdown against Adelaide.
The Power were permitted to wear the jumper in Round 2, 2020, as part of their 150th year anniversary but had recently had requests knocked back by Collingwood due to an agreement signed in 1997 barring the club from wearing the black and white colours.
After being rebuffed on multiple occasions by former Collingwood President Eddie McGuire, Koch says he was shocked when current boss Jeff Browne worked to get a deal done.
“It’s a great result, it means a lot to our members, a lot to our people,” Koch told SEN Afternoons.
“We’ve been annoying everyone for years, we do it every year around this time, we formally apply to wear the prison bar guernsey for our home Showdown, this year it’s been a terrific result.
“It really came out of the blue, I was talking to Jeff Browne on a different AFL matter last week and he goes, ‘You know Kochie, I just respect the history of your club, we’ve got to get this done this year’.
“I must admit it shocked me a bit, but I said, ‘Mate, let’s make it happen’, so we caught up at the President’s meeting on Thursday and agreed to it Friday night when the AFL signed off on it.
“So it happened pretty quickly.”
Since taking over in late 2021, Koch says Browne has been a “breath of fresh air” to deal with as he understands the importance of Port Adelaide’s history.
“I do (get along well with him), Jeff understands our history,” he said.
“I talk to him pretty regularly on a whole bunch of AFL matters as you do with different Presidents, probably he and Andrew Pridham at the Swans are the two I’m closest to.
“We’d often talk with me growing up in Adelaide a Port Adelaide supporter, it was just natural that Collingwood was your VFL team.
“We’ve had these links over the generations and he understands how important the prison bar is … he understands what it means to us and respects that.
“It’s been a breath of fresh air to talk to him about it.”
Given the new relationship between the clubs and historical ties, Koch says he’d like to see the Power and Magpies elevate their games against one another going forward.
“I’d like to see us elevate the importance of our games against Collingwood,” he said.
“We’re a couple of clubs that are kindred spirits, the Magpies in the two different states, similar profiles with success and similar hatred from opposition clubs in their individual states.
“Let’s celebrate that, I’m going to the MCG for Round 2 for the Port v Collingwood game.
“I reckon if there are Port supporters who earmark a weekend away to follow the team, Collingwood game at the ‘G I reckon is a good one.
“I think we can do more work there to elevate the Collingwood game and celebrate the links between the two clubs.”
The clubs next face off on March 25 when Collingwood hosts Port Adelaide at the MCG.