- Port Adelaide chairman David Koch beamed with confidence
- Before the match, he pointed out Power’s ominous record of eight consecutive wins
- Declared ‘Obama was president of the US’ when Swans last defeated Power in 2016
- With egg on their face, the Swans won the AFL preliminary final by 36 points
Port Adelaide chairman David Koch is disappointed with his club’s preliminary final defeat to the Sydney Swans.
The retired TV personality said ahead of the match that he was ‘quietly confident’ ahead of the clash at the SCG.
“The Swans are a good quality team but we have a good record against them,” he said with a clear hint of confidence.
‘Eight [wins] in a row. The last time the Swans beat us, [Barack] Obama was President of the United States.
At the end of the game, Koch was licking his wounds as John Longmire’s team recorded a 36-point victory.
The minor champions, who received a standing ovation from the 44,053 spectators present, will play the winners of the preliminary rounds Geelong-Brisbane in the deciding match at the MCG on September 28.
Significantly, it was the first time the Bloods had defeated the Power since 2016, following their Round 21 defeat at Adelaide Oval.
Port Adelaide chairman David Koch is red-faced after their preliminary final defeat to the Sydney Swans on Friday
Koch pointed out that the Power had won their last eight games against the Swans – and the last time Sydney triumphed, ‘Obama was president of the United States’ (pictured right, dispirited Port player Allir Aliir)
After the match, Port Adelaide coach Ken Hinkley had to clean up after another blockage in September (pictured left, a broken Ollie Wines)
Swans’ Harry Cunningham and Isaac Heeney (right) celebrate the final sprint together
“It’s a great place to be. It’s what you work for,” Longmire said at the news conference.
“We executed it as well as we could. Our methodology was really good.
“We were strong in the game. We focused on our process, lived in the moment and got the job done.”
In contrast, Port Adelaide coach Ken Hinkley had to pick up the thread again after another setback in September.
Hinkley now holds the unwanted record for most games without reaching the finals for a VFL/AFL coach, having previously suffered disappointment when he lost three times in the preliminary rounds in 2014, 2020 and 2021.
He has a contract until the end of 2025.
“They deserved the win. They deserve to play next week,” Hinkley said.
‘We accept that they were the best team in the competition and finished top of the table for a reason.
“We knew we had to be at our best, but we just couldn’t compete with them.”
