FIND out what’s being said about the club in the major daily newspapers on Monday, September 5, 2011

Herald Sun

Power saves best for last
By Andrew Capel

WITH so much to play for, Port Adelaide saved its best until last as they hung on to defeat Melbourne in a tight contest. Ingloriously staring at its first AFL wooden spoon in the last quarter of the historic clash at Adelaide Oval, the Power finally found something to hang its hat on in its worst season. After blowing an 18-point lead and starting to self destruct again, Port dug deep, producing 10 minutes of inspired football to pass the dreaded spoon to AFL newcomer Gold Coast. The Power had sat on the bottom of the ladder for seven rounds, had not won for 99 days and was riding a club record 11-game losing streak when it finally took matters into its own hands and said enough is enough. Inspired by a magnificent crowd of 29,340 for the first AFL match at Adelaide Oval, Port - which had fallen six points behind early in the final term after a series of howling errors - turned the game on its head. Unlike last week's capitulation against Essendon when it lost a 34-point last quarter lead, this time the Power threw caution to the wind, unleashing some bold attacking play and fierce tackling to - in a last-ditch bid - avoid the embarrassment of a first wooden spoon for the struggling club.

Demons want Scully decision
By AAP

MELBOURNE insists there was nothing sinister in the withdrawal of midfielder Tom Scully from its final match of the season. But the Demons want Scully to end a season of speculation by telling them as soon as possible whether he's moving to Greater Western Sydney. Scully, 20, is considering a multi-million dollar offer to join the AFL's newest entity as the Western Bulldogs brace for the departure of Callan Ward to the Giants. Scully was withdrawn from Melbourne's side which lost to Port Adelaide, raising suspicions he had told the club he was leaving. But Melbourne's caretaker coach Todd Viney said Scully was unfit to play because of injury. "'Sculls' unfortunately missed this game due to injury, he has had a hip flexor (injury) for probably a couple of weeks and it just got worse and worse to the point where he couldn't train," Viney said.

The Age

Oval more proves winner all round
By Ashley Porter

PORT Adelaide fans, and those who dared to wear red and blue and stand among them, yesterday gave their resounding support for the planned 2014 permanent move from AAMI Stadium to Adelaide Oval. After abysmal record-low attendances this season, 29,340 fans packed this historic cricket ground - now the 38th VFL/AFL venue. They echoed the prediction of AFL chief executive Andrew Demetriou that the shift would be the saviour of this financially wounded club, as well as the Crows. It was a grand occasion, and somewhere hidden in a plot must have been a decree that Port must win this historic first game here against Melbourne - and it did, by eight points, thus avoiding the wooden spoon. For first-year coach Matthew Primus, handing this dubious honour to the Gold Coast must have been a huge relief. But later he said he was more concerned about Port playing a better brand of football. He also left no doubt that the noisy crowd had a big impact on his players finding the resolve to keep going in a desperate last quarter, something missing in recent weeks. Melbourne did everything to lose, especially in a horror patch from a magnificent 53-metre goal by Port's Travis Boak after the quarter-time siren to midway through the second term when Port kicked six of the seven goals and the Demons had four embarrassing misses.

Sylvia backs coach panel
By Jesse Hogan

COLIN Sylvia's faith in the five-man panel charged with selecting Melbourne's next coach was so strong he elected to extend his contract before the replacement for Dean Bailey has been confirmed. The 25-year-old will become at least a 10-year player at the Demons after signing a new two-year deal with them. It ended speculation the No. 3 draft pick of 2003 was on his way out of the club because of a stalemate over contract terms. Sylvia's manager, Tom Petroro of Stride Sports, said the mid-sized forward declined the option of halting negotiations until he knew who would be his next coach. ''We discussed whether that would have an impact but he's got faith in the people that the club have put in place to appoint a new coach,'' Petroro said of the Demons' coach-search panel: club great Garry Lyon, chief executive Cameron Schwab and directors Jim Stynes, Don McLardy and Guy Jalland. ''He [Sylvia] is confident they'll make the right decision.''