Port or Crows, who's been more successful in the AFL?

[White Dogg]

Hearing Leigh Matthews hailing Geelong as the most successful club of the 21st century despite Hawthorn having won more flags in that time has got me thinking about who's been more successful out of the two SA clubs.

Port have a better win percentage and lead the Crows in the H2H count but the Crows have won an extra flag just like how Hawthorn have an extra flag over Geelong. Using Leigh Matthews logic you'd say Port have been the most successful South Australian club in the AFL era.

Which club do you think has been more successful in the AFL? Port or the Crows?

 

[joeyavalanche]

Hard to argue with that logic.
It just comes down to how you define successful.

Port fans will be right with you.
Crows fans will say flags


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[Roddy]

It's flags, it's all about flags. No one plays for a 'high winning percentage', no one remembers who has the highest winning percentage over a particular period (except maybe the supporters of the team who achieved it), and at the end of the day, no one cares about H&A games beyond winning enough to put them into a position to contest for a flag.....

 

[Wargreymon90]

Until we have at least matched them in flags I would say they have been more successful

 

[powerrrrrrrrrrrr]

Pains me to say but I would say the Crows too.

All comes down to flags

 

[Great8]

Flags are all that matter so Crows with the edge so far

 

[Power Raid]

Port Adelaide supporters will know the motto "we exist to win premierships" and thus flags are all that counts by any measure

I just wish Port's board knew this before they resigned Ken

 

[BF Tiger]

Adelaide.

H&A wins are nice, making finals is great but it’s funny how some people DON’T rate flags.

 

[MarcusP2]

Neither club has done much for 15 years so it's a bit academic.

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[Sky]

Crows but if Port wins a flag before Crows next then that changes

 

[Golumless]

Adelaide. Premierships are the primary with success.

If Port ties it though, then we can talk about home and away/showdown record etc. They probably pip us tbh.

 

[White Dogg]

It's flags, it's all about flags. No one plays for a 'high winning percentage', no one remembers who has the highest winning percentage over a particular period (except maybe the supporters of the team who achieved it), and at the end of the day, no one cares about H&A games beyond winning enough to put them into a position to contest for a flag.....

Why does Leigh Matthews use win percentages and finals appearances as metrics of defining success? All the Port supporters I've spoken to say the only metric that matters is flags. Same goes for all the Geelong supporters I've spoken to. However on here there seem to be many Geelong supporters who use win percentages and finals appearances as metrics of defining success.

 

[PieLebo87]

Not only does Adelaide have more flags, but they’ve won a B2B. That in itself is a rare and impressive feat for a club still only 30 odd years old. Then again, Port might turn around and talk about flags they’ve won in bush leagues to try and prove they’re better.

Crows for me.

 

[Roddy]

Why does Leigh Matthews use win percentages and finals appearances as metrics of defining success? All the Port supporters I've spoken to say the only metric that matters is flags. Same goes for all the Geelong supporters I've spoken to. However on here there seem to be many Geelong supporters who use win percentages and finals appearances as metrics of defining success.

I think Lethal's just trying not to be biased/show favoritism towards two clubs he was heavily involved in...

 

[Toump Ass]

Both clubs are bit of a laughing stock, no offence. I mean Adelaide’s implosion post-power stance and tex being racist and Port’s had racism scandals too and also keeps trying to fight afl about teal and they have a coach that most of their supporters have hated for years. I am a port adelaide supporter (second team behind dees) so maybe biased but as far as success goes they’re both equal imo because both clubs have done nothing for 20 years. Who cares what happened before then, was port even in the competition when Adelaide bradbury’d two flags?

 

[Pistol Night]

Port had Jack Watts

 

[Papa G]

Not only does Adelaide have more flags, but they’ve won a B2B. That in itself is a rare and impressive feat for a club still only 30 odd years old. Then again, Port might turn around and talk about flags they’ve won in bush leagues to try and prove they’re better.

Crows for me.

In the AFL Adelaide have won 2 flags to Ports 1 so they win on that metric. So they are comparible to Collingwood and Essendon with 2 AFL flags. Port comparible to Carlton with 1 AFL flag each. We aren't counting bush state league titles so that's where it stands I guess.

 

[Wallaby]

I'm going to go slightly against the narrative here - certainly flags are the most important thing no doubt. But they are not the only thing. If that's all that matters, then even Hawthorn are not very successful over the last 62 years. Yes, they have won 13 flags, but they have not won 48 times (and I'm pretty sure most Hawk fans don't think they'll win this year). If that's the criteria for success, that's terrible - no wonder they have no supporters!

Supporting your club is a journey week-to-week, day-to-day, year-to-year. You can interpret steps along the way as success or failure (you can even 'win' the draft, if you want to categorise it that way). You can get a little bit of success here and there - winning interstate is good, beating the hated rival is very good, losing a close heart-breaker can be worse than losing by 5 goals when you were never really in the game. You don't win first division Tattslotto every time - but sometimes a nice 4th or 5th division win is fun. And that's (some) success.

Look, Richmond were clear favourites to win in 2018, perfectly placed, great season, best side all year - we didn't. Yeah it still hurts, it's still 'one that got away, possible 4-in-a-row etc', but it was a very good, successful season. It was a wonderful 5-and-a-half months. Losing the prelim did not make it a 'complete waste of a season' (did I mention it still hurts a bit?). Probably 16 sets of club fans would have swapped their seasons for ours.

How this relates to Port v Crows I don't know. But I would rather support a team that won 1 flag and lost 20 other GFs, than a side that won 2 flags and won the wooden spoon every single year they didn't win the flag. Because the first team would be more successful in my eyes.

 

[Rod Stroker]

Port had Jack Watts

They also have 119. Surely that doesn't help their case.

 

[PieLebo87]

In the AFL Adelaide have won 2 flags to Ports 1 so they win on that metric. So they are comparible to Collingwood and Essendon with 2 AFL flags. Port comparible to Carlton with 1 AFL flag each. We aren't counting bush state league titles so that's where it stands I guess.

Some reading material for you from the official AFL website -

AFL Premiership Winners - AFL.com.au

Collingwood has 15 premierships on that list.

 

[Papa G]

Some reading material for you from the official AFL website -

AFL Premiership Winners - AFL.com.au

Collingwood has 15 premierships on that list.

State leagues don't count.

 

[PieLebo87]

State leagues don't count.

You’re right.

 

[Papa G]

One less premiership
Far more minor premiers
Less wooden spoons

I’d almost slightly give Port the

Port have grossly underachieved in the AFL. 4 minor premierships and 6 prelims have only resulted in 2 Grand Finals and 1 premiership in 24 years. Very poor conversion. Weve been mentally weak in the AFL which was the antithesis of what we were in the SANFL. The fact Hinkley is still coach after so much mediocrity and we've maintained that idiot Breakfast Host as our President shows the club has lost its way.

 

[Gordon Farkas]

It's flags, it's all about flags.

Crows have won only 2 Dr Mclelland trophies (2005, 2017)

Port have won 4, including a three-peat (2002-04, 2020)

Q.E.D.

 

[Roddy]

Crows have won only 2 Dr Mclelland trophies (2005, 2017)

Port have won 4, including a three-peat (2002-04, 2020)

Q.E.D.

I can only presume you’re using this barely-known, useless piece of trivia to further support my argument…