Decorated and highly respected ruckman Matthew Primus has been elevated into the club’s Hall of Fame.<\/p>\n
One of the most decorated players of Port Adelaide\u2019s early AFL era, Matthew Primus has been elevated into the\u00a0club\u2019s Hall of Fame, recognising his extraordinary influence as a player, leader, and coach at the highest level of Australian football.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Primus was inducted during a ceremony at Adelaide Oval as part of the\u00a0club\u2019s annual Season Launch and Hall of Fame event on Monday evening.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n
Known for his leadership and strength, the ruckman\u00a0and former captain\u00a0played 137 AFL games and kicked 76 goals for Port Adelaide across nine seasons.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n
The fan favourite etched an iconic chapter in AFL history, with his dominance at stoppages so pronounced that AFL ruck rules were changed in response\u00a0–\u00a0a testament to Primus\u2019 athleticism\u00a0and strength in the contest.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n
His\u00a0extensive list of accolades includes dual All Australian\u00a0selection\u00a0in 2001 and 2002, a John Cahill Medal, and induction into the South Australian Football Hall of Fame.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n
Having also been awarded Port Adelaide Life Membership in 2016, the\u00a0club great now adds induction into the Hall of Fame to\u00a0his\u00a0football legacy.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Universally respected, Primus wore the iconic number one guernsey from 2001 to 2005 but\u00a0sadly\u00a0missed\u00a0Port Adelaide\u2019s 2004 AFL premiership after suffering an ACL injury.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n
It was a devastating blow for the ultimate team player, but\u00a0former\u00a0teammate,\u00a0and premiership player,\u00a0Dom Cassisi said Primus\u2019 leadership had laid the foundation for that premiership success.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cTo win a premiership, it’s a whole journey, and there’s as many downs as there\u00a0are\u00a0highs to get there,\u201d Cassisi said.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cAnd I think it’s pretty fair to say that I don’t know if we would have won that flag in \u201804 if we didn’t have a leader like Matty guiding us during those years leading to it.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Another club great, premiership player Dean Brogan, described Primus as an exceptional leader who changed the game.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cMatty\u00a0got\u00a0the balance\u00a0really well\u00a0in terms of being social and having fun outside\u00a0of being a serious leader. He loved to have a beer with the boys, and he started the captain\u2019s barbecues,\u201d Brogan said.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cThat stuff matters when\u00a0you’re\u00a0a leader and\u00a0you’re\u00a0captain, it\u00a0can’t\u00a0just all be footy, footy, footy.<\/p>\n
Primus’ leadership through Port Adelaide’s early years in AFL was outstanding. Photo: AFL Photos.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe changed the game for ruckmen, and they called it the \u2018Matty Primus rule\u2019, because he’d either jump really hard or he’d get across the line and hold out.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cI’ve\u00a0never seen someone train so hard and work to\u00a0basically exhaustion.\u00a0But\u00a0the\u00a0big thing\u00a0for me,\u00a0that he helped me with,\u00a0was\u00a0just setting the tone for your teammates and how your first contest is at that first centre bounce.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
He then reflected on what this honour would mean to his former teammate, and friend.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cI know he loves the\u00a0club;\u00a0he bleeds Port Adelaide. This would mean the world to him. I love how\u00a0he’s\u00a0come back and\u00a0he’s\u00a0a part of the club when he can be,\u00a0I love\u00a0he’s\u00a0still connected to the club.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cThis is well deserved, and I think\u00a0this would be one of his finest moments.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
It\u2019s\u00a0a sentiment\u00a0echoed\u00a0by Cassisi\u00a0who\u00a0said,\u00a0\u201cIf anyone’s going in the Port Adelaide Hall of Fame, it’s Matty Primus.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Following his playing career, Primus transitioned directly into coaching, serving as an assistant coach from 2006 to 2010 under Mark Williams.\u00a0<\/p>\n
In July 2010, he was appointed caretaker coach for the\u00a0remainder\u00a0of the season before being confirmed as senior coach from 2011 to 2012.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Primus influenced many throughout his 15 years at the club, with his positive impact still felt today. Image: AFL Photos.<\/p>\n
He\u00a0later continued his coaching journey with the Gold Coast Suns and Southport Football Club, further contributing to Australian football beyond Alberton.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Primus\u2019 induction recognises not only his individual brilliance on the field but also his leadership, commitment, and lasting influence on Port Adelaide\u2019s culture.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Matthew Primus\u202f\u00a0<\/p>\n
AFL games:\u202f137\u202f(1997-2005)\u202f\u202f\u00a0<\/p>\n
AFL goals:\u202f76\u202f\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n
AFL Honours\u202f\u202f\u00a0
– All Australian selection (2001, 2002\u202f\u2013 vice captain)\u202f\u202f\u00a0
– International Rules selection (2002)\u202f\u00a0
– South Australian Football Hall of Fame inductee (2014)\u202f\u00a0\u202f\u00a0<\/p>\n
Club Honours\u202f\u202f\u00a0
– John Cahill Medal\u202frunner-up\u202f(1997)\u202f\u202f\u00a0
– John Cahill Medal winner (2002)\u202f\u00a0
– Port Adelaide best team man (2000, 2001)\u202f\u00a0
– Port Adelaide captain (2001,\u00a02002,\u00a02003, 2004, 2005)\u202f\u00a0
– Port Adelaide coach (2010, 2011, 2012)\u202f\u00a0
– Port Adelaide life member (2016)\u202f\u00a0<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Decorated and highly respected ruckman Matthew Primus has been elevated into the club’s Hall of Fame. One of…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":468582,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[560],"tags":[638,64,63,55,639,85,83],"class_list":{"0":"post-468581","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-afl","8":"tag-afl","9":"tag-au","10":"tag-australia","11":"tag-australian-football-league","12":"tag-australianfootballleague","13":"tag-sports","14":"tag-text"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/468581","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=468581"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/468581\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/468582"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=468581"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=468581"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=468581"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}