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Dan Houston makes massive call on AFL future after being handed season-ending suspension

Houston has committed to staying at Port Adelaide amid speculation he wanted a move to a Victorian club.

ben talintyre
Sports Reporter
·3-min read

Dual All-Australian defender Dan Houston has smacked down claims he is looking to get out of his Port Adelaide contract early, stating he is fully committed to the Power. Houston is contracted at Port until the end of 2028 but had been rumoured to want to continue his career at a Melbourne-based club.

The Demons were reportedly frontrunners for the defender's services but he wasn't short of suitors, with several other AFL clubs wanting to help bring him back to his native Victoria. However, after earning his second All-Australian blazer on Thursday night, Houston put to bed the rumours he wants out, stating he isn't planning on leaving South Australia anytime soon.

Pictured Dan Houston
Dan Houston has committed to staying at Port Adelaide amid speculation he was pushing for a move to a Victorian club. Image: Getty

“I am contracted and I absolutely love the footy club, I love being in Adelaide,” Houston told Adelaide radio station 5AA on Friday. “My focus in particular in the next five weeks is helping this team push for finals and get them in the best possible condition and do whatever I need to around the club to help them.”

5AA radio host Will Goodings then asked him point blank, "So you’re not leaving next year?". To which he replied: "I am contracted, I wouldn’t have signed the contract if I wasn’t keen on Adelaide and keen on Port Adelaide and I love the place, I love the footy club and the footy club has been good to me.”

Houston also revealed that the support from the club following his season-ending ban "reaffirmed" his commitment to the club. Port stood by Houston throughout the process, even appealing the tribunal’s decision in a last-ditch bid to make him available during the finals.

ADELAIDE, AUSTRALIA - AUGUST 17: Izak Rankine of the Crows is knocked out by a late hit from Dan Houston of the Power during the round 23 AFL match between Port Adelaide Power and Adelaide Crows at Adelaide Oval, on August 17, 2024, in Adelaide, Australia. (Photo by Mark Brake/Getty Images)
Dan Houston was slapped with a five-match ban for an ugly hit that knocked out Izak Rankine. Image: Getty

Dan Houston was slapped with a five-match ban for an ugly hit that knocked out Izak Rankine, with Port opting to challenge the decision by taking the case to the appeals board. But despite never being suspended across 168 AFL games and 18 SANFL games, the appeals board upheld Houston's suspension, meaning the All-Australian defender will miss the rest of the season even if Port make it to the grand final. And while the outcome was not what Houston was hoping for, he said the way the club rallied around him showed he is where he belongs.

“They have always got my back and they have always been really supportive of me,” he said. “They did everything that they could to try and help me during that period whether it was appealing or whether it was just even at the club getting around me, the boys have been magnificent and I can’t complain at all.”

  • Second qualifying final: Port Adelaide v Geelong - Thursday September 5, Adelaide Oval, 7.40pm

  • Second elimination final: Western Bulldogs v Hawthorn - Friday September 6, MCG, 7.40pm

  • First qualifying final: Sydney v GWS - Saturday September 7, SCG, 3.20pm

  • First elimination final: Brisbane Lions v Carlton - Saturday September 7, Gabba, 7.30pm

with AAP