National Rugby League side Penrith Panthers and Australian Football League side Port Adelaide Power "formed a groundbreaking alliance," according to Michael Chammas of the SYDNEY MORNING HERALD. In a move "likely to reverberate through both NRL and AFL headquarters, the Panthers-Power affiliation is a revolutionary partnership aimed at helping both clubs develop their brands in a bid to compete with the premier organisations of their respective codes." Port Adelaide Chair and Sunrise host David Koch "visited Panthers in the off-season." Panthers coach Ivan Cleary and his coaching staff "are scheduled to visit Port Adelaide next month." Panthers CEO Justin Pascoe said, "It will give us a look into how an AFL team structures their football program. The biggest attraction that both Ivan and myself realized that Port coach Ken Hinkley shares similar values around work ethic, discipline and humility -- all the things we pride our football program on as well. This partnership has the potential to extend past just football. It extends through the whole organization and Port Adelaide chief executive Keith Thomas and myself are currently in discussion around several initiatives, including an employee exchange program aimed at sharing and transferring knowledge, skills and capabilities." While Penrith is "interested in the membership growth and corporate capabilities of the AFL club," Port Adelaide is interested in the business operations of the Panthers Group run by group CEO Warren Wilson. Pascoe: "The way Warren's transformed the business into a profitable organization is something Port Adelaide indicated very early as a reason they wanted to open up discussions with us about this partnership" (SMH, 4/15).
