Inside the Fijian apparel factory: Port's prison bar jumper scramble
Fijian apparel manufacturer racing to produce Port's prison bar guernsey
PROGRESS is being made on the production of a batch of iconic Port Adelaide prison bar jumpers at a Fiji factory.
Pictures obtained by AFL.com.au from inside the Suva factory of Mark One Apparel show the design match and stitching process is well underway.
After the AFL instructed Port Adelaide it would need to wear a clash guernsey against Richmond in Sunday’s elimination final, the club turned a negative into a positive.
Initially seething, Power chief executive Keith Thomas approached the AFL to wear the iconic black and white striped design, which is usually reserved for Collingwood at AFL level.
With permission granted on Monday night, the race is on for supplier ISC Sport to get the new jumpers manufactured.
On Tuesday, Thomas admitted the manufacturing team would have to work "overtime for the next three days".
"There's an element of risk associated with all that but [ISC] assure me it can be done," Thomas said.
"They had a template from a heritage guernsey we wore last year, so they now have to print, cut, sew and deliver. I think the idea is that 5.30pm on Friday night they have to be on a plane to get here by Saturday morning.”
Preview: Power v Tigers
The jumpers are expected to be put on a flight from Fiji to Sydney on Friday and will arrive in Adelaide on Saturday morning, just over 24 hours from the bounce of the ball.
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