Port Adelaide's proposed merger with their debt-stricken local affiliate club the Port Adelaide Magpies is all but dead after the SANFL directors voted unanimously against the move.

The Power had proposed to merge with the Magpies, who they were forced to separate from upon entering the AFL in 1997, in order to save the SANFL club from financial strangulation.

However they found strong opposition to the gambit from other SANFL clubs plus crosstown AFL rivals Adelaide and in a meeting at AAMI Stadium on Tuesday night the directors of the local clubs chose to block the proposal.

"The eight League Directors, excluding Port Adelaide, voted against the motion to remove the restrictions," an SANFL spokesperson said.

"The Directors are sympathetic to the Magpies' current position and wish to reiterate that the basis of their recommendation was not about denying the clubs continuation in the SANFL competition.

"The Magpies' proposed model, in the view of the League Directors, would not provide a sustainable and competitive club on or off the field.

"The financial plans presented by both clubs to the League Directors for consideration did not contain a compelling business case to raise confidence for any improvement in finances over the next three years."

It is widely assumed the failure of a merger between the two clubs would spell the end of the Magpies, while also not helping the still parlous financial state of the Power.

The SANFL commission is due to meet on Wednesday morning to review the decision of the league directors and reserves the right to diverge from the recommendation made by the directors.

"The Commission has indicated its desire to give this matter its full and due consideration," the spokesperson said.

"The Commission will hold a special meeting tomorrow morning and the Executive Commissioner will advise the public of the final decision."

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