Coach Kenny Hinkley - should he stay or should he go (or will he be here until the end of time)?

[fnerd]

Minor premiership with 136% in 2020 suggests a flag wouldn't have been a shock at the very least. A grand final appearance when you have home pre lims really should be the pass mark.

No it wouldn’t have been a shock but nor was them losing to Richmond at home in a very close one.
Not to mention they would’ve still had to get past an experienced team in Geelong the next week.
Hardly worthy of supporters carrying on like ken cost them a certain flag.

A grand final appearance when you have home pre lims really should be the pass mark.

It’s all relative.

Pre lims are often stated by coaches alike as the toughest games to win.

I think when it gets to that stage , unless you have an abnormally dominate team anything can happen (and even then it’s no sure thing)see Richmond in 18’ or bombers in 99 as classic examples .

 

[Igavemyloveachicken]

After the Elimination Final in 2014 when Port Adelaide anihalated Richmond before losing a tight Preliminary Final against the eventual premier Hawthorn I don't think you'd find a post that would have suggested that Richmond would build a Premiership Dynasty thereafter.

The expectation was on Port Adelaide to be the team that contend for flags and we traded accordingly to do so.

Early in 2015 we smashed Hawthorn early in a game at Adelaide Oval which surprisingly ended up being a much tighter win in the end than maybe it should have been. Did we even play finals that year....No!

The AFL Community expected Port Adelaide to bounce back from that disapointment to be contenders in 2016, again we miss finals!
Hinkley should have been sacked at the completion of 2016.

We persist with him but lose a home Elimination Final against West Coast where we cough up a 5 goal lead early for the match to go to extra time before we blow a handy lead to lose after the siren, lack of continuous finals experience cost us in my opinion.

In 2018 we are 11 Wins, 4 losses after 15 rounds and miss the finals....who does that, a Ken Hinkley side does that.

In 2019 we don't make finals again.

In 2020 we host Richmond in a home Preliminary Final and lose by under a kick because in the big moments they are more composed than us, finals experience the previous few years was the difference.

In 2021 we have the dream run to a home Preliminary Final with The Western Bulldogs having so much against them coming into the match. Not only do we get beaten but we get beaten in 7-10 minutes, game over, the team suffers an insipid loss.

Do we show resilience and front up again to play finals this year, no we go 0-5 to all but end our season before winning games when the expectation drops. When we have the opportunity to make a statement and win your classic '8 Point' game against a finals rival we fail again under expectation.

If that isn't a fair enough argument for why we fairly believe Hinkley has had more than enough opportunity to be successful and simply coach a team to be consistent and not 'Yo-Yo' then I don't know what is.

The fact he's coaching next year is an insult to every prospective coach in the league, coaching contracts get terminated all the time which isn't an excuse either.

One final point, Hinkley hasn't even coached a Grand Final appearance, let alone a Premiership....I've never seen a coach more lauded with praise stating that he's brilliant, great, fantastic when his record suggests that he's okay to average and can't coach a team to perform when it's expected to do well.

 

[Del165198]

Ken hinkley getting 2x coach of the year awards is up there with Cameron Ling being voted sexiest player in the league.

 

[evo]

Ken hinkley getting 2x coach of the year awards is up there with Cameron Ling being voted sexiest player in the league.

He s always got a lot good bloke points from the media, hasn't he.

Unfortunately good bloke points don't count for much on game day.

 

[Ricketz]

A mildly better version of Brad Scott, please no

The thing is there aren't many experienced coaches running around. Hinkley actually has a good reputation as a development coach, and that is exactly what North need.

Thinking about flags is ridiculous, North are so far off its not funny. You gotta learn to walk before you run, and Ken has experience at some very well run clubs.

 

[Ricketz]

Historically no supporter base has ever had to put up with a coach with 10 years and no gf.

Add to that the fact we are treated as second class citizens with less rights to our club by the afl and it’s totally understandable.

Lol, except most of them. Very few clubs have a flag in the last ten years.

 

[JackFlash]

Hinkley should pack it in of his own accord. How can he possibly coach this dysfunctional club with Kochie dangling the sword of damocles above his head. He should go for the GWS job or get his management to ask the question at Essendon?

 

[Del165198]

Hinkley should pack it in of his own accord. How can he possibly coach this dysfunctional club with Kochie dangling the sword of damocles above his head. He should go for the GWS job or get his management to ask the question at Essendon?

Ken doesn't give a ****. He's just trying to wring every last cent out of his contract. He doesn't care about the club or how we play, he's sorted.

When covid came around he agreed to the pay cut that every coach took but had the performance clause taken out of his contract, so it doesn't matter if he misses finals. It was also changed so that he has to be paid out in full if he gets sacked, not the 6 month maximum payout the AFL brought in.

David kock has been completely bamboozled by hinkley's manager ever since he threatened to go to the gold coast in 2017 so the club bent over and spread their cheeks.

 

[Del165198]

Lol, except most of them. Very few clubs have a flag in the last ten years.

Teams who have made a GF in the last 10 years:
Geelong
Richmond
Melbourne
Bulldogs
Adelaide
GWS
West Coast
Hawthorn
Sydney
Collingwood
Fremantle


Teams that haven't:
Port
North
Carlton
Essendon
Gold Coast
Brisbane
St Kilda

The above have basically been rubbish for a decade except Brisbane and Port. Brisbane are at least contending again this year, but if they bomb out again there is every chance Fagan gets sacked before Hinkley.

How does a club lose 2 home prelims in a row, the second by a record margin and avoid scrutiny?

How does the same incompetent buffoon of a coach come back the next year, in year TEN and serve up an utter shit sandwich and still have a job?

 

[philthy05]

Lol, except most of them. Very few clubs have a flag in the last ten years.

You’re completely wrong.

Name a coach who has kept his job for 10 years without making a gf?

 

[Tim Evans Beard]

What’s the go with Boak after footy? Has Adelaide become his permanent home or is he a chance to head back to Victoria after retirement? Is he more likely to be an assistant coach, go in the media or just disappear into the wilderness like most?

Always wish we landed Boak. Means we would never have been able to have afforded Dangerfield and since one’s a true leader & the other a complete w***er I’d argue the 2020 premiership we had won at half time.

He’ll retain his business interest but return to live on the Victorian coast.

 

[Grin]

Port supporters may view Hinkley in a much more favourable light within a couple of years of letting him go. Like North with Scott.

 

[Del165198]

Port supporters may view Hinkley in a much more favourable light within a couple of years of letting him go. Like North with Scott.

Lol. Do you think our list is as bad as North?

 

[Elmer_Hauser]

Historically no supporter base has ever had to put up with a coach with 10 years and no gf.

Add to that the fact we are treated as second class citizens with less rights to our club by the afl and it’s totally understandable.

I think North did with Brad Scott IIRC

But I agree that Port fans have been treated with contempt by your board and the AFL (esp with lack of voting rights)

 

[Soggy2112]

I think North did with Brad Scott IIRC

But I agree that Port fans have been treated with contempt by your board and the AFL (esp with lack of voting rights)

It is sort of an open secret that the board has wanted to sack him at various points but couldn’t afford to.

 

[Grin]

Lol. Do you think our list is as bad as North?

No. I just wonder if all the blaming the coach and then getting rid of him will work out for Port.

 

[Elmer_Hauser]

It is sort of an open secret that the board has wanted to sack him at various points but couldn’t afford to.

Beats me why they (PAFC board) gave him an extension last time around given his lack of finals success.

I don't think Port have been a well run club at level for a long time, and I feel gutted for their fans, I know from the last 20 years of supporting Carlton

 

[Igavemyloveachicken]

Port supporters may view Hinkley in a much more favourable light within a couple of years of letting him go. Like North with Scott.

That depends on what direction the club takes in my opinion.
The dream of a flag is most definitely over for the likes of Boak, Dixon, Jonas, Gray and Lycett.
Our next core group of players regarding experience in Wines, Houston, SPP, Marshall, Burton amongst others will be the new leaders to take the club forward.
In our younger and less experienced bracket we have some talent in Rozee, Butters, Georgiades, Jones and Bergman as well as a few others.
If we top up, trade in older players in the view that Hinkley is close then I worry for our future, I could see us being a middle of the road team in the very near future for quite some time.
I hope we go down the path of starting our rebuild now so the next coach who comes in whenever that will be will have a well balanced list to work with.
North Melbourne's situation is a little different in my opinion in that they've traded in players that haven't been great (Polec as an example) whilst trading out players (Ben Brown as an example) who would still be best 22, aggressive with their list strategy most definitely but that's by their choice.
In my opinion Port Adelaide has a strong enough group of players to consistently play deep in finals again in 2-4 years time depending on how well we nail our draft picks and what coach is leading us.
Hinkley's shown that he can't coach sides that are predictably consistent which is one of my many criticism's of him, Port Adelaide under Hinkley have 'Yo-Yo'd' up and down the ladder, surprising the competition when good performances aren't expected whilst bombing opportunities and complete seasons when expectation has been on Port Adelaide not just within our own supporter base but within the AFL Community.

 

[Soggy2112]

That depends on what direction the club takes in my opinion.
The dream of a flag is most definitely over for the likes of Boak, Dixon, Jonas, Gray and Lycett.
Our next core group of players regarding experience in Wines, Houston, SPP, Marshall, Burton amongst others will be the new leaders to take the club forward.
In our younger and less experienced bracket we have some talent in Rozee, Butters, Georgiades, Jones and Bergman as well as a few others.
If we top up, trade in older players in the view that Hinkley is close then I worry for our future, I could see us being a middle of the road team in the very near future for quite some time.
I hope we go down the path of starting our rebuild now so the next coach who comes in whenever that will be will have a well balanced list to work with.
North Melbourne's situation is a little different in my opinion in that they've traded in players that haven't been great (Polec as an example) whilst trading out players (Ben Brown as an example) who would still be best 22, aggressive with their list strategy most definitely but that's by their choice.
In my opinion Port Adelaide has a strong enough group of players to consistently play deep in finals again in 2-4 years time depending on how well we nail our draft picks and what coach is leading us.
Hinkley's shown that he can't coach sides that are predictably consistent which is one of my many criticism's of him, Port Adelaide under Hinkley have 'Yo-Yo'd' up and down the ladder, surprising the competition when good performances aren't expected whilst bombing opportunities and complete seasons when expectation has been on Port Adelaide not just within our own supporter base but within the AFL Community.

I would agree that Port’s list is actually in pretty good shape.

I don’t think Jonas, Gray, Boak, Dixon, Lycett etc have enough left in the tank for them to contend next year. I could potentially be wrong and maybe there is a Collingwood style revival in them, but either way I don’t see Hinkley as the man to do it.

However, there is quite a strong core of mid 20 year olds in SPP, Burton, Marshall, Houston, Finlayson, Wines, Fantasia, Allir and Byrne-Jones, with some super impressive young talent about to break out (if they haven’t already) in Rozee, Butters, Jones, Georgiades and Burgoyne. They’ll have a good pick in this draft and it seems like they’ll get a pretty good compo pick if Amon is out the door. If they land those two and are able to smoothly transition those older lads out the door, they should be in a good position to contend in 2024-26ish.

But if they go again with Hinkley I don’t see him surviving another season out of finals, which is potentially what might need to happen. He’ll probably go flat out trying to run the tank dry with Boak and co and set back their little mini re build, and potentially waste the good years of that Wines group. It just seems like a smart move to part with Hinkley and get someone new in.

 

[Del165198]

No. I just wonder if all the blaming the coach and then getting rid of him will work out for Port.

We don't think sacking Hinkley will solve all of our problems, nor does it guarantee success.

But at present there is no hope. We know Hinkley isn't capable of a flag, we've seen the same mistakes repeated for a decade. At best we are treading water until he's gone. At worst, he destroys the club on the way out, which looks like the way it's going.

 

[HTPunter]

Sorry Port fans you can't ship him off to North that easily. Huge win, sign him up thanks

 

[Del165198]

Sorry Port fans you can't ship him off to North that easily. Huge win, sign him up thanks

beating essendon is your grand final, sounds perfect for you. i'll send him right over.

 

[random260]

Huge wins by kendalf. Seems like the board made a good decision. See the boys love their coach just got to give them time to piece it together

 

[The 747]

I am thinking another couple of years coaching after next year, then Ken should move into being Director of Football Power at the Port Power.

 

[PrisonBars4life]

No. I just wonder if all the blaming the coach and then getting rid of him will work out for Port.

I think there is some hyperbole amongst Port supporters about how bout Hinkley is. He's not a bad coach, he's average to good. The simple fact of the matter is he has had 10 years at the helm and 3 genuine cracks at a flag,4 if you count the 11-4 start, and managed to not get the job done. The desire to sack him is based upon the fact that he has demonstrated the club will not win a flag at the club with him as Coach. Go and have a look at how many games we have lost when we have belted the other side in all meaningful stats. That's a structure and coaching issue. Bombing it to an outnumber up forward might as well be called a 'Hinkley'. It's why we have a poor record against the top sides. You can't smash good sides in the workrate department consistently. You can't just have a aim of 'we'll outwork the best sides in the competition by 10-20%, that's our path to victory'. We should be the ones winning when we've been beaten in the middle.

We might get a worse coach. We might get a similar coach who gets better results as opposition fail to respond to the new style. We may get a better coach. The alternative is to meander around 4-12 for another 5 years and blow up the careers of another crop of talented young players. I'd be keen on Nathan Buckley. He seems to be a tactician and always seems to have teams stocked with good skills, but Collingwood have always had a a soft underbelly. They're the cyclist doing the victory lap with 500m to go. Whatever you can say about Port, they're not soft. We front up every week, and if a side beats us, they've generally earned it.