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

[HTPunter]

Apparently he's "passionate" and a "people motivator".

Who the heck is dumb enough to be motivated by this halfwit?

I've heard him talk. I'm not a snob so I'll forgive his lack of any kind of grammatical skills..i don't care about that at all... but that's not the point. His ideas and conversation are seriously moronic.

I just can't believe somebody so thick has survived this long.

It's bizarre.

Ah, you have spoken to an AFL footballer before? You do see the likes of Richo, Jono Brown, Watson & Selwood get media gigs as some of the more articulate & switched on ex footy players?

AFL players are as a rule dumb as dog shit - and even if they have book smarts off field, they then likely have a sheltered life that doesn’t give them a heap of perspective.

It’s the whole thing about someone like Tarryn Thomas being considered a good guy, or Dane Swan being super popular…it’s about who is a funny extroverted confident male in an entirely male setting, not actually who treats people well outside of that setting. It’s not until you make a mistake against your male teammates (Carey, Beams) that all of a sudden you get seen as a flog, even though you’ve bullied & harassed others for years.
The AFL bubble creates perspectives of people that just would not apply in any other setting. Thomas is a campaigner, Kenny is dumb.

Ken is not inspiring to anyone not in that bubble but I have no doubt because he’s a fan boy of the players that they absolutely love him and that’s why everytime there’s “a reason” (bad loss, media scrutiny etc) they get up and bring the “manic pressure”. When there isn’t, they don’t show up.

 

[HTPunter]

Lol tell us about it.

What's great is that you get to be gaslit by every sector of football media that he's some kind of idiot savant

Matthew Richardson >>> us.

 

[Footy Smarts]

I can't believe he brought back Dixon. He got less out of Dixon and Ratugolea combined than Ratugolea gave them alone last week. Defensive pressure was non-existent. Then he refused to even sub one of them out. Comical tactical coaching.

 

[Handsuper47]

Port Adelaide will keep him because they don't like success, they celebrate mediocrity.

 

[powerrrrrrrrrrrr]

Was at the game last night with my partner who knows absolutely nothing about footy but was a good sport and came with since we live in Sydney.

Even before half time she turned to me and said, “why does port just kick the ball to no one going forward. The Swans just move the ball so clean and organised”.

That is Hinkley ball that we have been so angry against for a decade. That is why we hate this man. That is why we want him gone. It has been a problem for a decade that is so glaringly obvious, yet he is to stubborn to accept that it just doesn’t work. You cannot go into finals with a forward structure which is bang it long and high to a pack, hope to crumb a goal or lock it in.

Majority of our goals last night had to come from the midfield. There is just no forward structure or easy transition under this game plan. Kill it off already!!

It will be another year of boo’ing from the sidelines but hopefully in 12 months he will finally be off into the abyss.

 

[Foucault1989]

Same old story, the boys let Kenny down last night.

I don't understand how you can blame Ken. He gets the boys to the starting line and they fall like a pack of cards.

Big year next year, I can feel it. New free agents coming in, another year into JHF, Butters, Rozee. Would not be shocked if Ken was offered 3 more years next August as Port sit top of the ladder.

 

[T2B_]

I mean he's done pretty well with the list he has.

 

[Soggy2112]

He has made how many semis and prelims?

From another sport, Andy Reid was head coach at Philadelphia Eagles and he made the NFC championship game 5 times, winning only 1 of them and losing that super bowl.

Then he went to Kansas City and has won 3 super bowls i think, mainly because of Patrick Mahomes. The point is the players have a bigger say than coaching deep in finals. Port has no players who can will their team over the line.

Comparing to NFL doesn’t work, a QB has far more influence over a game of American football then any one player can in a game of Australian football. A coach absolutely has the ability to create a system that is or is not capable of winning finals.

 

[Handsuper47]

I mean he's done pretty well with the list he has.

He's been there for what, 12 years? That's his list. That's the players he wanted, and the coaching style he wanted. If you put it down to the players, well if you can't instruct players to follow your gameplan after so many years then maybe it's a coaching problem.

 

[Foucault1989]

I mean he's done pretty well with the list he has.

The players seem to love him.

He is like a father figure to them.

 

[Foucault1989]

He's been there for what, 12 years? That's his list. That's the players he wanted, and the coaching style he wanted. If you put it down to the players, well if you can't instruct players to follow your gameplan after so many years then maybe it's a coaching problem.

Has he had enough time though?

Probably not.

 

[RAPPA]

but they have a $hit backline and a $hit forward line. I’m genuinely surprised he regularly gets them to top 4.

 

[Handsuper47]

Has he had enough time though?

Probably not.

I think at any other club he would have been sacked at year 7 or 8.

 

[T2B_]

Has he had enough time though?

Probably not.

No, I suspect Ken isn't a low tier fine wine. He'll do better as a even more aged aged wine.

 

[Foucault1989]

I think at any other club he would have been sacked at year 7 or 8.

Richmond backed in Hardwick in 2016 and the rest is history.

 

[Handsuper47]

Richmond backed in Hardwick in 2016 and the rest is history.

that's true, but that was in year 6 - if he failed in 2017 he would have been gone

 

[LoungeLizard]

Ken is only part of the problem, he has proven he can coach, the players have talent, but when the heat is applied they go missing, Ken may have a bit to do with that, but the players more so.

If they do get a new coach, he will need to change that list to have success, too many pea hearts to win finals.

 

[Elixuh]

I propose all 17 other teams make a pact to throw their games against port next year. He could be extended again by June if we all just do our little bit.

 

[powerrrrrrrrrrrr]

He is like a father figure to them.

That’s not the role of a coach though.

This plays into just accepting mediocrity because they like him which is why he’s still bloody here.

The coach doesn’t have to be a father figure, whatever that really means. He’s there to get the best out of the players, develop a sustainable game plan and win the premiership.

This father figure stuff is just bull@“?! really to save face on failure.

 

[MisterMarcus]

I think Port need to take a step back and undergo a mini-rebuild. It's been said many times, but of the 23 that were out there last night, around 6-8 are of borderline AFL standard at best.

On paper, they have a great core of early and mid 20s year olds, so it's not a case of "We need to keep topping up or else our window will slam shut!". They could afford stepping back for a couple of years and regenerating their list, and most of their good players will still be in their prime.