News Port Confirms Coaching Panel for 2024

[Peninsula Boy]

Kenny is scared of winning.

Yeah, it is a bit of a weird trait to have as a head coach of an AFL team.

IIRC, we dominated the Hawks during the year and in his presser, he talked about how the game was brutal but he talked about it in a bad way. Like we should've beaten them but not humiliated them. Weird, weird stuff.

Such a loser mentality with Kenny Average and KochnHell.

 

[PowerLil]

I want someone educated and articulate. I want someone who doesn't embarrass me or the club every time he opens his mouth or presents himself in public. I want a winner, win at all cost mentality. I want someone who is not Ken Hinkley.

 

[EskimoPAFC]

He's a good to very good minor round coach. We've finished top 4 after the minor round in 3 of the last 4 seasons and won 58 out of 74 minor round games at 69%. People don't want to hear it, but the numbers are there.

But he cannot win finals. We can throw around all sorts of theories, but as you, me and Blind Freddie know, he has shown it time and again. I think his comments around finals time tells a story. The players have to take some responsibility but there's something about the preparation that fails. He's not the first coach with this issue, he won't be the last. But he will likely be the longest serving.

it reminds me of 07 when Choco was all rainbows and unicorns telling players to soak up the magic of grand final week while Bomber Thompson was honing a ruthless death machine behind closed doors at Kardinia Park.

Personally I don't buy into the hyperbole expressed by some that, if it were true, would have you believe we are North Melbourne at the bottom of the Mariana Trench. But his time is done at Port, the curtain should have closed after the Bulldogs PF.

Players win minor round games. Teams win finals. Coaches win premierships.

Its as true as its ever been.

He's simply been given an excellent list with players and assistants that can bail out his shitty coaching in minor round games. We used to have Robbie Gray bail us out and now we have Dan Houston, Zak Butters and Connor Rozee doing the exact same thing.

We fail at every test because those are the games in which you can't just rely on individual brilliance bailing you out, because in those games you're up against a side that's actually prepared deeply specifically for that match and have prepared for exactly what you're bringing to the table. Those are the games where you need a coach good enough to motivate players to run through brick walls and to work out exactly what the opposition is going to do and counter it.

 

[tribey]

People don't want to hear it, but the numbers are there.

But that’s the thing.

The numbers are bullsh¡t.

The wins are almost exclusively an avalanche of cheap kills against the Norths and Gold Coasts, and Adelaide Oval under lights is essentially an away ground.

It’s bizarre.

 

[tribey]

But that’s the thing.

The numbers are bullsh¡t.

The wins are almost exclusively an avalanche of cheap kills against the Norths and Gold Coasts, and Adelaide Oval under lights is essentially an away ground.

It’s bizarre.

Also, when there is a genuinely good win — ie Brisbane R1/2023 or Geelong R14/2019 or Geelong QF/2021 — there is nothing more predictable than the club spending the afterglow drowning in its own bathwater before serving up a debacle in the following weeks.

 

[Schulzenfest]

But that’s the thing.

The numbers are bullsh¡t.

The wins are almost exclusively an avalanche of cheap kills against the Norths and Gold Coasts, and Adelaide Oval under lights is essentially an away ground.

It’s bizarre.

Somebody posted an infographic a while ago along the lines that Ken's winning percentage against bottom 10 sides being about 10% higher than Clarkson/Hardwick/Scott etc but his winning percentage against top 4 teams being about 15% lower.

 

[Ford Fairlane]

But that’s the thing.

The numbers are bullsh¡t.

The wins are almost exclusively an avalanche of cheap kills against the Norths and Gold Coasts, and Adelaide Oval under lights is essentially an away ground.

It’s bizarre.

Last year we beat Sydney in Sydney, Bulldogs in Melbourne, St Kilda in Melbourne, we beat Melbourne and Geelong under lights at home. Jamie Elliot doesn't kick the goal where he played on out of bounds and we finish top.

You don't finish top 4 just beating roadkill. And if we lost to those teams, people would be complaining, the old What Happen Port?

But as I said, we almost always lose the games we are expected to lose. We nearly beat Brisbane in Brisbane but untimely injuries, we nearly beat Geelong in Geelong but freak occurrence, yada yada. Fair play, this year we did win a couple of games where I was less than confident but when push came to shove, we went down.

As I said, I'm not advocating his retention, just providing a relatively innocuous counterpoint to some of the over the top stuff I've read here.

As far as assistant coaches go, I've posted here before that I think it is a massively overrated industry. I don't think Hinkley's presence has stopped assistants from coming here. Obviously he hasn't gotten along with some, but hey that's like real life!

I don't mind the addition of Goldsack and tbh I think it's good that this group will now stand or fall on results. There are no more excuses. A grand final is the absolute minimum pass mark.

 

[Schulzenfest]

A grand final is the absolute minimum pass mark.

A grand final has been the 'absolute minimum pass mark' for three seasons. We haven't made a grand final (and indeed we've only won one final full stop) over those three seasons. All the major players are still here. Nobody has been held accountable, unless you count replacing Nathan Bassett with the work experience kid.

We'll finish mid-table again in 2024, Ken will still be coach in 2025, and I will still be spending my $600 elsewhere.

 

[Ford Fairlane]

A grand final has been the 'absolute minimum pass mark' for three seasons. We haven't made a grand final (and indeed we've only won one final full stop). All the major players are still here. Nobody has been held accountable, unless you count replacing Nathan Bassett with the work experience kid.

We'll finish mid-table again in 2024, Ken will still be coach in 2025, and I will still be spending my $600 elsewhere.

Can't argue with that. The club's executive has burned us again and again.

 

[bow and arrow]

The weird thing is we actually performed well in finals in Hinkleys first 2 years at the club. Since then it's been terrible. I wonder what changed.

The game plan mainly but became 'friends' with players instead of coach maybe.

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[DaTBird187]

The weird thing is we actually performed well in finals in Hinkleys first 2 years at the club. Since then it's been terrible. I wonder what changed.

Nothing. Which is entirely the problem.

 

[Doctor Feel]

Somebody posted an infographic a while ago along the lines that Ken's winning percentage against bottom 10 sides being about 10% higher than Clarkson/Hardwick/Scott etc but his winning percentage against top 4 teams being about 15% lower.

Couldn't be more mediocre if we tried. Which I suspect we are.

 

[tribey]

Last year we beat Sydney in Sydney, Bulldogs in Melbourne, St Kilda in Melbourne, we beat Melbourne and Geelong under lights at home. Jamie Elliot doesn't kick the goal where he played on out of bounds and we finish top.

You don't finish top 4 just beating roadkill. And if we lost to those teams, people would be complaining, the old What Happen Port?

That’s where the talent advantage comes in.

We should be beating the vast majority of those teams.

The much lauded 13-win streak for which he earned the new contract and the Chairman has endlessly dined out on featured a cavalcade of mediocre opponents and the skinniest of home wins against those that were remotely good.

I don’t think any of that reflects particularly well on old mate, who spent most of it carrying on like a pineapple on the bench while soaking up all of the external kudos.

But as I said, we almost always lose the games we are expected to lose. We nearly beat Brisbane in Brisbane but untimely injuries, we nearly beat Geelong in Geelong but freak occurrence, yada yada. Fair play, this year we did win a couple of games where I was less than confident but when push came to shove, we went down.

Agreed.

As I said, I'm not advocating his retention, just providing a relatively innocuous counterpoint to some of the over the top stuff I've read here.

As far as assistant coaches go, I've posted here before that I think it is a massively overrated industry. I don't think Hinkley's presence has stopped assistants from coming here. Obviously he hasn't gotten along with some, but hey that's like real life!

Yeah, apart from the Schofield debacle, I think the problem at the moment is engineered austerity, so at absolute worst Koch can point to rendering the club debt-free when he leaves in the coming years.

I don't mind the addition of Goldsack and tbh I think it's good that this group will now stand or fall on results. There are no more excuses. A grand final is the absolute minimum pass mark.

We both know it won’t be, though.

Making the eight is more or less the pass mark for the only man that matters, with any progress beyond that considered a bonus.

 

[Ford Fairlane]

He's like those US college football coaches who stay around for ages. They sometimes win something, although they seem to have a lot of trophies up for grabs.

 

[Peninsula Boy]

As I've said a few times on this site, coaching per se is not about results. It is about getting the most out of your players through your gameplan, strategies and tactics. A great coach gets the team up and playing beyond their collective capabilities. Jack Cahill was a master of this. Kenny Average is the antithesis and seems to be good at neutering players for big games. In fact, it seems Kenny Average would rather lose with his ideas than delegate and win with the ideas of others. Crazy stuff reinforced by Koch.

At the moment, we have the cattle to win a premiership. We just don't have the coaching. There is a poor attitude with a poor gameplan and poor decision making. An unholy Trinity. There is a very small chance that our list will just be too good and talented to not win but it is highly unlikely.

You can put a great coach like Kevin Sheedy and give him the 2023 West Coast list and he's not going to get that much out of it. You can't get blood from a stone.

You look at what Ross Lyon did with the Saints and you give him a big tick.
You look at Fagan and it seems more like the entire list maturing and playing together to get to that Grand Final. I think at the end of Kenny Average's contract, which is 2 to 3 years away, I think our list will be with the Lions are right now.

The list still have a fair bit of development to go so there is still huge potential and talent with the Power and if we had a wining coach, we would definitely be in the hunt.

You look at McCrae with Collingwood. So professional. So good. Not super talented all around the ground but a superior gameplan carried out by whoever has a guernsey that game. Injuries don't stifle them. Poor form is moved on. Just laser focussed. They play for each other. The role players do their job. What can you say. I remember when Port was like that. I watch Collingwood in envy of what Port Adelaide should be.

It is unfortunate but next year, with Kenny Average back in the first year of a contract, does he inevitably take the foot off of the accelerator like he normally does. Even with the team that we have we should finish top 8 and possible top 4 with the midfield we have. Is it a cruising year? Give the players a break and then get ready to crack on when the contract is up again. These are the regrettable musings that we have to put up with, with the current way the Kenny Hinkley Football Club is run.

 

[TeeKray]

Hinkley's problem has always been finals. He can get his team to compete well in home and away football, even against the better teams, but he just can't lift them to the level required to win cut throat games at the business end of the season. The fact that each of our 6 finals defeats in the previous 10 seasons had been immediately preceded by home and away wins against those same teams says it all.

His loser mentality and his lack of killer instinct result in the team playing scared and consistently being unable to produce their best football when it matters. This theme has played out for literally a decade to the point where everyone on this board with their eyes open knew we were going out in straight sets this year before the finals even began.

 

[Marmozet]

So what Hinkley needs to do in 2024 is try and play teams in finals that we lost to during the home and away season.

 

[EskimoPAFC]

Somebody posted an infographic a while ago along the lines that Ken's winning percentage against bottom 10 sides being about 10% higher than Clarkson/Hardwick/Scott etc but his winning percentage against top 4 teams being about 15% lower.

This is at least partially because Clarkson/Hardwick/Scott go through seasons with an eye on September. They view games against the bottom teams as opportunities to rest players to get them right when they need to be because they have faith in their system to get them across the line. Every action they take is about getting them in the position to lift the cup.

Hinkley is the opposite - he views those games as great opportunities to pad his w/l record, and doesn't plan for the end of the year at all. Its why we stumble backwards in to September with "injuries" and "players underdone" every year.

 

[bomberclifford]

This is at least partially because Clarkson/Hardwick/Scott go through seasons with an eye on September. They view games against the bottom teams as opportunities to rest players to get them right when they need to be because they have faith in their system to get them across the line. Every action they take is about getting them in the position to lift the cup.

Hinkley is the opposite - he views those games as great opportunities to pad his w/l record, and doesn't plan for the end of the year at all. Its why we stumble backwards in to September with "injuries" and "players underdone" every year.

There was a crossroad event this season around the bye, where Hinkley had two options. One was to rest key senior players under an injury cloud, possibly even sending them in for surgery to recover in time for finals, and play our second and third tier players to give them opportunities to find form and match fitness so we would have suitable back ups in place come finals time.

Hinkley (and Carr, Cornes, Bassett, Davies etc) didn't choose this option.
We got what we got and it was as clear as day that the results were going to be what they ended up being.

Old Mate Donuts was meeting with an opposition ruckman, dragging along two of our prime midfielders, to try and convince him to come to Poordelayed next season,... right on the eve of finals FFS.

If anything showed his utter lack of preparation for finals this year, this was it. Already had his contract extension and a finals exit excuse packed up and ready to go, desperately trying to get a readymade ruck to cover the cracks of his deplorable development of talls since coming to Alberton. Ended up overpaying for Sweet and Soldo to save face.

The guy is so far out of his depth it's not funny. The others at the club that enable this bumpkin to continue in a role he is demonstrably not suited to, need to be held to account. The post-Hinkley cleanout needs to cut deep.

 

[JimmyBC]

There was a crossroad event this season around the bye, where Hinkley had two options. One was to rest key senior players under an injury cloud, possibly even sending them in for surgery to recover in time for finals, and play our second and third tier players to give them opportunities to find form and match fitness so we would have suitable back ups in place come finals time.

Hinkley (and Carr, Cornes, Bassett, Davies etc) didn't choose this option.
We got what we got and it was as clear as day that the results were going to be what they ended up being.

Old Mate Donuts was meeting with an opposition ruckman, dragging along two of our prime midfielders, to try and convince him to come to Poordelayed next season,... right on the eve of finals FFS.

If anything showed his utter lack of preparation for finals this year, this was it. Already had his contract extension and a finals exit excuse packed up and ready to go, desperately trying to get a readymade ruck to cover the cracks of his deplorable development of talls since coming to Alberton. Ended up overpaying for Sweet and Soldo to save face.

The guy is so far out of his depth it's not funny. The others at the club that enable this bumpkin to continue in a role he is demonstrably not suited to, need to be held to account. The post-Hinkley cleanout needs to cut deep.

The timing of the Grundy meeting was such a shit look & it sends the wrong message to the group even if it's just subconsciously. You've got staff that can make phone calls & talk to managers until the appropriate time for you to get involved.

He'd conceded the season before it started really when he told Rooch the defense was lacking and sooked about not landing Esava. No backup to that falling over was absurd.

 

[PowerLil]

This is at least partially because Clarkson/Hardwick/Scott go through seasons with an eye on September. They view games against the bottom teams as opportunities to rest players to get them right when they need to be because they have faith in their system to get them across the line. Every action they take is about getting them in the position to lift the cup.

Hinkley is the opposite - he views those games as great opportunities to pad his w/l record, and doesn't plan for the end of the year at all. Its why we stumble backwards in to September with "injuries" and "players underdone" every year.

Hinkley has said more than once, you need only enough wins to qualify for finals; doesn't matter when or who. He doesn't value wins against quality opposition. It's mission accomplished if you make finals. This is PAFC Ken Hinkley Football Club est 2013.

 

[Ford Fairlane]

The timing of the Grundy meeting was such a s**t look & it sends the wrong message to the group even if it's just subconsciously. You've got staff that can make phone calls & talk to managers until the appropriate time for you to get involved.

He'd conceded the season before it started really when he told Rooch the defense was lacking and sooked about not landing Esava. No backup to that falling over was absurd.

And when we get to the mid season draft, we take another flanker who we gave 3 games to.

 

[Shaucob_Burjan]

I find it hard to believe there aren't coaches around that would just want to be in an AFL system

Choco was begging for a job for years

 

[Enviable Tradition]

Hombsch to defensive coach for the Crows.

Also an internal appointment.

I would have preferred him to Goldsack TBH just to get an outside voice.

Perhaps we should have done a swap.

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[Willsy10]

obviously the crows struggled to find an assistant to come to them too so made an internal appointment.

I'd say Goldsack has more runs on the board than Hombsch does, having been a senior coach of the SANFL team for a season after a couple seasons as a development coach. With Hombsch rawer with only 1 year as a development coach.

Not sure if Hombsch is the place to turn to for an outside voice.