Certified Legendary Thread Sack Hinkley 12 - Finals Are Scary

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The post match presser reminded me Hinkley’s ’taking the blame’ for playing an injured Rozee earlier in the season, only to say, in the next breath, that Connor had put himself forward for selection.

Ken said on Thursday that it’s a whole club failure. He is right but once again he abdicates blame. You’re well paid to get this club to a grand final - that failing is on you. Don’t have the players, ask for them. Don’t have the coaches, ask for them. Don’t have the fitness staff, dietitian, psychologist, whatever - ask for them. Ken it’s on you mate - take some bloody responsibility.
That's exactly what I got out of it. He was in full survival mode deflecting blame to the collective.

Although his ego did get the better of him when he said "my men" and "my players" towards the end.
 
I have a theory about Ken which I'll hopefully get confirmed one day if anyone ever writes a book.

A) When the team is doing well and winning games Ken's anxiety levels are fine and everybody loves him and just goes about their business, and we do well.

B) When there is an important game and Ken is feeling the anxiety, I think he is probably incapable of preventing that anxiety from being passed on to the players via his interactions with them. That anxiety rubs off and we get fumbly and make more mistakes, etc etc. We all know what this looks like.

C) On a couple of rare occasions though, that anxiety level is so high that rather than the players wear the anxiety, they turn that to anger and play for him i.e. the untenable leading to 13 wins in a row, the booing leading to 8 out of 9 wins.

C) is clearly unsustainable and reverts back to A) or B) at some point depending on who Port are playing.

What can be done about B)?
Who knows.
Obviously the club has struggled to manage that.

So what will we see against Hawthorn this weekend.
It cannot be A), it will either be B) or C).

Either the players will ignore the heat and play with no fear (like after the fight during the Showdown), or we will get another B) performance, where everyone goes to water. It's going to be very interesting to see how the players and coaches respond to the Geelong game, as a B) or a C).

I think the only way he saves his job at Port now is to beat Hawthorn, beat Sydney/Giants/Bris/Carlton and then beat Geelong in the grand final, forever washing away 2007.

The alternative is to pack the van and move on.
 
Dare we suggest Choco coming back? His work has been impeccable everywhere he has gone. I feel like its time if Carr takes over. I dont think he or we will do it though.


Have heard (take it or leave it) but know someone who catches up with him whenever he’s in Melbs, that Choco would come back but it’s up to Pauline (his wife) as she’s from Melbourne.

If she is happy too then I reckon it could happen.
 

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Ken will be on the phone as soon as CD hangs up. Ya wouldn't believe it Caro, they sacked me! It's Julian Cheezer and the Brides of March!
 
I have long though West Coast wants Hinkley, but if they lose next week in a bad way I find it hard to believe anyone would want to take Hinkley off Port's hands.

If we presume Port lose to Hawthorn next Friday night, this is how I expect things to pan out in its aftermath:

The Footy Committee and Koch will schedule an emergency Teams meeting for Monday night.

CD will tell Hinkley some time over the weekend (my best guess is Saturday) the power brokers have lost confidence in the senior coach, and he can select one of two options. Option 1 is to negotiate a payout with the Club and formally resign. Option 2 is to stand firm at the Alamo and face the humiliation of being sacked. There will be no option 3 of letting Ken convince anyone to give him a further chance.

I think Ken will take option 1, though the payout will not be much changed from if he were sacked. This decision would then be ratified by the Footy Committee on the Monday night followed by the Board on Tuesday with an announcement sometime Tuesday afternoon.

Of course, this process could get accelerated. Given the stakes of the game on friday night, I would expect the majority if not the entire Board of Directors to.be present at Adelaide Oval. And hence, if there is a bad loss, they could move things up earlier in the weekend to have in person meetings instead as opposed to doing it on Teams.

The one thing I won't be doing is breaking any news on here about his departure until he has been given the news from the horse's mouth. After that, it's fair game.

If/when the board finally moves on Ken, do we know what happens next?

I'm still not sure how to read the buzz around Carr. With no inside information, it's difficult to know if he withdrew from the Richmond selection process because:
  • we offered him a handshake deal to take over from Hinkley;
  • the Tigers decided he was a fair way down their list of preferred candidates and that news somehow found its way to him;
  • having relocated from Perth to Adelaide only the year prior, he made a very reasonable family decision to not relocate again to Melbourne;
  • some combination of these, or something else?
The first option - the idea of a succession plan - worries me. I like Carr. I think he has a good track record, and I like very much the idea that he would seek to restore the club's true culture. But, as much as I like Carr, I dislike more the strategic failures and football decisions made by people and committees at our club. I have no faith that the football committee and the board - after getting so many big decisions wrong for such a long time - can sack Hinkley and then magically develop the ability to make every correct decision thereafter.

I think there needs to be a proper review and selection/recruitment process, and I suspect the success of that process relies on the current administration's involvement being as limited as possible.
 
Southport Sharks are currently 33 points up against Geelong’s 2nd’s in the 4th quarter SF.
Looking at the Cats side they have few experienced AFL players running around.
Hawkins, Guthrie and De Koning to name a few.

Matthew Primus is the assistant coach of the Sharks and taking over the role of head coach next season.
Wylie Buzza has 3 goals :)

Just sayin.
 
I have a theory about Ken which I'll hopefully get confirmed one day if anyone ever writes a book.

A) When the team is doing well and winning games Ken's anxiety levels are fine and everybody loves him and just goes about their business, and we do well.

B) When there is an important game and Ken is feeling the anxiety, I think he is probably incapable of preventing that anxiety from being passed on to the players via his interactions with them. That anxiety rubs off and we get fumbly and make more mistakes, etc etc. We all know what this looks like.

C) On a couple of rare occasions though, that anxiety level is so high that rather than the players wear the anxiety, they turn that to anger and play for him i.e. the untenable leading to 13 wins in a row, the booing leading to 8 out of 9 wins.

C) is clearly unsustainable and reverts back to A) or B) at some point depending on who Port are playing.

What can be done about B)?
Who knows.
Obviously the club has struggled to manage that.

So what will we see against Hawthorn this weekend.
It cannot be A), it will either be B) or C).

Either the players will ignore the heat and play with no fear (like after the fight during the Showdown), or we will get another B) performance, where everyone goes to water. It's going to be very interesting to see how the players and coaches respond to the Geelong game, as a B) or a C).

I think the only way he saves his job at Port now is to beat Hawthorn, beat Sydney/Giants/Bris/Carlton and then beat Geelong in the grand final, forever washing away 2007.

The alternative is to pack the van and move on.
From what I gather from what Chewy316 said is this.

Lose this week = Hinkley gone. (I like this one personally)

Win this week then lose prelim = Hinkley gone.

Win this week then win prelim then GF loss = Hinkley safe for 2025.

Win this week then win prelim then GF win = Hinkley safe for 2025 + trigger for extension. (This one has me on the fence)

Feel free to correct me if I have gotten this wrong Chewy316.
 
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Just listened a bit to abc Sat avo football panel. Malthouse first starts off by saying he enjoys Kenny’s company. Then basically blames the players. Midfield of downhill skiers only chasing one way and Rioli is lazy.
Was then given the hypothetical by another guy on how he would advise Hinkley if he was presented with a 5 year deal from West Coast or finish his contract at Port.
Outside of some supporters and one or two commentators this guy is criticised by no one.
 

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Just listened a bit to abc Sat avo football panel. Malthouse first starts off by saying he enjoys Kenny’s company. Then basically blames the players. Midfield of downhill skiers only chasing one way and Rioli is lazy.
Was then given the hypothetical by another guy on how he would advise Hinkley if he was presented with a 5 year deal from West Coast or finish his contract at Port.
Outside of some supporters and one or two commentators this guy is criticised by no one.
No shit, Mick.

Rioli's idea of prep is a parma and some milkshakes.

That said, there were three players that performed on Thursday - Rioli, The Horny One and Boak.

You know, three players that started their careers with coaches that aren't Ken.
 
Just listened a bit to abc Sat avo football panel. Malthouse first starts off by saying he enjoys Kenny’s company. Then basically blames the players. Midfield of downhill skiers only chasing one way and Rioli is lazy.
Was then given the hypothetical by another guy on how he would advise Hinkley if he was presented with a 5 year deal from West Coast or finish his contract at Port.
Outside of some supporters and one or two commentators this guy is criticised by no one.
Enjoys Ken's company? *ing lol. Mick's a deep thinker. Philosopher almost. Does he enjoy and treat Ken's company as a scientific experiment?
 
While I'm certainly glad for the news that Cassisi and his mates finally realised the shitshow they had created after the Showdown, Jesus Christ how did it take that long? Is this bunch the ones endorsing Carr now? I wouldn't be trusting their opinion
 
Dare we suggest Choco coming back? His work has been impeccable everywhere he has gone. I feel like its time if Carr takes over. I dont think he or we will do it though.

Josh Carr is keen to bring Choco back. The ball will be in Choco's court as to if or when he does.
 
Footy based on a sound game plan, selections, talent and skill development will always triumph over emotive football. Footy played on emotion is simply unsustainable. We have talent and that's about it. Comes to the fore when it counts the most. Finals.

Bang on. You can win a game on emotion, but we don't, we lose every game where a club great has died or emotion is otherwise involved.
You can't win a flag on emotion. Every sports movie is wrong. You have to be better drilled and believe in your plan.
 
From what I gather from what Chewy316 said is this.

Lose this week = Hinkley gone. (I like this one personally)

Win this week then lose prelim = Hinkley gone.

Win this week then win prelim then GF loss = Hinkley safe for 2025.

Win this week then win prelim then GF win = Hinkley safe for 2025 + trigger for extension. (This one has me on the fence)

Feel free to correct me if I have gotten this wrong Chewy316.
I see what you are saying, but I don't consider it possible for us to play Geelong in the GF, lose the game, and Hinkley to survive. We either win the game by 1-30 or lose it by plenty.
 
While I'm certainly glad for the news that Cassisi and his mates finally realised the shitshow they had created after the Showdown, Jesus Christ how did it take that long? Is this bunch the ones endorsing Carr now? I wouldn't be trusting their opinion

Anyone who was involved in the 2023 extension should be fired. There really should be no question about that. The most obvious terrible decision in the club's history.
 

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Certified Legendary Thread Sack Hinkley 12 - Finals Are Scary

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