3 days Ago By Jake Niall
Port Adelaide president David Koch has confirmed that Ken Hinkley will coach the Power in 2025 as contracted, after a tumultuous weekend in which Port won through to the preliminary final and the club copped a $20,000 fine for Hinkley’s behaviour. While Port Adelaide is privately fuming about the $20,000 fine meted out to the club for Hinkley’s heckling of Hawthorn gadfly forward Jack Ginnivan after Port’s three point win , Koch declined to say whether the fine was appropriate or fair. Port Adelaide coach Ken Hinkley exchanging words with Hawthorn players after the match.
Credit: AFL Photos But the Port Adelaide president and former Sunrise host was prepared to say that Hinkley would be coaching the club next year. Asked if Hinkley’s position for next year was locked in, the Port president told this masthead: “Absolutely it is. It’s always been sorted.
He’s our contracted coach for next year.” Pressed on whether Hinkley would coach Port next year, Koch said: “Yep.” Hinkley spent much of the season under massive pressure, with assistant coach Josh Carr potentially waiting in the wings and having been booed by sections of the Port Adelaide faithful.
His position would likely have been heavily scrutinised if the Power had gone out of the finals in straight sets. Koch would not bite on the AFL’s $20,000 fine - issued against Port, rather than Hinkley - for the senior coach’s confrontation with Hawthorn players immediately after the Power’s three point victory, when he yelled at Ginnivan and was then confronted by Hawthorn skipper James Sicily who interceded on behalf of his teammate. “It’s not even on my radar,” Koch said of the fine that the club had worn for Hinkley’s heckling.
“We’ve got the game to focus on and that’s the number one priority.′′ Koch would not buy into the fairness of the fine or what Hinkley had done. “Nope.
Too much of a distraction.” Ginnivan had offended Port Adelaide in an Instagram post to ex-teammate Brodie Grundy in which he quipped “see u in 14 days” - a reference that was widely read as Ginnivan expressing confidence that the Hawks would meet Sydney in the preliminary final. Privately, Port officials were fuming about the $20,000 fine, noting that GWS football boss Jason McCartney had been fined the same amount for making physical contact with Sydney’s Tom Papley while also making a pointed comment during the qualifying final, and that McCartney had a prior offence (involving umpires) for overstepping the mark.
The Power felt unfairly singled out by the AFL in the Hinkley matter and also aggrieved that they were fined $50,000 with a further $50,000 suspended for their blunder in allowing Aliir Aliir to play on when concussed , when they felt other clubs had been treated more leniently in such matters. There was no question, though, from within Port Adelaide that Hinkley had blundered by heckling Ginnivan. The Port coach later apologised for his invective towards Ginnivan and revealed that he had deployed the post as motivation during the lead in to Friday night’s game.
.
