The Moment on Monday: Ken Hinkley and Port Adelaide take an optimistic view forward after a season that failed to deliver finals
Port Adelaide coach Ken Hinkley admits while he’s felt the heat this season he has also felt their support as the club looks forward. This plus Crows and Power game notes, this year’s Mr One Per Center and final power rankings in this week’s column.
- ‘Hollow’ win, but optimistic Hinkley has 2020 vision
- Match report: Port ends wasted season on a high
- Big changes expected at Power, Crows
- Analysis: Port’s department of youth gives hope for future
Ken Hinkley walked into the Port Adelaide rooms 10 minutes before his players on Sunday night, hands in his jacket pockets, and taking them out only to greet the doorman and reciprocate a high-five for a kid who had his arm outstretched.
Stony faced, he headed straight for the meeting room stopping again only to speak to an elderly supporter who has seen more Port Adelaide premierships than the boy has had years on this earth.
None of them looked satisfied with how the season had finished, but they shared hope.
Or as Hinkley put it in his press conference soon after, “optimism”, that they had seen enough from an 11-11 season to give them reason to believe next year would be better.
It would want to be for Hinkley’s sake given his contract for 2021 will hinge on making finals.
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This year has had a bit of everything for Port Adelaide and Hinkley. There have been moments of elation and ‘what are we capable of?’ after beating West Coast in Perth and Geelong at home. But there have also been moments of despair like the disastrous first quarter against Brisbane and the 86-point loss to North Melbourne.
Hinkley has ridden the highs and lows more than most. Targeted by social media campaigns wanting him sacked, answering to a chairman who publicly said it was finals or fail this year and with constant speculation over his future, Hinkley has remained overwhelmingly positive in the face of it all, but admits he has also felt the heat.
“David (Koch), myself, Keith (Thomas) we talk regularly. The hard part is the outside stuff starts to build and gets a bit of momentum,” he said on Sunday night.
“That creates some uncertainty … we know how tough this game can be to survive but we also know how bloody tough it is to stick.
“I’ve got their support, I’ve got nothing to worry about, not from the board or Keith but from the reporting that goes on sometimes you do get some self doubt … I’m human, I feel that, I don’t like it very often but when you get your players and key personnel at your football club supporting you and engaging in what they want and need, you just know you’re on the right path and you’re the right person to help on that path.”
The Port Adelaide board met on Friday and chairman David Koch stressed it was “not even considering” whether Hinkley would be at the club or not next year.
And how could they? How could a club sack a coach when the players love him, they’re one game away from playing finals which would somehow suddenly appease all the external angst, he is contracted for at least next year and the club is not in a financial position to be paying him out just because it gave him a long-term contract in the first place.
If Port Adelaide responded to the external noise and sent Hinkley packing then it would not be listening to its players.
There is backing your coach in and saying ‘he has the full support of the playing group’, and then there’s what Travis Boak, Hamish Hartlett and Ollie Wines said this week.
“It would really, really hurt us as a playing group if Kenny wasn’t part of that (next year),” Hartlett said.
“He is an outstanding coach and an outstanding leader of men. We are all 100 per cent behind him and love him as a coach, a leader, a mentor and he definitely is the right person to lead us forward,” Boak said.
“We 100 per cent back him, we know we’re going in the right direction,” Wines said.
There is however no denying the Power is facing its challenges off the field and how much of that responsibility rests with Hinkley and the team is up for debate.
Membership and crowds are down and granted it was Fremantle on a Sunday twilight yesterday, the usually upbeat atmosphere across the Torrens bridge was flat pre-game.
But 27,000 still turned up, held their scarfs above their head and sang ‘Never Tear Us Apart’, then sat through a nervous first-quarter when Fremantle led by two goals at quarter-time to cheer Connor Rozee’s banana from the boundary, cry “ball” for Ollie Wines’ eight tackles and screamed when Xavier Duursma kicked the last goal of the game — even though he didn’t reach for his bow-and-arrow.
The smiles continued in the rooms but the noise and yahooing came from friends and family more so than the players who admitted it was a strange feeling to win a game but be disappointed at the same time.
After a modest rendition of the team song the players joined Hinkley in the meeting room as Koch and Thomas appeared in the doorway.
The club, and certainly its premiership-hungry supporter base, would not claim to have been successful under their reign.
But if nothing else — despite all the outside noise, despite Keith Thomas’ China strategy, Koch causing unnecessary headlines for himself on radio and all the while Hinkley speaking with raw and at times brutal honesty, they have remained together.
United might suggest too much affection but in the face of mounting pressure and finals failure they have not cracked.
GAME NOTES
CROWS V BULLDOGS
EVEN with a game-high six clangers Matt Crouch still finished with an impressive 80 per cent disposal efficiency with his 47 touches. He had 45 in 2017, 46 in 2018 and 47 against the Dogs is his new career PB.
DID the margin flatter the Crows or do they deserve credit for making sure a six goal to none start didn’t become a 100-point hiding? Bit of both really but the damning stuff was missed tackles, a lack of accountability or willingness to run both ways which made it easy for the Dogs to stream forward.
WAS that the last we’ve seen of a few uncontracted players at West Lakes? Hugh Greenwood? Probably (Hawthorn, Gold Coast). Alex Keath? More than likely (Bulldogs). Sam Jacobs? Possibly (GWS). Riley Knight and Jake Kelly are genuine unknowns.
CHAYCE Jones had 18 disposals and seven marks and three of them were contested. It was a breakout performance and saw him play on the ball in the second half, and makes you wonder why it took so long (from Round 10-22) to get back into the senior side after going out with concussion.
THE other big takeaway for Crows fans was Darcy Fogarty. Unlike the two previous weeks he didn’t hit the scoreboard but his presence was big. He took two lead-up marks in the first quarter and crunched Taylor Duryea with a spoil.
RORY Sloane is a proud man and with reputations on the line he stood up. The co-captain had 22 contested possessions, 13 clearances and six tackles. He was enormous.
FIVE goals (5.0) for Taylor Walker was equally as strong as the co-captain, but Fox Footy commentator Ben Dixon even suggested the Crows give him a stint at half-back next year because of the quality of his field kick.
POWER V DOCKERS
WILLEM Drew had to wait for his spot back on the weekend and made the most of it with 22 disposals. His groundball win and handball to Karl Amon resulted in Port’s opening goal to Todd Marshall, then his hands in heavy traffic to Robbie Gray resulted in a set shot to Justin Westhoff.
IF HE wasn’t already, then Dan Houston has become the Power’s best kick. His set shot goal from outside 50m in front of the hill then lace-out pass to Paddy Ryder on the lead was sublime.
OLLIE Wines has had a really tough season in his first year as co-captain but was enormous on Sunday with 33 touches — 15 contested — and eight tackles.
THAT might well be the last AFL game Trent McKenzie plays and if it is he can go out with his head held high. He was very good off half-back, was accountable as a defender, hit the ball at speed and he started the chain which led to Xavier Duursma’s goal to open the second quarter. He finished with 21 disposals and four marks including a couple of goal-saving grabs.
THERE’S been a lot of talk about the improvement of Houston, Byrne-Jones and the kids but Riley Bonner’s progression has been just as good this year. Bonner, who is set to stay at Alberton on a multi-year deal beyond this season, produced a beautiful sidestep and goal in the first quarter. The way he spun out of trouble in the third quarter off half-back to find Todd Marshall was just as good. Then there was that deep kick inside 50m perfectly weighted to Charlie Dixon.
SO first-year player Connor Rozee finishes the season as Port Adelaide’s leading goal kicker with 29 from Robbie Gray (24), Sam Gray (20). Not ideal for a rookie to be relied on so heavily but if you look at the positives they have found a special, special player.
MR ONE PER CENTER
WHO are the unsung heroes of SA footy? The players who have an impact on their team without hitting the stats sheet? Champion Data records one per centers by tallying spoils, knock-ons, shepherds and smothers every game. Here’s the leaderboard at Port Adelaide and Adelaide after Round 23:
164: Daniel Talia (Crows)
144: Tom Clurey (Power)
142: Tom Jonas (Power)
105: Jake Kelly (Crows)
92: Alex Keath (Crows)
91: Dougal Howard (Power)
87: Kyle Hartigan (Crows)
83: Justin Westhoff (Power)
78: Scott Lycett (Power)
72: Dan Houston (Power)
POWER RANKINGS
1. RICHMOND (16-6)
My tip for the flag. Experienced, healthy (finally), hungry and that forwardline is the best going around.
2. BRISBANE (16-6)
Lachie Neale on fire and at least showed they can match the Tigers, they are every chance to win the rematch at the Gabba in a fortnight’s time.
3. GEELONG (16-6)
Never in doubt against Carlton and top-four finish gives them a genuine tilt at the flag.
4. COLLINGWOOD (15-7)
That’s 23 goals to Jamie Elliott this season after missing all of 2018 and he is a genuine x-factor in September.
5. WEST COAST (15-7)
Loss to Hawks was costly but the real damage came the week before when they let Richmond off the hook at the MCG.
6. WESTERN BULLDOGS (12-10)
Played exactly like a team that had something to play for. I can’t wait to watch them in finals.
7 . GWS (13-9)
Snapped a two-game losing streak against the Suns but I’m not convinced they’re a premiership threat.
8. ESSENDON (12-10)
Had a crack against Collingwood without a host of their stars and showed enough to suggest they can pull off an upset in week one of finals.
9. HAWTHORN (11-11)
What a team. They beat GWS, Geelong, Collingwood and West Coast on the run home. Sadly won’t play finals because they are a genuine wildcard.
10. PORT ADELAIDE (11-11)
That’s about right for the Power. Their best was brilliant, their worst horrific, and there was an even mix of both so 11-11 and missing finals is as Hinkley says “what we deserve”.
11. ST KILDA (9-13)
Most expect Brett Ratten to get the job it’s just a matter of when will it be announced.
12. NORTH MELBOURNE (10-12)
Gutsy effort to overcome the Dees late which gives them some momentum going into Rhyce Shaw’s first pre-season as coach.
13. ADELAIDE (10-12)
If there’s one thing supporters can hang onto after a performance like that in Ballarat yesterday, actually two things, it’s Chayce Jones and Darcy Fogarty. Because their second half of the season has been a disaster.
14. CARLTON (7-15)
Fell away badly against the Cats but at 1-10 things were looking really grim so to finish 7-15 is a huge tick.
15. FREMANTLE (9-13)
No immediate response to the Ross Lyon sacking. Wonder how different that list will look next year particularly if both Hill boys leave.
16. SYDNEY (8-14)
What a way to farewell two greats and celebrate Buddy’s 300th.
17. MELBOURNE (5-17)
A pathetic five wins for the year and they were against Carlton, Gold Coast, Fremantle, Hawthorn and Sydney.
18. GOLD COAST (3-19)
Hard to find positives when you lose 17 in a row and the last three by 69, 91 and 70 points.