Port Adelaide coach Ken Hinkley says club has created a culture that players want to be part of
PORT Adelaide coach Ken Hinkley says he could not get any closer to his players as he lauds the club’s culture which he says is key to retaining players — such as free agent Ollie Wines — and underpinning success.
Port Adelaide
Don't miss out on the headlines from Port Adelaide. Followed categories will be added to My News.
- Blight’s all-time Power team: Who will join them?
- Cornes: Time for Jack to get dirty
- Bone’s mid-season player ratings
- Powell-Pepper powering Port’s resurgence
- ‘They’d be proud of their boy’: Hinkley on Marshall
PORT Adelaide coach Ken Hinkley says he could not get any closer to his team as he lauds the club’s culture which he says is key to retaining players and underpinning success.
In an interview with Fox Footy’s On The Couch on Monday night, Hinkley maintained his “100 per cent” confidence captain-in-waiting Ollie Wines would re-sign with the Power and said he never considered leaving at the end of last season.
“I leave him alone, it’s his choice. Players have the opportunity to see what the market is and they’ve got to set themselves up, I understand that, but I keep saying if you create this culture of a football team that everyone wants to be a part of …” Hinkley said.
“Look, we’ve lost Jarman Impey in my time and it’s pretty well documented why Jars left, Jacko (Trengove) left last year for opportunity, people want to stay at our football club and I think that’s the only signal I can look at and go ‘that’s reality’.
“As a coach you know your players really well, I think I know Ollie incredibly well personally.
“I think he’s committed to the group and you can just see, he’s great mates with some young players at the club and looks like he’s on a path to becoming captain of the football club, his family are committed to our footy team.
“You talk about the culture of a football club, I just feel like Ollie is not going to be leaving the Port Adelaide Football Club — as I’ve said a few times ‘I’m 100 per cent certain he will stay’ and I hope I’m not proven wrong.
“I talked about Ollie’s connection to his teammates. I can’t get any closer to this group than I am to the players and to leave them would have been incredibly difficult to do.
“I see Geelong, Richmond with Dimma (Hardwick), it takes time and you’ve got to see it through and I’m the sort of person who wants to see it through.
“They (players) have to commit to a game-style but the first thing I think a player needs to know is their coach cares about them, and he’s going to provide them with an opportunity to get better and have success as a team.
“I always said I think I’m a relationship coach and I build really strong relationships with my players and I stick by that that’s how you get the best out of your players.”
Hinkley, who took over as coach of Port Adelaide in 2013, says he could not have asked for a better football program to work with and he was proud of the journey so far.
“From my point of view you see what successful clubs look like, and it takes a long period of time to get it to where you want it to be,” he said.
“When we started back in 2013, you think back to what the club was like in 2011 when the expansion clubs came in, we didn’t get any support or help as far as draft picks.
“Our first pick was number five when we finished equal last on the ladder and ended up with Wingard who was a good pick, but we didn’t get any help.
“But we do stick together as a club, we’ve been able to build a culture and a development program that helps players become better and they want to stay.
“And I think that gives us a great opportunity for success in the future.”
Port Adelaide and Melbourne are both 8-4 going into Friday night’s monster clash at Adelaide Oval and Hinkley believes there is still a lot of improvement to come from his team this season.
“We’ve got a really young, inexperienced backline still, we brought some new people into the club this year, we brought (Todd) Marshall back into the team this week, Lindsay Thomas, so we’ve got a fair bit of understanding of each other to still get on top of,” he said.
“It’s halfway through the season and we understand that but we think there’s some significant upside to come.”
But he was full of praise for his leaders saying they had all stepped up in recent weeks.
“(Tom) Jonas has been enormous for us, he sets the tone as far as physicality goes for our football club, Wines in his last two weeks is outstanding and he’s had a pretty good year, Trav (Boak), there are a number of boys who do it and the last couple of weeks you’ve seen more of those boys play well together and that’s the secret for us.”
Hinkley confirmed Todd Marshall would definitely keep his spot in the team to play the Demons and there was no serious consideration given to trialling Jack Watts in defence as he fights to get back in the senior side.
“We think we brought Jack to the club for finish and that’s what we’re still looking for,” Hinkley said.
“We watched him play for the Magpies (on Sunday) and he had an outstanding game, his finishing in really tough conditions was on show, and we think he still has a lot to learn about how we play and that will only help him become a better player.”
reece.homfray@news.com.au
Watch every match of every round of the 2018 Toyota AFL Premiership Season. SIGN UP NOW >
Track watch: Port bull passes big test, JHF sizzles
Rory Atkins on kick-in duty, the SSP midfield audition and Sam Powell-Pepper ticking off a major milestone in his comeback – there was plenty happening at Alberton on Friday.
Port could make succession plan official before round 1
It’s been long speculated, but Port Adelaide is now considering going public on an official plan that would set the club’s next coach in stone. See the exclusive details.