Tom Rockliff: Ken Hinkley’s $20,000 fine over Jack Ginnivan run-in a ‘disgrace’

Tom Rockliff has gone into bat for his old coach Ken Hinkley, calling the AFL’s $20,000 fine a ‘disgrace’ – and declaring the game has bigger problems than cracking down on characters.

Ken Hinkley. Picture: Getty Images

Former Port Adelaide and Brisbane champion Tom Rockliff says the fine Power senior coach Ken Hinkley copped for his verbal spat with Hawthorn’s Jack Ginnivan and James Sicily is a “disgrace” and the AFL has plenty of bigger issues it needs to address instead.

The Power was hit with a $20,000 fine under the AFL’s “conduct unbecoming” role after Hinkley mocked Ginnivan and told him he would not be flying north to Sydney after the Hawk’s recent statement he would be seeing the Swans’ Brodie Grundy in a preliminary final at the SCG.

The veteran Power senior coach also then exchanged words with Hawks captain Sicily as players waited for Hawthorn champion Luke Breust to be chaired off the ground after his 300th game.

Rockliff, who played 208 games for the Lions and Power and captained Brisbane, said he could not understand how it was in the same vein as GWS’ footy boss Jason McCartney making contact with Sydney’s Tom Papley the week before.

“I think the fine is a disgrace to be honest, you want characters in the game and you’ve got a young fella in Ginnivan who we all love and the way he goes about it, he gives a bit of spunk and character, throws an inadvertent jibe at Port Adelaide,” Rockliff said.

“I don’t think there was any malice in this, but again an older generation don’t see it that way and Ken is in that boat.

“I think it was highly emotive and what he said, I haven’t seen the front on vision of Ginnivan but from behind it looks like he is smirking and is almost like “yeah you got me” and then Sicily has reacted to it, which I think is more than fair as a captain of a footy club to stick up for your teammate.

Port Adelaide coach Ken Hinkley with Tom Rockliff. Picture: Sarah Reed

“I think everyone involved in it would probably prefer to have their time again.”

On Monday Port Adelaide assistant coach Tyson Goldsack said Hinkley was “glad what happened on the weekend was behind us now” and did not weigh in on the amount the Power was fined.

“There was a lot of emotion involved and now it is dealt with,” he said.

Rockliff said the fine was “way overs”, especially when Geelong coach Chris Scott was given a suspended $10,000 fine for a quarter-time confrontation with Brisbane players in 2021.

“To put it into some perspective Ken is an emotional coach at the best of times we know that,” he said.

“He rides the wave of emotions and we see the theatre of it in close wins, close losses.

“His week would have been a week of hell. He is facing press conferences where he is pretty much being asked if you don’t win this week do you think you are going to be coaching next year.

“So he knows that potentially his job is on the line on the result of the game, they get up in a thriller.

“He is a human being at the end of the day and he is going to have some emotion. He has seen the comment as disrespectful, whether it was I don’t think it was I thought it was good from Ginnivan and added a bit of spice, (Josh) Rachele’s (before the Showdown) was the same.

“But if you are going to say it then you have to back it up and Ken’s mentality is a country mentality and an old-school mentality that if you are going to put yourself out there and it doesn’t come you are going to get bitten the other way.”

On Saturday Hinkley said his emotions can be a strength but were also a “weakness” at times.

Last year he went on the offensive over critics of Power young gun Jason Horne-Francis after his highly publicised move back to South Australia from North Melbourne.

READ MORE: Ken’s complicated legacy: How will Port fans ultimately remember Hinkley reign?

Hinkley with Horne-Francis after the semi-final win. Picture: Michael Klein

“Jason Horne-Francis is 19. Some part of it is really annoying me about the way people are treating him. It’s annoying me. He’s never going to play four quarters every week, he’s 19 years old,” Hinkley said after the Power’s win over the Western Bulldogs.

“If you’re treating my 19-year-old son the way some people have treated him – I’d be embarrassed by my performance if I was those people. I think it’s been really unfair.”

Rockliff said Hinkley was going into bat for his team as was Sicily for Ginnivan, 21, and the AFL had much bigger issues to worry about.

“Exactly right and Sicily is flying the flag for his teammate, if he doesn’t react it’s a non-story anyway because everyone is saying “oh Ken is flapping his arms and saying something to Ginnivan? So what we move on”,” he said.

“I think it is ridiculous that they have handed down a fine and I think they have bigger issues at AFL House that they should be worrying about

We are in 2024 and you look at the score review technology in the NFL for instance the clarity around that, me looking at the earlier Sicily goal I would say Travis Boak touched that ball.

“Conclusive footage of that? No there is no conclusive footage to say that he touched that ball.

“So maybe focus on getting that stuff right and make sure our umpiring is right.

“We normally talk about how good finals are umpired because they let a lot of stuff go but I think there’s bigger issues in the game to worry about a coach saying to a player after the game “you aren’t flying to Sydney next week”.”