“The son of Darren Mead should be playing at Port Adelaide,’’ says coach Ken Hinkley
Power coach Ken Hinkley says clubs should play ball with father-son product Jackson Mead, declaring “the son of Darren Mead should be playing at Port Adelaide’’.
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Port Adelaide coach Ken Hinkley is confident rivals won’t hijack the club’s plans to draft highly-touted father-son product Jackson Mead while revealing where the Power’s improvement will come from next season.
After an off-season of wheeling and dealing Port has armed itself with three first-round draft picks (12, 16 and 18) for the second consecutive year and hopes to match a bid for the son of inaugural Power club champion Darren Mead with a series of later selections.
This would enable it to claim the gun Woodville-West Torrens midfielder as its fourth pick, which should give it an outstanding draft haul.
The concern is whether a rival will bid for the powerhouse 18-year-old in the first round, forcing Port to pay a much heavier price to secure him.
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But Hinkley said there was an understanding between AFL clubs to show some compassion for father-son picks.
“We think we’ll end up with three players (in the first round) and Jackson outside of those three,’’ Hinkley said.
“There are no guarantees but our recruiters – and the competition recruiters – think Jackson fits somewhere between (picks) 18 and 25.
“It’s a decision that we have to make but what I actually don’t mind about the game still is that I think clubs still respect the father-son stuff.
“They really do try to protect it and the son of Darren Mead should be playing at Port Adelaide.’’
Hinkley, meanwhile, said that while the Power, which has missed the finals in consecutive years, would pick up some high-end teenage talent at next week’s national draft, he was banking on much of the club’s improvement next season coming from the return to fitness of a host of senior players.
“We didn't get Charlie Dixon back (from a serious leg injury) until halfway through last year, Hamish Hartlett didn’t play until after the Shanghai game (in round 11), Ollie Wines basically had three broken bones in his body during the season, Jack Watts (leg) virtually missed the whole year and Robbie Gray probably wasn’t in his best condition (because of injuries) the whole way through, even though he still managed to play,’’ he told Melbourne radio.
“We believe in our best, we believe this group is so much better than groups we have had in the past and that gives us a great opportunity.’’