Emotional Port Adelaide coach Ken Hinkley breaks down after Saints win

The emotion of a week from hell got too much for embattled Port coach Ken Hinkley after their narrow win over St Kilda.

An emotional Ken Hinkley spoke after the win.

A week of intense pressure clearly took a toll on embattled Port Adelaide coach Ken Hinkley.

Port’s horror performance in a 79-point thrashing at home against the Lions last weekend put Hinkley firmly in the spotlight, with some around the club stating it was time his 12-year run at the helm came to an end.

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Power great and current board member Warren Tredrea helped fan the flames with his less than convincing reaction to some fierce criticism of the veteran coach.

Hinkley, who is contracted through the end of 2025, must have known a win over lowly St Kilda was critical on Sunday and while it was also unconvincing, Port did enough to secure a narrow 8.14 (62) to 8.12 (60) victory at Marvel Stadium.

Hinkley was asked how he was feeling by Fox Footy after the game and as you can see in the video player above, the week from hell had an impact on the 57-year-old.

An emotional Ken Hinkley spoke after the win.

“Pretty hard,” he said, with his voice breaking. “It’s been a tough week.

“Great boys, great boys. I really like the fact we were under the pump and we just stuck at it.

“It wasn’t easy but we got there in the end.

“Now that I’ve got over that emotion a little bit, we’re two points from fourth. It felt like we were on the bottom of the ladder and I get why.

“I really appreciate the fact that we’ve been playing poorly, but we’re doing our best to keep it right.”

It was a tight contest throughout the game, with scores level at the main break before the Power took a 13-point lead into the final quarter.

The Saints kicked 2.2 to just three Port Adelaide behinds in the last term, but the South Australian side held on and Hinkley was asked about the pressure he had been feeling.

It was a battle all game between the two teams. (Photo by Graham Denholm/AFL Photos/via Getty Images)

“That’s part of the job unfortunately,” he said. “You don’t want it, but I want the job, so I’ve got to put up with that.

“No doubt, no doubt (the boys have my back). They do that regularly for us.

“They compete really hard, they were led really well today I thought by their captain.

“Reality was as a team they stuck together.

“We travel pretty well more often than not, we like each other’s company and that shows.”

That captain is Connor Rozee and the gun midfielder was also asked about how the club has coped amid the firestorm of criticism and speculation.

“There’s certainly some relief after the last couple of weeks and the club being put under a little bit of pressure, it’s nice to come out here and get back to what we do best,” he said.

“That’s one of the many challenges of AFL football, there’s the external pressure that gets put on people and it’s about locking out those outside the football club and listening to those that matter.

“We did that really well this week, the vibe around the club was still really up and about and we’ve got a lot more to play for.

“I think (Hinkley’s) pretty used to it by now with the Adelaide media.

There was relief all round for the Power. (Photo by Quinn Rooney/Getty Images)

“Our full support is behind Ken, we love him as a coach, he’s such a good mentor as well as our coach.

“As long as he’s at our football club he’ll have our full support.”

The win lifts Port to seventh on the ladder, only percentage points behind Geelong and Collingwood above them.

The club still has a tough road ahead, with games against the Bulldogs and Suns on the Gold Coast next up, while big challenges against Carlton and the Swans lie ahead if they want to return to the finals.

“It wasn’t a pretty game, but I think you saw the emotion from Ken after the game,” Jordan Lewis said on Fox Footy.

“It doesn’t matter how you win and he would have ridden the emotion more than anyone.

“These types of wins can build confidence, but certainly lots more improvement (is possible) from Port Adelaide.”

Hinkley did acknowledge some of the criticism that had come his way was warranted.

“No I don’t feel frustrated, I just feel a bit flat on the way we’ve been playing,” he said.

“If we weren’t playing that badly, we’d have no attention (on us), but this is what the game does.”

Originally published as Emotional Port Adelaide coach Ken Hinkley breaks down after Saints win