AFL Round 16 St Kilda v Port Adelaide: Power coach Ken Hinkley opens up after tumultuous week
In the immediate aftermath of Port Adelaide’s two-point win over St Kilda on Sunday, coach Ken Hinkley held back tears talking about his team on the ground. He later explain just what it all meant.
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“Relief”.
It was the only word Port Adelaide coach Ken Hinkley had in mind to sum up his side’s nail-biting two-point win against St Kilda at Marvel Stadium.
The victory snapped Port Adelaide’s three game losing streak which included fans booing Hinkley at Adelaide Oval as they were smashed by the Brisbane Lions and a week of media discussion about his future at the helm.
Sunday’s performance was far from an emphatic turnaround in form, but it was the kind of gusty effort they needed to get back on track.
Hinkley showed what it meant to him in an emotional post-game in an interview with Fox Footy and he said it was a true insight into his personality.
“It was a big win (for the club),” he said in the post-match press conference. “Fair bit of relief.”
“Emotionally sometimes it’s hard to control when you get put in those instant moments and for me, I’m an emotional person and I’m an emotional coach. That’s just who I am a bit.
“I’m so proud of the boys today. The way they kept fighting until the very end, I thought they were super.”
The Power remains in the top eight and are only two points behind third despite its recent woes with club’s leaders keeping it in the hunt for September action.
The midfield brigade dominated the clearances but it was two key pillars in defence that drew the highest praise from Hinkley.
Aliir Aliir and Brandon Zerk-Thatcher were standouts with three contested marks and nine intercept possessions apiece as Zerk-Thatcher played arguably his best game for Port since crossing from Essendon as he held Max King goalless.
“They were great,” Hinkley said.
“They were both super all day. Both of those boys stood up in a game we needed them to stand up.
“‘Thatch’ was outstanding to be honest in the job he had to do. Aliir has always been a great player for us since he’s been here, but ‘Thatch’, that was a really big moment for us and him.
“He’s a physical player and he needs to engage in body. I think it works well for him and he’s a competitive bugger. He goes pretty hard all day and he’s a bit no frills if that’s the polite way to describe him but he’s a real competitor.”
Hinkley also sent a warning to the remainder of the competition about Jason Horne-Francis.
The 2021 number one draft pick led the disposal count for his team with 28 including 24 kicks, he kicked a goal, had four clearances and nine score involvements in a dominant display.
“He’s going to be a scary player,” Hinkley said. “He just turned 21 a week ago. I think he’s an absolute outstanding young player.
“Him along with all the other young boys but particularly people like Ollie (Wines) and ‘Drewy’ who help them and support them all the way through.
“Those boys wouldn’t be near the players they are currently without the support of those behind them. I think that goes unsighted naturally a little bit but we don’t miss it with our big bodied mids who support them.”
Hinkley also laid down the challenge to key forward Jeremy Finlayson post-game to play a key role in emerging the side from their form slump.
“Jeremy’s a really important player for us and sometimes Jeremy doesn’t even understand how important he is for us,” Hinkley said.
“He’s got a lot of talent, Jeremy, but he needs to continue to work on his effort to bring that talent to life every week and when he does I think he’s one of our really, really good players.
“He’s so critical to our success and we can get him into the form we got him in last year that makes us a way better team.”
Analysis: Ken’s brief relief after Saints win
– Simeon Thomas-Wilson
It is a win that Ken Hinkley oh so needed, and for a brief moment he let it show.
But while Port Adelaide did snap its losing streak, the Power showed few signs that its poor form of late has also been addressed.
We will never know what might have happened if the Power did go down to St Kilda, with the pressure on Hinkley and the club at fever pitch.
But we do know that while it was ugly, just flat out ugly, the Power players are still playing for the under pressure coach.
And we also found out that despite insisting that he understands the pressure and criticism and it is all part of the job of being a senior coach, last week certainly impacted Hinkley.
For a brief moment in his on-ground interview with Fox Footy Hinkley fought back tears and the stoic mask he usually wears came off.
“Pretty hard, It has been a tough week. Great boys, great boys,” he said.
“I really like that we were under the pump and we just stuck at it, it wasn’t easy but we stuck at it.
“And in some ways it felt a bit like last year, now that I have gotten over that emotion a bit, we are two points from fourth. it felt like we were bottom of the ladder and I get why.
“I really appreciate that we have been playing poorly but we are doing our best to get that right.”
Minutes before captain Connor Rozee said the players were behind Hinkley.
“Our full support is behind Ken, we love him as a mentor and as a coach,” he said.
“As long as he is at the football club he has our full support.”
Prior to the first bounce Brownlow medallist Gerard Healy described the situation at the Power as a “tinderbox”.
The Power have eased the pressure on the club and Hinkley, for at least a week, with the ugly two-point win over the Saints.
Port are back in the top eight, and as Hinkley said are two-points off fourth.
However, the Power still look well off the pace.
It was hard to watch Port’s forward entries for most of the game, the cohesion just looks off.
Mitch Georgiades going early with the celebration before the ball hit the post and Jeremy Finlayson and Miles Bergman nearly cleaning each other up when they both went for a mark summed this up.
Todd Marshall was subbed out of the game with hamstring soreness but his confidence looks like it is gone in front of goal.
Too often the Power turned the ball over, but St Kilda just weren’t able to make Hinkley’s side truly pay for their mistakes.
Despite having a huge advantage in clearances (32-22) and centre clearances (13-5), the Power in the end were hanging on for dear life against the Saints.
But it didn’t matter how ugly or scrappy it was, the Power just needed to win and after their efforts were questioned in the Lions game the players dug in.
It got ugly the last time the Power played at Adelaide Oval and if Port did go down to the Saints it could have been even worse when the Western Bulldogs come to town.
But by digging in and getting over the line, the Power have significantly eased the pressure that has come over the last week.
However the pressure could come right back if the Power don’t lift quickly.
And while the Power are back on the winners list, there is still plenty that needs to be addressed.
POWER HOLDS OFF RELENTLESS ST KILDA
— Dane Heverin
Port Adelaide endured a slog against a relentless St Kilda as they scraped over the line by two-points to snap their three-game losing streak and stay inside the top eight.
A holding the ball tackle by Mitch Georgiades and the resulting behind sealed the win as the siren sounded after the ball left his boot.
The fact he missed from almost directly in front summarised the final term as Port were goalless and could only hang on as St Kilda kicked the final two goals of the game.
Jason Horne-Francis inspired his team over the line with sensational gut running in the dying minutes as he racked up 28 disposals including 24 kicks.
It was a dour affair for much of the afternoon as both sides appeared to pay homage to Wimbledon starting as the regular turnovers had the modest crowd turning their heads side to side like in a long rally.
There were only four goals kicked after half time and it took 19 minutes and 16 seconds for Port second-gamer Logan Evans to kick the first goal of the third quarter which doubled as his first career goal.
St Kilda built a dam well in Port’s forward half and it never burst.
The Power’s dominance in the middle – 32 to 22 clearances and 13 to 5 centre clearances – created the occasional crack.
Horne-Francis, Zak Butters and Connor Rozee’s ability to burst through the front of the centre bounce was scintillating with Butters using that route to kick the Powers’ first goal with a brilliant long bomb on the run.
The Saints held firm however with Callum Wilkie, Josh Battle and Anthony Caminiti repelling repeated aerial attacks and ensuring no Port forward kicked multiple goals.
At the fall of the ball for most of the afternoon was Jack Sinclair who had more disposals than anyone with 31 and alongside Brad Hill and Nasiah Waganeen-Milera he drove the Saints’ slingshot game.
The Saints kicked all six of their first half goals from turnover and Rowan Marshall was the beneficiary with a career-high three goals to make the most of spending more time forward for a second straight game due to fellow ruck Tom Campbell’s inclusion.
CONTRASTING TIGHT GAME RECORDS
Port Adelaide’s narrow win means they have won 10 of their last 12 games decided by ten points or less since the start of last season.
In comparison, St Kilda have only won four of its 12 games decided by ten points or less since the start of last season including a 10 points loss to the Power in Round 7 at the Adelaide Oval.
The Saints have lost six games this season by 10 points or less.
WILKIE SETS CLUB RECORD
Callum Wilkie set a new St Kilda record for consecutive games played as he lined-up for his 124th straight match.
The 2023 All Australian defender has not missed a game since making his debut in Round 1 of 2019 and he has overtaken premiership Saint Ian Synman and Jack Newnes to hold the record.
He produced one of his finest outings in the season to mark the milestone with 25 disposals including eight intercept possessions.
Wilkie was drafted at 22 with pick three in the 2019 rookie draft after winning an SANFL premiership with North Adelaide the year prior.
SAINTS STALWART PULLED OUT LATE
For the second time in as many games, St Kilda ruck Tom Campbell was added to the side as a late change and this time it was at the expense of Seb Ross.
The 211-gamer has been a staple of the Saints’ midfield for nearly a decade but after a three-game run for a total of 24 disposals – including one game as the substitute – he has been discarded from the side for now.
With Zak Jones also on the outer, Ross Lyon is opting for a younger midfield mix with Hunter Clark, Paddy Dow and Liam Henry spending more time on the ball.
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