By Peter Ryan
Port Adelaide have been fined $20,000 for Ken Hinkley taunting Hawthorn forward Jack Ginnivan after the Power’s upset finals win on Friday night at Adelaide Oval, however it will not be included in the club’s soft cap.
The AFL took a dim view of the incident a week after Giants official Jason McCartney cost his club $20,000 when he bumped into Sydney forward Tom Papley at quarter-time of the qualifying final as the teams headed to their huddles.
Port Adelaide coach Ken Hinkley exchanging words with Hawthorn players after the match.Credit: AFL Photos
The AFL’s general counsel Stephen Meade said in a statement the league was disappointed the incident overshadowed the final.
“We understand it is a passionate game with a lot at stake for all clubs, however Ken made a decision to engage with opposition players post-match – a decision he has since admitted was the wrong one,” Meade said.
“Ken has acknowledged that his emotions got the better of him in the moment, however as a senior coach his actions fell well below what is expected by the AFL.
“As we reiterated last week, opposition officials and players inappropriately engaging each other is something we don’t want to see because of the potential to escalate and the example that it sets for football at lower levels, and we are disappointed the moment took away from what was one of the great finals matches.”
Hinkley apologised in an interview in the rooms after the game, in the post-game media conference, and, in a radio interview on Saturday, admitted he had let emotion get the better of him.
Hawthorn skipper James Sicily, who had a crack back at the Port Adelaide coach as the two teams assembled to carry Luke Breust off after his 300th game, also suggested in an interview the morning after the final that Hinkley may have directed comments at the opposition on previous occasions.
“It’s not the first time Ken’s done that, and it won’t be the last,” Sicily said.
The Hawks were incensed that a senior coach had chosen to direct his comments at an opposition player immediately after a win.
They thought it was poor form for Hinkley to make fun of Ginnivan’s social media post to former Collingwood teammate Brodie Grundy where he dismissed the prospect of Hawthorn losing to Port Adelaide with the Instagram post “See u in 14 days”.
Grundy’s team Sydney were already in the preliminary final and were the Hawks’ next opponent if they defeated Port Adelaide. Ginnivan told Hawks teammates afterwards he wished he had not posted the message.
Port Adelaide understood it was wrong but thought it should be considered banter after an emotional week that saw Hinkley’s coaching future questioned after the team’s pathetic performance against Geelong in the qualifying final.
The league made changes at the start of the year to stop coaches on the boundary line making whistling noises and interacting with officials on the bench in what they described at the time as a trend they were concerned about.
Earlier this season North Melbourne coach Alastair Clarkson received a $20,000 fine and a suspended two-match penalty after abusing St Kilda’s Jimmy Webster as they walked to their huddle in a pre-season match after Webster had concussed Kangaroos’ skipper Jy Simpkin.
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