Ken Hinkley fined for post-game incident with Jack Ginnivan, Hawks

The AFL has handed down a financial sanction for Ken Hinkley after a post-match altercation with Hawk Jack Ginnivan.

ADELAIDE, AUSTRALIA – SEPTEMBER 13: Ken Hinkley, Senior Coach of the Power walks off the ground after the AFL Second Semi Final match between Port Adelaide Power and Hawthorn Hawks at Adelaide Oval, on September 13, 2024, in Adelaide, Australia. (Photo by Mark Brake/Getty Images)

Port Adelaide coach Ken Hinkley has been fined $20,000 by the AFL under its conduct unbecoming role as the league made clear it expected its coaches to stay away from players post-match.

The league came down hard on the veteran coach, stating his verbal spat with Hawthorn’s James Sicily had the capacity to escalate given the heat of the moment.

Hinkley apologised three times after the incident, where he mocked Hawthorn’s Jack Ginnivan and told him he would not be flying north to Sydney after his statement that he would see Sydney’s Brodie Grundy in a preliminary final in two weeks time.

And while many will see the $20,000 fine as overkill, the AFL has shown repeatedly this year that it wants to set a standard for on-field conduct between coaches or officials and players.

The Herald Sun reported on Sunday morning $20,000 would be the fine handed out given the league’s determination to set a standard across all levels of football.

The sanction will not be included in Port Adelaide’s soft cap.

AFL general counsel Stephen Meade said he was disappointed the incident took the gloss off an incredible finals clash.

Ken Hinkley gestures to Jack Ginnivan after Port’s win on Friday night.

“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,” he 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.”

McCartney was fined $20,000 by the AFL after he and Sydney forward Tom Papley made contact, with the GWS football boss also making clear his displeasure with the star in a profane manner.

It is Hinkley’s first official offence across his 12 years of senior coaching, with the Power coach apologising in a post-match interview, in the official post-match press conference and again on radio on Saturday.

Hinkley is understood to have sledged the Hawthorn bench after the club’s astonishing mid-year comeback over the Hawks in an incident that saw James Sicily refer to his pattern of behaviour.

While he might believe he is unlucky to be fined for a piece of football theatre, coaches across every level each weekend take their leadership from what happens on an AFL field.

North Melbourne coach Alastair Clarkson was fined $20,000 and handed a two-match suspended sentence when he called a St Kilda player a c***sucker this year.

So it would surprise if the fine for Hinkley was greater than $20,000 with the league likely to be consistent given the Clarkson and McCartney precedents.

The incident sparked a war of words with the Hawthorn players. Picture: Michael Willson/AFL Photos via Getty Images

Port Adelaide forward Mitch Georgiades told Channel 9’s Sunday Footy Show the club backed Hinkley “100 per cent”.

“We love his emotion,” Georgiades said.

“It’s what makes him such a good coach at times as well.

“But as he said, he’d probably take it back.”

Port Adelaide great Kane Cornes described the fallout as the biggest overreaction he had seen this year.

“Have they got the glassiest glass jaws in football right now, Hawthorn,” Cornes told AFL.com.au.

“For them to be able to do what they’ve done all year, which we’ve loved, to get under the skin of the opposition ... the minute it comes back at them in a moment that wasn’t threatening, it wasn’t aggressive, it was 20 metres away from the opponent, I can’t believe Ken thought he needed to apologise.

“I just thought it was a great moment in a great season after a great game.

“This guy’s been under pressure for the best part of five to seven years.

“People are questioning his future as coach if he lost this game and that’s the worst thing he did after the game after Jack Ginnivan had been a real clown on social media?

“It’s one of the great overreactions from former Hawthorn players in the media, from Sam Mitchell, from James Sicily, who spoke again at the airport and was almost in tears, toughen up.”