Port Adelaide seeking big response from poor start as Ken Hinkley’s future becomes hot topic again

Ken Hinkley’s job has been under constant speculation since the start of last season, and while David Koch has said he will see out the year, when could the time come to make a change?

Ken Hinkley and Port Adelaide were very disappointed after the round 3 Showdown loss. Picture: Mark Brake/Getty Images

GWS parted ways with coach Leon Cameron after round 9 last season.

At that point this year, the football world should have a reasonable idea about what will unfold for Port Adelaide and Ken Hinkley.

A fortnight after an impressive round 1 home win over Brisbane, the Power is leaking goals and Hinkley is under the pump in the final year of his contract.

Port Adelaide great Warren Tredrea says the situation is “untenable” for the 11th-year coach.

Power chairman David Koch insists the club will not make a decision on Hinkley’s future until August.

You would expect things might come to a head one way or another before then.

Port Adelaide’s next six weeks will be crucial in deciding if the club is to make the finals. And featuring in September is surely the absolute bare minimum Hinkley must achieve to give himself a chance at a new deal.

Failure to win either game this coming fortnight will be disastrous for the Power’s top-eight hopes.

Ken Hinkley at last week’s Showdown loss. Picture: James Elsby/AFL Photos via Getty Images

It starts with a difficult trip to the SCG to face Sydney on Saturday night.

The Power has had the wood on the Swans lately, winning their past six meetings, dating back to 2016, though the previous four matches have been in Adelaide.

A loss there would ramp up the already significant external pressure ahead of its Gather Round match against the Western Bulldogs.

But if the Power can be 2-3, its draw opens up – on paper.

Games against West Coast (home), St Kilda (away), Essendon (home) and North Melbourne (away) are on the horizon from rounds 6 to 9.

You would fancy Port Adelaide to win at least three of those matches if it could find its round 1 form.

Get to 5-4 or 6-3 and that will take some of the heat off, at least temporarily.

The Power could be also-rans by round 9, too.

Cameron was 2-6 when he and the Giants made a mutual decision for him to step aside last May.

The ninth-year coach had guided the team to a semi-final appearance eight months earlier before he and the club delayed contract extension talks, then decided the timing was right for a split.

David Koch says a decision will not be made on Ken Hinkley’s future until August. Picture: Jonathan Ng

Cameron had a farewell match against Carlton in round 9, a 30-point defeat.

“I know I’ve still got the players, but it’s a sapping job and I’ll be totally honest, at times that can wear you down a little bit,” Cameron said then.

The Power has not put on record what Hinkley must do to remain in the role for 2024.

In November, chief executive Matthew Richardson told News Corp it was a hypothetical, while last month Koch said on SEN the club would not provide a running commentary.

Port Adelaide took contract talks off the table until August to avoid distractions.

“We don’t want every discussion, every radio interview and every press conference to be about Ken’s contract,” Koch told SEN.

That has not worked because three rounds in, the debate has come in a flurry off the back of Tredrea’s comments.

Even still, a coach coming out of contract was always going to prompt plenty of discussion during the season.

Port Adelaide surely would have known the heat was coming this week, given its 71-point loss to Collingwood was followed by a last-quarter Showdown fade-out while wearing its traditional prison-bar guernsey

Former GWS coach Leon Cameron after his farewell match last year. Picture: Mark lbe/Getty Images

Players have since leapt to Hinkley’s defence saying he is the right coach, the criticism is unfair and they are to blame, support which is hardly surprising.

It would be a shock if they said otherwise in media interviews.

Although Hinkley said in February that he was relaxed about his situation with the Power, he might be more tense after his side’s poor start.

This week, the club has kept using the line that a 1-2 record is probably not a surprise to people outside Alberton given the draw.

But that does not cut it when this is a squad Hinkley has described as the strongest he has coached since joining the club more than a decade ago.

Hinkley’s list assessment in itself is curious, not merely because it heightens expectations.

Superstar Robbie Gray is now retired, midfield warrior Travis Boak is 34, captain Tom Jonas is 32, recruit Jason Horne-Francis is a long way from his prime at 19, the SANFL team is coming off a 5-13 campaign and Hinkley has steered the Power to three preliminary finals.

It is still early but right now, Port Adelaide of 2023 looks a far cry from those 2020 and 2021 squads.

They finished two victories short of flag success and across those seasons won more games than any club in the competition.

We will find out how strong the 2023 version is over the next six weeks.

During that period, the football public will also get a clearer picture of whether Hinkley can steer the club back into contention or is heading for the exit door.

Originally published as Port Adelaide seeking big response from poor start as Ken Hinkley’s future becomes hot topic again