AFL 2023: Follow the latest Port Adelaide news and updates

As the Power have risen to the top of the AFL ladder, they have done so without captain Tom Jonas. But his replacement Ollie Wines has a message of hope for the skipper.

Port Adelaide star Ollie Wines says seeing captain Tom Jonas in the SANFL hurts and is a little weird, but he is confident the veteran defender will return to the AFL side.

Wines has been acting skipper while Jonas has been overlooked for three consecutive matches, trying to recapture his form in the reserves.

The good friends shared the captaincy in 2019 and Wines continued to lean on his older teammate for advice.

Wines said stepping into the role on game days in Jonas’s absence had been somewhat difficult.

“I see Jonas as our captain, he is our captain and an incredible leader for our group who’s got us to where we are today,” Wines said.

“To see him not in the ones at the moment hurts me a little bit.

“We really feel for him and there’s a lot of other guys out of the side we feel for.

“We know Tom will get back into form, get back into the team, but for the time being it’s difficult.”

Wines has led the Power in Jonas’ absence. (Photo by Daniel Kalisz/Getty Images)

Port made Wines and Jonas the first co-captains in club history before reverting back to the sole skipper model in 2020 after one season.

Wines said his biggest growth as a leader over the past four years was how he had to play.

Coach Ken Hinkley had long used three-time Richmond premiership skipper Trent Cotchin as a great example to Wines that if he did “all the little things” in the side’s game plan, the rest of the team would follow suit.

“I’m enjoying the (acting captain) role when I’m in it and I feel as though I’m getting a good response from the boys,” Wines said.

With the Power on top of the ladder with a 12-2 record going into its bye this weekend, more speculation has swirled about whether the club will wait until after the finals to make a call on Hinkley’s future.

Wines said the team had full faith in Hinkley and the timing of discussions were not a concern.

“Our priority is playing finals … and winning a premiership, everything in the background will take care of itself and won’t impact us,” he said.

“It’s not something we have control of or we really worry about.”

Wines said the speculation around Ken Hinkley was of no concern to the rampaging Power. Picture: Sarah Reed

Wines said the team’s game style was the clearest and simplest in any of his 11 seasons, giving him belief this year could be different to the preliminary final runs of 2020 and 2021.

The Brownlow Medallist refreshed last weekend by heading to Byron Bay with his partner and playing golf with some teammates on the Gold Coast.

He was “still trying to get my body going to the point where I want it” after post-season knee surgery.

“By game day I’m pretty good, it’s just during the week and being able to manage that and my workload,” he said.

Why Ken is in no rush to ink new deal

— Jon Ralph

Ken Hinkley’s contract discussions are set to drift until the end of the finals series to allow him clean air to strive for the first premiership of his senior coaching career.

Port Adelaide and Hinkley had both been clear that they will first consider his contract in August.

The move was put in place to push back any discussion over his contract at a time when it was considered likely the Power might move him on for assistant Josh Carr for the 2024 season.

But Hinkley’s astounding coaching performance and the rise of the Port Adelaide midfield has put him in a position of strength as the Power continue on an incredible 11-match win streak.

The Power have had no discussions with his manager Peter Blucher about what happens once they hit August and there are no plans yet in place about how those negotiations might take place.

With no framework for a deal in place it seems impossible a deal would be done before the end of the home-and-away season.

Ken Hinkley after Port Adelaide’s win over the Bulldogs. Quinn Rooney/Getty Images)

Hinkley might also decide it is more prudent to consider a deal with the leverage of a deep finals run or even having won the first premiership as a senior coach.

Working on a deal leading into the finals series would be a significant distraction for both club and party, so pushing those negotiations back until the end of the finals also has a real upside.

For Hinkley signing on again with Port Adelaide on a short-term contract extension without the leverage of finals victories or a premiership win would also make bad business sense.

There is some risk in Port Adelaide crashing out in straight sets for Hinkley but the upside for him in winning multiple finals as coach is more significant.

So it seems unlikely any deal will be done for the 56-year-old ahead of the finals series.

Port Adelaide chairman David Koch said on Friday the club

“Who knows what is going to happen? You can read the tea leaves with that as much as you like, but that’s what we decided back in January and we’re going to stick to it.

August will come, we’ll sit down and assess the season and it’s a collective decision. Ken is completely on board with this strategy.”

Hinkley has never been more in-demand given the Power’s rise, with Richmond likely to be interested in at least discussing his interest in their vacant job.

Hinkley is also a former Gold Coast assistant with close ties to a club that is desperately hoping Stuart Dew can lead the club to its maiden finals series.

Richmond premiership coach Damien Hardwick is keen to coach again and will spend another three weeks away overseas with his family before considering his position.

Hardwick might have to sit out a year of coaching if there is not a vacant position yet uncertainty over Dew and Hinkley’s positions means the Richmond premiership coach could yet be in demand.

Originally published as AFL 2023: Follow the latest Port Adelaide news and updates