Port Adelaide to stick with under-fire head coach despite recent criticism, as per journalist

Port Adelaide coach Ken Hinkley is under mounting pressure at the helm of Port Adelaide after a heavy loss to the Brisbane Lions. While AFL.com.au’s chief correspondent Damian Barrett expects him to coach the Power for the rest of the season, he believes Hinkley will likely not make a return next season.

Following Saturday’s 79-point loss to Brisbane which marked a third consecutive defeat that has left Port Adelaide in the top eight on percentage only, Hinkley’s tenure has come under scrutiny.

Hinkley signed a two-year contract extension in August 2023 which was to keep him at the Power to the end of the 2025 season. He has been at the club since 2012, but Barrett believes that Hinkley is likely to move on at the end of the year, even if Port Adelaide features in September.

On Monday, Barrett said on AFL.com.au's Access All Areas:

"It's a problem for Ken Hinkley, but I've had the view from the outset that he'll coach through to the completion of 2024. Whether that's the round 24 game or an elimination final or maybe even a semi-final, there's no question in my eyes that they will give him the full length of time and then there's a conversation to be had. I think it's unlikely he'll go into 2025 regardless of results now. But in terms of a decision being made inside this season, no."

In all of AFL history, only three other coaches have led a club for 200+ consecutive games without tasting the ultimate success. The loss to Brisbane marked Hinkley's 262nd game in charge of the Power. He has never led them to a premiership, more so a Grand Final.

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Port Adelaide legend speaks up about the club’s losses under Hinkley’s leadership: “It was a horror show and you suspect it'll get really ugly from here”

AFL Rd 14 - Port Adelaide look dejected after loss to GWS (Getty)

Port Adelaide Power veteran Kane Cornes speaking on AFL.com.au's The Round So Far emphasized that coach Ken Hinkley has only nine rounds left of this season to redeem himself by leading the Power to a Grand Final.

He said about the team’s loss to Brisbane on Saturday:

"It was a horror show and you suspect it'll get really ugly from here."

Cornes said about Hinkley’s career, and how it contributes to the club's performance:

"A coach's job is to get the best out of the playing group he's got (and) he couldn't honestly sit there and say he's getting the best out of them. And that's where the trouble starts, particularly when you've been there for so long. I've said all year if they didn't make finals, it'd be time for Ken Hinkley to move on.

"They're in the eight now, but they'd not be feeling secure. He'll know when that time is right to walk, and I suspect he'll make that call himself. He looks a bit fatigued and tired and he'd see the writing on the wall. When the time is right, I suspect he'd make that call himself."