Coach Kenny Hinkley - should he stay or should he go (or will he be here until the end of time)?

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random260

Premiership Player
Apr 20, 2013
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Time for a fresh voice and a decent game plan .
There is no fresh voice that will make them premiership material. This is delusional SANFL port thinking.

In reality he should only be moved if they fall bottom 6.

What's port seen to miss is uncle Kenny has been so good for 10 years that they haven't got good draft picks (top 4) for 10 years meaning to stay as good is amazing.
 
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Feb 17, 2010
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You've been 2nd, 4th, 1st and 4th for disposals the last 4 years.

And there is a reason for that, our game plan is essentially one big game of keepings off.

Opponent can’t score if they don’t have the ball but because we chip it around the back half for so long, neither do we. After 20 meaningless possessions in the back half and endless time for the opposition to flood the forwardline, we bomb it forward for nothing and get killed on the quick rebound.

Disposals mean nothing and that’s an indication of not watching many of our games.

Our leading disposal winners last week were Amon on the wing who gets involved in the chipping game style, then Burton and Aliir next.

Most weeks you can guarantee Houston, DBJ and Burton feature high in our disposals tally. And that’s because we lack any attacking flare and are incredibly defensive to avoid blowouts.
 
Aug 15, 2015
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The cockeyed lowlife of the (Southern) Highlands
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Question for Port fans, can you see Port rising back to top 4 with a new coach, game plan, and the current youth you have plus an aggressive trade period over the next 2 years?

Yes, possibly.

This year Gray has been a non event and will likely retire at year end.
Boak has been solid but has started dropping off a bit IMO.
Dixon is performing atm after an injury interrupted year, but who knows.

Other than those 3, there's not really much to age out.

If we do an aggressive "refresh" and drop back a bit under a new coach I have no problem with that, as long as there's a clear direction.
 
Aug 15, 2015
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Alot of football clubs dream of ken hinkley 10 year stability. Port fans have trouble understanding this isn't SANFL anymore. You can't expect to win a flags like good old SANFL days. You need to be in position to win one and uncle Kenny has gotten you to that best position with your dire list

You know what you're right, why don't you start a campaign to get Hinkley over to west coast?
 
You've been 2nd, 4th, 1st and 4th for disposals the last 4 years.

Play on percentage isn't widely available but I'd imagine Port have been no worse than middle of the road there. Lots of the ball - move it on quickly - that's high tempo footy.

As I said, he's struggled for scoring at times, and I think a more direct and crudely powerful game plan might be required for him to take a side deep in to finals. But for a young team getting your hands on the ball, sharing it around and having the skills to hold possession is a good start.
We've been 2nd, 4th, 1st and 4th for disposals because we play a shitty slow chip chip retention of possession gameplan more concerned with not allowing the opponent to score than with scoring ourselves. The worst example of which was against your club at Adelaide Oval earlier this year. Ross Lyon would have been embarrassed by that game.
 

FourthTimeAround

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Ok, there's a coach in the recent AFL era who had/has taken his team to finals 3 times in their last 8 years, for only 2 finals wins?

Deserving of keeping their job?
 

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Aug 15, 2015
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The cockeyed lowlife of the (Southern) Highlands
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Ok, there's a coach in the recent AFL era who had/has taken his team to finals 3 times in their last 8 years, for only 2 finals wins?

Deserving of keeping their job?

Nevermind that, ken has already set a world record in VFL/afl history for longest serving coach at one club without making a grand final
 
Has Ken ever been popular with Port fans?
Seems from day dot he just never seemed to gel with the fans.
 

killtaker1993

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Sep 17, 2021
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Feb 17, 2010
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Has Ken ever been popular with Port fans?
Seems from day dot he just never seemed to gel with the fans.

Just my opinion but I thought he was great in 13/14. We played an attacking slingshot style and moved forwards at all costs through the corridor.

After the prelim loss when we went into 2015 as one of the favourites and once teams put extra attention on our ball movement forcing us out of the corridor, we started to see there was no plan B.

Since this point, we have had the exact same issues year after year which is why for me at least, the frustration has just grown to a boiling point even after a couple prelims as those issue were still present then.

That’s 7 years now with an undersized defence, slow ball movement, no forward structure and generally poor foot skills with no improvement.
 
Aug 15, 2015
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The cockeyed lowlife of the (Southern) Highlands
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Has Ken ever been popular with Port fans?
Seems from day dot he just never seemed to gel with the fans.

He was legitimately seen as a saviour and universally adored in 2013-14. Most gave him a pass based on those years for 2015. The angst gradually grew over the next 5 years.
 
Aug 15, 2015
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The cockeyed lowlife of the (Southern) Highlands
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Just my opinion but I thought he was great in 13/14. We played an attacking slingshot style and moved forwards at all costs through the corridor.

After the prelim loss when we went into 2015 as one of the favourites and once teams put extra attention on our ball movement forcing us out of the corridor, we started to see there was no plan B.

Since this point, we have had the exact same issues year after year which is why for me at least, the frustration has just grown to a boiling point even after a couple prelims as those issue were still present then.

That’s 7 years now with an undersized defence, slow ball movement, no forward structure and generally poor foot skills with no improvement.

In hindsight 2013-14 were likely a combination of factors:
  • the move to Adelaide oval and revitalisation that came with that
  • Darren Burgess taking over and giving us an edge (whether it was mental or not, we seemed like one of the fitter sides)
  • the natural development of some of the younger players, Boak hitting his straps, Gray becoming one of the best players in the comp, some ripper draftees in wines and wingard
  • the galvanising effect on the team of the sad death of McCarthy.

+ Ken at that time was probably a good motivator and able to bring the group together strongly. He deserves some credit for that.

I don't think he's ever been an especially clever tactician. The idea that he somehow saved the club is ridiculous.
 
Feb 17, 2010
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In hindsight 2013-14 were likely a combination of factors:
  • the move to Adelaide oval and revitalisation that came with that
  • Darren Burgess taking over and giving us an edge (whether it was mental or not, we seemed like one of the fitter sides)
  • the natural development of some of the younger players, Boak hitting his straps, Gray becoming one of the best players in the comp, some ripper draftees in wines and wingard
  • the galvanising effect on the team of the sad death of McCarthy.

+ Ken at that time was probably a good motivator and able to bring the group together strongly. He deserves some credit for that.

I don't think he's ever been an especially clever tactician. The idea that he somehow saved the club is ridiculous.

Think what easily gets passed by is that last point you make, being a good tactician and gameday coach.

2013 we had Richardson by his side
2014 we had Walsh

Then we had Vossy who was great for our midfield and a huge reason Wines developed as he did.

As soon as he looses a key assistant, we have always fallen away instantly.
 
Jul 14, 2005
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That 2014 team was awesome.

One of the best non-premiership sides, or at least one of the most interesting.

If not for a rampant Hawks team they could have easily had a lightning-in-a-bottle flag that year.

So much X-factor. Peak Gray, Wingard, Boak. Unsung defensive group - which tbf has been the case for about a decade.

Even their role players were awesome. Who didn’t love a bit of Matt White and Jake Neade?

Hinkley is a good coach who’s got better over time, but he’s taken away a fair bit of flair and personality from recent Port sides who could theoretically be doing similar things. Hard to move on from a guy who keeps putting some goodish teams in the frame.
 

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