Is it time for Port Adelaide to go in a new direction?
Power coach Ken Hinkley is contracted for 2023, but David King wonders if it’s time the playing group heard a different voice.
Hinkley has been at the helm for 10 seasons, guiding the club to three Preliminary Finals in 2014, 2020 and 2021.
It’s been a topsy-turvy 2022 for the Power, losing their opening five games before rallying to put themselves back in the finals mix.
Four consecutive losses in the backend of the year have ended their final hopes.
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“I’ve said this before, but If I’m Ken, I’m looking at other options saying, ‘Is there another opportunity at the Giants? Is there an opportunity at the Kangaroos? Is there an opportunity somewhere else to go and reset and be another six to eight to 10-year coach at another club?’ Because I think he’s good enough to do that,” King told SEN’s Whateley.
“I think he provides a great environment, he’s a really positive guy, he can clearly coach, he’s had teams at the pointy end even though they’ve haven’t won it or made a Grand Final, and I understand the negativity around that .
“But maybe it’s time for a change, maybe it’s time for Port Adelaide to hear a different voice and look at a different method.
“I think they’ve had the three-to-four-year window – I think that’s gone. How do they reset quickly to get back to there, and is that with Ken, are the biggest questions they’ve got to answer.”
Power president David Koch says every role at the club will be under review at season’s end.
“It’s not just about one individual person. It’s the whole program. Turn it around or watch out,” Koch told FIVEaa.
“Because every single person’s role will be assessed at the end of the year, as we do each year, but this year is more important than ever, and we are not afraid to make change. We have made plenty of changes.
“We have got to win games and we know that is what we exist to do.
“We will be making those hard decisions at the end of the year across the entire program to make us better next year.”
The Power will look to snap a run of four-straight defeats against Essendon at Marvel Stadium on Sunday.
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