Ken Hinkley divides opinion with strange moment of mirth in coaches' box against Brisbane
The outgoing Power coach, who will hand the reigns over to Josh Carr at the end of this, his 13th year in charge, has made a career out of wearing his heart on his sleeve.
Hinkley's emotions, both good and bad, have got him into trouble at times — like when he taunted Hawthorn's Jack Ginnivan after the 2024 semi-final — but they are also partly responsible for the love he has largely had from Port fans during his tenure.
Famous pictures of Hinkley celebrating on the boundary line or in the coaches' box have punctuated his career.
But playing with lollies was a new one on Saturday night.
Hinkley put a piece of white confectionary in front of his teeth, feigning as though he had a new set, and stared down the barrel of the coaches' box camera in what was a light-hearted joke.
'Ken Hinkley, he's got seven games left to coach — he hasn't lost his sense of humour,' Corbin Middlemas said during Fox Sports' coverage.
Having a laugh at the rare moment of humour, Campbell Brown said on Sunday Footy Feast that it was good to see the human side of Hinkley.
'You know what, he's always been like this, we just haven't always seen it as the pressure has built,' Brown said.
'We can start to see Kenny enjoying his his time (now).'
Jason Richardson joked: 'In any traumatic state, we've moved through denial, anger — we're now at acceptance and embracement.'
Fans didn't quite see it the same way though, given the context of the game.
'It is unbelievable to think a senior coach in his 13th year of tenure would carry on like this in the midst of an eight-goal run against his team. A team that, of his own admission, is supposed to be contending,' one said.
'Wouldn't be happy as a Port person with this. The bloke has given up,' another added.
'I'd be ropeable with this if I supported Port,' a third said.
Not all the reactions were negative, with fan telling everyone to 'lighten up, he's having a bit of fun'.
Port Adelaide kicked the first three goals of the game, but then went on to have nine of the next 10 kicked against them, including a run of eight in a row.
It was a run that set the Lions up for a comfortable 28-point win, keeping their top-two hopes alive as September approaches.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
7NEWS
19 hours ago
- 7NEWS
Ken Hinkley divides opinion with strange moment of mirth in coaches' box against Brisbane
Port Adelaide coach Ken Hinkley has divided opinion with a moment of mirth amidst an avalanche of goals kicked by Brisbane against his side on Saturday night. The outgoing Power coach, who will hand the reigns over to Josh Carr at the end of this, his 13th year in charge, has made a career out of wearing his heart on his sleeve. Hinkley's emotions, both good and bad, have got him into trouble at times — like when he taunted Hawthorn's Jack Ginnivan after the 2024 semi-final — but they are also partly responsible for the love he has largely had from Port fans during his tenure. Famous pictures of Hinkley celebrating on the boundary line or in the coaches' box have punctuated his career. But playing with lollies was a new one on Saturday night. Hinkley put a piece of white confectionary in front of his teeth, feigning as though he had a new set, and stared down the barrel of the coaches' box camera in what was a light-hearted joke. 'Ken Hinkley, he's got seven games left to coach — he hasn't lost his sense of humour,' Corbin Middlemas said during Fox Sports' coverage. Having a laugh at the rare moment of humour, Campbell Brown said on Sunday Footy Feast that it was good to see the human side of Hinkley. 'You know what, he's always been like this, we just haven't always seen it as the pressure has built,' Brown said. 'We can start to see Kenny enjoying his his time (now).' Jason Richardson joked: 'In any traumatic state, we've moved through denial, anger — we're now at acceptance and embracement.' Fans didn't quite see it the same way though, given the context of the game. 'It is unbelievable to think a senior coach in his 13th year of tenure would carry on like this in the midst of an eight-goal run against his team. A team that, of his own admission, is supposed to be contending,' one said. 'Wouldn't be happy as a Port person with this. The bloke has given up,' another added. 'I'd be ropeable with this if I supported Port,' a third said. Not all the reactions were negative, with fan telling everyone to 'lighten up, he's having a bit of fun'. Port Adelaide kicked the first three goals of the game, but then went on to have nine of the next 10 kicked against them, including a run of eight in a row. It was a run that set the Lions up for a comfortable 28-point win, keeping their top-two hopes alive as September approaches.
News.com.au
a day ago
- News.com.au
Brisbane Lions optical illusion leaves footy fans baffled
The Brisbane Lions proved far too strong for Port Adelaide on Saturday night as they flexed their premiership credentials. In front of their home fans at the Gabba, the Lions showed they're a force to be reckoned with as they secured the 18.12 (120) to 14.8 (92) win. FOX FOOTY, available on Kayo Sports, is the only place to watch every match of every round in the 2025 Toyota AFL Premiership Season LIVE in 4K, with no ad-breaks during play. New to Kayo? Get your first month for just $1. Limited-time offer. Despite the ominous outing, the display was largely overshadowed by one tiny aspect of their indigenous guernsey. The Sir Doug Nicholls round guernsey was designed by Jordan Ah Chee in collaboration with the Ah Chee family to tell Callum's journey of family, football and The Brisbane Lions. But fans couldn't help but point out the tree design on the back made it appear on television like the players were running around with their shorts pulled down. Those watching on took to social media to post screenshots where they had done a double take after believing a player's behind was on display. The images quickly started doing the rounds with fans flooding Reddit and questioning the design of the guernsey. One fan wrote: 'When they first wore them earlier this year, it was the first thing I noticed and it's all I noticed.' A second posted: 'Looks like they're wearing black G-strings.' A third added: 'Been thinking it all game. Glad I'm not the only one.' A fourth pondered: 'I think it looks like a whale tail. Like we're wearing thongs.' Despite the attire raising the eyebrows of fans, the Lions stole the show after conceding the opening two goals of the contest. After the Power looked to burst out of the blocks, the Lions kicked seven unanswered goals to lead by 32 points at the first break — making a Power comeback very unlikely. Their hopes of a resurgence were made even harder by the fact Dante Visentini (ankle) and Esava Ratugolea (hamstring) both went down with injury before coach Ken Hinkley could even address his players. The night went from bad to worse for the Power when Sam Powell-Pepper left the field in the third quarter after suffering a serious knee injury. All-Australian contender Zac Bailey was the absolute star of the show for Brisbane all night, finishing with a game-high five goals. He was well supported up forward by Charlie Cameron for his three goals, with the Lions registering a dozen goalkickers. 'I haven't seen them play with such arrogance like this. We're going through the middle of the ground, and you can't go with us!' two-time North Melbourne premiership player David King said post-game on Fox Footy's Super Saturday Live. Star recruit Jack Lukosius returned well for his first game since Round 2 at his new club, kicking three goals up forward alongside partner-in-crime Mitch Georgiades — who moved up to equal-second in the Coleman Medal race with four more goals.
Sydney Morning Herald
a day ago
- Sydney Morning Herald
How Bailey's blitz stole the show: Four things learnt in Lions' power surge
But the 27-year-old's near-inspirational night ended in agony, with fears he had suffered a ruptured ACL. Powell-Pepper had looked imposing up front after having a baby this week, latching onto four marks among his 16 disposals, before being helped from the field and seen angrily slamming his fist into his hands before cutting a forlorn and heartbroken figure on the sidelines. He joined ruckman Dante Visentini and Esava Ratugolea in being ruled out, with that pair failing to see out the first quarter. 'Sam obviously looks like an ACL. It's really difficult when you have someone you really care about see that happen to him, for the second time. For those people who think they [the players] get paid too much, or they don't work hard enough … have a look at that boy and how he feels.' Power coach Ken Hinkley on Sam Powell-Pepper While their teammates kept in the hunt, the Power were ultimately left to rue a shocking opening term in which their inside 50 efficiency dropped to around 28 per cent. It left Power coach Ken Hinkley resigned to missing the finals in his last season at the helm after slipping to three wins outside the top eight. Cameron's back as livewires find new tricks It has been a frustrating season in many ways for Cameron, who has battled a niggling calf concern at times and often failed to impose himself on the contest regularly. But come Saturday, the 31-year-old champion had found his kicking boots, his three goals for the evening marking the first time since the round 15 defeat to the Giants he registered a major. Brisbane may have shared the load – Levi Ashcroft, Darcy Fort, Josh Dunkley, Kai Lohmann, Logan Morris and Lachie Neale striking second half goals to take the team scorers count to 12 – but Cameron's aggression in front of the sticks early kick-started his team. It was his fourth three-goal haul of the year; however, he has kicked just five goals from his other nine encounters. While Cameron returned to his best, Morris was kept relatively quiet following a breakout fortnight in which he kicked back-to-back five goal hauls. But his set shot in the final term settled things down when the Power sensed a momentum shift, and his pair of goal assists – a stat Lohmann matched – showed signs of his growing arsenal of skills. Lions coach Chris Fagan, however, was left frustrated by his side's pressure game as a whole, labelling their 36 tackles as 'not good enough'. 'We scored well off forward-half turnovers, so that part was good, but I'm looking at the fact we had 36 tackles. We've got to be better than that, and we allowed them to get quite a few uncontested marks in the second and third quarter.' Lions coach Chris Fagan Lukosius earns his stripes It has been a miserable time in South Australia for Jack Lukosious since arriving from the Gold Coast Suns. After suffering a fractured kneecap two games into his time at the Power, a back concern prevented his return to the field until Saturday night. But the dynamic forward, who joined Port Adelaide after 116 appearances for the Gold Coast, came up with a flurry of freakish goals from the tightest of angles to keep his side in the hunt upon his comeback. Lukosious finished with three goals to go with 14 disposals and nine marks, and while Brisbane's lead was never cut too dramatically, the 24-year-old's efforts kept hope alive. While the former Sun's goals were exceptional, he was usurped by teammate Mitch Georgiades, whose snap with 13 minutes on the clock brought up his fourth maximum of the night and got the Power back within three kicks. Levi Ashcroft put the rally to bed, but the Port Adelaide duo can hold their heads up. 'It's a vision for me, be I won't be there, but my vision sees Lukosius, [Todd] Marshall, Georgiades together in that forward line that I thought at the start of the year might have been pretty hard work for some sides to handle. Luko has had a really tough first year at the club … but the future looks pretty good.' Ken Hinkley
