Chris Scott drops truth bomb on AFL over Ken Hinkley's ugly clash with Hawthorn players

Geelong coach Chris Scott has turned the spotlight onto the AFL over the Ken Hinkley drama that saw the Port Adelaide coach slapped with a $20,000 fine for his post-game altercation with Hawthorn players Jack Ginnivan and James Sicily. The veteran Power coach chose to sledge Ginnivan after his side's semi-final victory over the Hawks, sparking a heated war or words with Hawthorn captain, Sicily and landing the veteran mentor in hot water.

The ugly post-game scenes overshadowed the Power's thrilling victory but it was enthralling theatre at the same time, and prompted debate across the AFL world. Hinkley's actions were condemned by greats such as Luke Hodge, Jordan Lewis and Dermott Brereton and the Power coach accepted a $20,000 fine from the AFL this week for conduct unbecoming.

Weighing in on the saga and addressing the AFL's fine for Hinkley, Geelong coach Scott put pressure on the league not to use it for future promotion of the code but admitted he doesn't think that will be the case. "If it's a bad look for the game, it should never be promoted again, and the AFL should distance themselves from it. "But I don't think they will," Scott told Channel Seven's 'Talking Footy'.

Pressed further on whether he thought the AFL would use the spicy encounter as a promotional tool the next time Port squares off against Hawthorn - Scott made his feelings clear. "They will use it to reinforce the rivalry that might be developing between those two teams," the Geelong coach added. "But I also accept that things that start off as a friendly jibe can escalate pretty quickly.

"And the AFL we're a bit of a strange operation because they're not governing the elite competition, they're governing football at all levels. So they do have a responsibility to ensure that things don't escalate at the lower levels but the chance of that escalating - knowing the people we know in the game - are zero."

Ken Hinkley won't let saga distract from prelim against Swans

Hinkley was remorseful for his actions and accepted the AFL's $20,000 fine this week, despite many critics slamming the fact his sanction was the same as what fellow coach Alastair Clarkson received for a homophobic slur towards an opposition player. Hinkley was quick to deny suggestions the drama was a distraction for his side in the lead-up to Friday night's preliminary final against the Sydney Swans at the SCG.

"Everything that happened got taken care of by Sunday night," he told reporters on Wednesday. "We moved on. We have got a prelim final to play and I've got no more to add to it because I'm not going to let any of that become any issue for us. We're just going to move into our preparation for Sydney."

The Power go into their prelim against the Swans having won their last eight games against John Longmire's side, including a 112-point demolition of a depleted Sydney in round 22. In fact, the last time the Power lost against the Swans was at the SCG in round 20, 2016, but Hinkley says his side's impressive record will count for little on Friday night.

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“It’s one of the things that happen in footy over a period of time, these runs... all these things happen in different phases,” Hinkley said. “Both teams understand it has got absolutely nothing to do with what is going to happen on Friday night." Hinkley said defender Ryan Burton (calf) would be picked if he wins his fitness battle and suggested Charlie Dixon would be recalled for Todd Marshall (concussion) if he recovers from illness in time.

with AAP