Ken Hinkley cops dire truth bomb from Port Adelaide legend Warren Tredrea
The AFL great has given the under-fire Port Adelaide coach a savage reality check.
Port Adelaide legend Warren Tredrea has turned up the heat on under-fire Power coach Ken Hinkley, insisting the veteran mentor's role at the club has become "untenable". Port missed out on the top eight last season, having been beaten in consecutive preliminary finals in 2020 and 2021.
It's been an underwhelming start for the Power in 2023 as well, with two losses and a win to start the new AFL season. Perhaps most worryingly is the fact Port have conceded 39 goals in consecutive defeats to Collingwood and arch-rivals Adelaide.
BRUTAL: Buddy Franklin under fire as worrying issue emerges for Swans
'NO IDEA': AFL world left fuming over 'embarrassing' medal call
Hinkley is into his 11th season as the Power's coach, with any negotiations around his future put on hold until at least August. However, Tredrea claims there is a growing disconnect between the club, coach and fans, and is leading calls for the veteran mentor to be shown the door.
"There is an element of fans' disconnect with their board and with their coach," Tredrea told the Big Deal podcast on Monday. "And I just look where Ken Hinkley sits. He has been there for 10 years, he is contracted until the end of the year.
"It looks, albeit in round three, it just looks untenable. I get it is early in the season. But it is, 'You know what, he is not going to be there in 2024'. I can't see it. If he does, well then I will be the first to say 'well done'. But right now it just looks untenable."
Tredrea led the Power to victory in the 2004 grand final as acting captain and had a bid to join the club's board blocked by president David Koch in January. Tredrea said he understood if critics linked his criticism of Hinkley with his failed bid to join the club's board.
"But what I am going to say is that I have never been more disconnected from my club," he added. "There is a disconnect between (the club) and their members. And it just doesn't seem like they are on the same page because (the fans) are sick of the promises and they want to see action on the field.
Kane Cornes warns against sacking Ken Hinkley
Former Port star Kane Cornes was among those to hose down suggestions that removing Hinkley was the answer at the struggling club. Power assistant coach Josh Carr has been touted as a ready-made replacement for Hinkley if and when the veteran coach does move on, but Cornes says it's too early in the season for such drastic measures.
"What is that going to achieve?"
With premiership skipper Warren Tredrea describing the situation as untenable, @kanecornes responds to whether Port Adelaide should now move on from Ken Hinkley.#9FootyClassified | @Channel9 pic.twitter.com/TNo99mihHu— Footy on Nine (@FootyonNine) April 3, 2023
“That’s the frustration of the Port Adelaide supporters which he’s tapping into," Cornes said about his former teammate, Tredrea. "There’s a frustration there for three or four years.
“I don’t think there is a benefit to sack your coach after two poor performances. What is that going to achieve? Who will you give the caretaker role to? He’s suggesting Josh Carr. Is he willing to do it? Are you willing to give up the season two games into it?”
Fellow panelist Matthew Lloyd said he thought it would be “crazy” to entertain the idea of sacking Hinkley this early in the season, although Cornes did suggest that the coach would need to guide Port deep into the AFL finals series to secure his future. Cornes argued that appointing Carr this early in the season would eliminate Port's opportunities to explore the market and see if any other viable coaching alternatives become available.
with AAP
Sign up to our newsletter and score the biggest sport stories of the week.