'I'm in love with Port Adelaide': Why Hinkley is not considering new role

Ken Hinkley and Travis Boak reflect on their long tenures at Port Adelaide

Ken Hinkley and Travis Boak after their pair's farewell game against Gold Coast in R24, 2025. Picture: AFL Photos

KEN HINKLEY reckons it will feel like he's cheating on a love of his life.

For the first time in 13 years, Hinkley has woken up and he's not Port Adelaide's coach.

And while offers from rival clubs for various roles are coming, Hinkley can't yet consider them.

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"Right now, how can I think about anything else?" Hinkley said.

"I'm in love with the Port Adelaide footy club ... that's not easy to walk away from.

"I need a bit of time to let the dust settle and find out whether I've still got the competitive edge to want to compete.

"I don't know. Going against Port Adelaide doesn't seem anywhere near right."

Hinkley's tenure as Power coach ended with a narrow 10.11 (71) to 9.13 (67) win over Gold Coast on Friday night.

Amid overflowing emotions at Adelaide Oval, Port also farewelled beloved ex-captain Travis Boak, the club's games-record holder.

Just what will Hinkley do on Saturday?

"I will sit down with my wife for the very first time in 13 years and not be a coach," he said.

"Actually, in 30 years. I have had a coaching job every minute of my life for the last 30 years.

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"I'll sit down with Donna ... and we'll plan a holiday.

"We'll think about grandchildren, children - all the things that get taken away from you a fair bit when you do footy.

"I say this all the time: the most important thing in your life is your family, but footy is the most important of the least important things.

"I truly believe that. So now it's time for me to spend some time with some family."

Hinkley was appointed Port coach in October 2012 when the club was, as Boak put it, "absolutely gone".

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The Power was being propped up by AFL funds, and with average home crowds of about 19,000.

And Geelong had just come calling for Boak, trying to lure the midfielder, who was born in the Victorian city.

If Boak, Port's star player, had departed, there were genuine fears the bottom would have fallen completely out of the club.

"Trav probably hates me saying it all the time, but he saved the footy club," Hinkley said.

"And the footy club gave him a lot back. But, by God, I think we're still in debt, I think the footy club is still in debt."

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Boak, whose career ended after 387 games in Port colours, doesn't think that is quite the case.

"It's special to hear," Boak said. "But I believe I was one part of it.

"Kenny coming in at the back of 2012, when we were absolutely gone - for him to teach us how to actually be a really professional football club and professional group, there's no way we would have learnt that without him.

"He wears his heart on his sleeve and he bled for this football club and did everything in his powers to make this a very, very good club.

"And, unfortunately, we didn't get the flag that we all wanted but this club wouldn't be in the position it is today without him."

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Boak, whose career spanned a remarkable 19 seasons, also disagreed with Hinkley's own assessment that the coach's legacy would be not reaching a Grand Final.

"Results are out of our control, flags are out of our control," Boak said.

"What we can do is turn up and give everything we possibly can to something we really care about.

"And that's what Ken has done every single day.

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"What people don't see behind the doors, and how passionate he is about this football club and wanting to be better, wanting to win, wanting to make his players the best people and athletes they possibly can be.

"That's a legacy that he's going to leave and one that is going to be hard to replicate.

"Yeah, we didn't get what we wanted in the end.

"But he was able to turn this football club and the players within the football club into special people."

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