Ken Hinkley, who is “staggered” he lasted so long as Port Adelaide coach, knows what his legacy is.
“Didn’t make a grand final, didn’t win one,” Hinkley told reporters on Tuesday.
“That’s probably what it will be. That’s the reality of football.
“We built the footy club up, we have done really well with lots of things — ultimately we didn’t quite get to the end.”
Hinkley’s 13-year tenure as Power coach ends on Friday night with his last game in charge, against Gold Coast at Adelaide Oval, before handing over to long-time assistant Josh Carr.
From 297 games at the helm, Hinkley has a winning percentage of 58.45 — higher than renowned master coaches including Alastair Clarkson, Mick Malthouse, Kevin Sheedy and Ron Barassi.
But that quartet won premierships, unlike Hinkley, who holds the unwanted record of most VFL/AFL games coached without reaching a grand final.
“It stings a lot,” said Hinkley, who took Port to the finals in seven of his 13 years, but lost four preliminary finals.
“I mean, that’s what you set out to do.
“You look at the results of a coach, and ultimately your result is to get to a grand final and win a grand final.
“As harsh as that it is, we didn’t get there.
“The winning record is great … but the club wanted to win [a flag] and we all didn’t quite get there.“
Hinkley admitted he wasn’t “super keen” in 2012 to pitch for the Port job after previously being in the running, then overlooked, for the role at Richmond and Geelong.
But with some prompting from family, the then Gold Coast assistant decided on “one more time to have a crack”.
Port had approached a series of higher-profile candidates, including Chris Scott and Rodney Eade, who rejected the overtures, leading Hinkley to declare when appointed in October 2012 that he was “the last man standing”.
“I’m the right man leaving too, now,” he said at his last pre-match media conference, watched by Port’s men’s and women’s players and club staffers.
Hinkley’s Port Adelaide sides had a history of strong home and away seasons being followed by sub-par finals appearances. (Getty Images: Michael Willson/AFL Photos)
“We’ve had a great journey together and it has been full of ups and downs but one I’m incredibly proud of.”
The 58-year-old admitted some parts of the coaching role were “pretty average”.
“But that chase, that thrill of victory, that will always keep you going as a coach,” he said.
“There’s parts — you wake up at three in the morning. And you didn’t want to wake up some mornings.
“But overall, the job is so satisfying and it’s such a great job to have and we’re honoured to have that job as a senior coach for an AFL footy club.
“It was just about the players and watching them win.
“Five minutes after a game, when you get a victory with them, it is enough — that is enough to drive you to keep doing this for your entire life.”
Hinkley described Port as a “really successful footy club, particularly the last five years where we won a lot of football matches”.
“But there were plenty of times, it seemed like after every loss, it was like ‘it’s time for you to go’,” he said.
“I am staggered that I survived this long, to be honest.”
AAP
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