‘Is that what you’re asking?’ Tense Hinkley exchange as presser turns awkward over glaring question

Ken Hinkley vented his frustrations at a reporter when questioned about Port Adelaide’s coaching succession plan during a press conference on Tuesday.

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Hinkley and the Power announced during the summer that assistant Josh Carr will take over the head coaching role at season’s end, prompting plenty of intrigue around how the handover process will impact last year’s preliminary finalists.

Coaching succession plans have infamously been more miss than hit in the AFL, and after a first round 91-point thrashing by Collingwood at the MCG, the heat has been turned up on Hinkley’s side.

It was the biggest loss of Hinkley’s time in charge at Alberton, and a reporter queried him about the backlash from their disappointing first up showing including calls for an earlier than scheduled handover to Carr, and responded by engaging in a tense exchange.

“Is that what you’re asking me?” Hinkley said.

The reporter responded by saying that’s what people had been saying and commentating on, which Hinkley was clearly displeased with.

“If they are asking that question, they can ask it to me directly. What question do you want to ask me?” he said.

The reporter then asked if there is any confusion among the players about the succession plan and which coach is pulling the levers at present.

“I think we’ve been really clear on that. There is no confusion,” Hinkley said.

“I’ve said right from the start that I’ve got plenty of energy for the job. Josh and myself, we both know exactly what is going on. The whole football club knows exactly what’s going on.

“People have got some opinions based on one loss.”

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Hinkley took a similar approach when he was probed further about comments by media commentators that it would be natural for him to take the foot off the pedal with the finish line of his coaching journey in sight.

But he strongly denied that was the case, and there were several other narratives surrounding Port Adelaide that Hinkley was questioned about and strongly denied on Tuesday.

Hawthorn four-time premiership player Jordan Lewis called out the Power for being “too nice” to former teammate Dan Houston on Saturday night, and Hinkley was asked on whether his players had been too generous to the two-time All-Australian half back who left Port during the trade period.

“We weren’t too nice to anything to do with Collingwood,” Hinkley said. “We went there to compete against Collingwood Football Club, of which Dan was part of, and we certainly weren’t too nice but he played well.

“The player we’re talking about is a bloody good player. He’s an All-Australian twice in a row. We weren’t confused of what the quality of the player was. We did our best, as we did against other Collingwood players who have been high quality players for a long period of time.”

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Hinkley was then asked about the Power’s recent trend of blowout losses.

A reporter highlighted that it was the third time in 13 games that they have been beaten by 13 goals or more, and Hinkley was again unhappy with a notion put to him.

“The question you’re asking, three times in 13 games, is it a trend? Well, how far back do you want to go to create that trend?” Hinkley asked.

“In the last five years, we’ve won nearly the equal most number of games in the AFL. Is that a trend as well?”

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