Ken Hinkley’s Adelaide radio interview on Monday will command national attention as intrigue continues over his AFL future.
Gold Coast chief executive Mark Evans will have particular interest in what the Port Adelaide coach tells 5AA.
It will be the first time Hinkley has spoken publicly in a week.
Since the Power’s extra-time elimination final loss to West Coast, they told the Suns early last week that Hinkley is off limits.
But as Gold Coast continue their search for a new coach, they made a speculative call to Hinkley’s manager.
That prompted a club statement from the Power on Friday, again stating that Hinkley is under contract until the end of next season and not on the market.
Port president David Koch also said last week that they are about to start talks with Hinkley about a contract extension.
While the Power would probably extend Hinkley’s contract by two years, the Suns are understood to be standing by with a five-year offer for him.
There is enough uncertainty about Hinkley’s future that Sydney assistant coach Stuart Dew reportedly postponed an interview with Gold Coast.
It is understood that Dew remains a candidate for the Suns senior coaching position, but he apparently wants to see what happens with Hinkley first.
Adding to the dramas at Port Adelaide, player Nathan Krakouer is in trouble after a Saturday night incident where the AFL defender damaged a taxi.
Krakouer, who has not played any AFL matches this season, is on a one-year contract that is unlikely to be renewed.
The club released a statement, saying Krakouer had agreed to pay for the damages and had apologised.
The Power added that Krakouer will front their player leadership group in the next fortnight.
According to media reports, he became angry and lashed out when his credit card was declined several times as he tried to pre-pay for a fare.
Don Freo
Guest
Voss is a natural for the GC job.
guttsy
Guest
Give Kochie twenty five years and I'm sure Port Adelaide will have their second mens AFL Premiership.
Paul D
Roar Guru
Glass houses...The Lions could go 0-22 with a F/A of -1000 next year and I'd still tell anyone who'd listen Port Adelaide is garbage. Stone away
Internal Fixation
Guest
Can't be Collingwood. They actually won something before self destruction!
guttsy
Guest
While this sounds neat, Kochie and the PA board will want to know that Stuart Dew was a very good candidate for the PA coaching role to take them forward. I would suggest that it would also pecipitate a change in the PA assistants role with Michael Voss no longer being able to maintain a position of significant influence at the club. I think Michael Voss would need to move on if Stuart Dew became head coach.
Powerboy
Guest
True that. Very perspicacious.
Powerboy
Guest
More pathological hatred of PAFC from the "guru" Paul D. You know what they say about glass houses, don't you Paul? I well remember your long winded rant about the Lions problems (according to you) a month or two back.... I write this after Hinkley announced his intention to stay at the Power and well remember my comments after the erstwhile editor's lamentable headline to his article about "list management" at Port Adelaide last week. Go back and have a read. I was right.
Geoff Schaefer
Guest
I didn't think Port could serve up anything more amusing than the way they were bundled from the Elimination final. But then Kochie throws his own players under a bus and Nathan Krakouer punches out a taxi. Don't worry about other clubs "tearing them apart". They're doing a ripping job of doing it themselves. Are they using Collingwood as the model of how to self destruct?
Roy
Guest
There are separations of power in business and politics. Lines that are drawn to ensure integrity and the command process work. By criticising players and by extension, the coach, Koch has crossed the line. A less self serving publicity hound might have done something like make a media comment saying 'not our best game, congrats to WCE' and then had a blow up in the privacy of the dressing room. Seems like he has done his job in pulling the club up by its bootlaces and maybe he needs to hand over to someone who can maintain the standards now in place. He keeps showing quite publicly that as a football expert he makes a great financial journalist. If I was Hinkley I would make a public stand supporting my players and coaching panel and battle it out with Koch and the board - him or me. No other tenable solution really and Ken has the Gold Coast in his pocket.
Birdman
Guest
Kochie is gonna have to add at least a couple of years and an extra $200k a year to Port’s offer to keep Hinkley – bagging the coach you want to keep is not the smartest way to negotiate a deal Ken can't lose whichever way it goes.
Gyfox
Guest
Did Kochie say anything (relevant) on his show this morning?
Tom
Guest
(K/Coch) heads at 10 paces, bring it on!
Pelican
Guest
I don't mind this scenario. Stewart Dew is a good replacement if Ken wants out. What will Dixon make of all this after being lured south by Ken who then bails out back to Charlies home state?
David C
Guest
That's the likely scenario I'm seeing with Dew being an x-Port man having done his apprenticeship at another club.
David C
Guest
A bit more complicated than that now Paul. If Hinkley publicly says he wants out then that makes his position untenable at Port. How can he possibly front the playing group next year after that and with 1 year left on his contract? There were reports that a couple of board members at Port were not supportive of Hinkley going forward as well which he is probably aware of.
Brandon the 1st
Guest
I would be so surprised if Hinkley left, why would he? However if there's even the slightest hint that he wants out, then I'd be saying to GC, show me the money, we don't want someone that's not 100 percent committed.
Christo the Daddyo
Guest
I wonder how long Stuart Dew will be content sitting behind Longmire? One option might be Hinkley to the Suns and Dew to return to Port...
Paul D
Roar Guru
Kochie vs Cochrane - this promises to have all the class and decorum of those bumfight movies from the 2000's. Two homeless blokes punching on would probably be more entertaining too. Cochrane I think comes out of this the biggest flog, after all the complaining he has done about contracts both past and present he then goes to try and prise a contracted coach out of Port Adelaide Also, if Hinkley really hates playing for a loudmouthed CEO who always has a view of the team and isn't shy about sharing it, not sure why'd he go work for Tony Cochrane. If the AFL is serious about owning the Suns they need to put a stop to this right now and tell the Suns to back off on this Hinkley chase. Particularly after all their commentary about the futility of sacking contracted coaches and the waste of money that ensues, over the last few years. Chasing Hinkley looks more than a bit hypocritical in light of that