Ken Hinkley has his well-earned and long overdue contract extension to continue beyond his 11th season at Port Adelaide.
It’s enormous credit to the veteran coach who bet on himself late last season at a time when the club wobbled on its commitment to him.
Hinkley could’ve pulled the chord for a run at the Essendon job and long-term security to start anew.
But he loved his players and instead vowed to continue into the uncomfortable last year of his contract with the Power and win an extension to his tenure.
“Yeah, absolutely I do, that’s my personality,” he said on Fox Footy’s AFL 360 when asked if he wanted to see out his contract.
“That’s who I am, I see things through as best I possibly can. I believe that the playing group and myself and all the coaches and everyone working in the football department certainly do want to see out the journey.
“Hopefully it continues on for longer. We all get there’s a finish line for everyone at some point, but as I sit here tonight I’m more than confident that won’t be at the end of 2022.”
That was late August last year.
By the dawn of the new season, in all honesty and by all estimations, he was far more likely to be sacked across the course of the season than conjure the faith to lead the next phase.
The most recent case studies of long serving coaches entering their last season under contract – Nathan Buckley and Leon Cameron – didn’t bode well for Kenny.
Port’s only premiership captain Warren Tredrea pandered to the disaffected, declaring Hinkley’s position untenable after the Showdown loss of Round 3.
It cued a 13-game winning streak that defied all expectation and propelled the Power into premiership contender.
Two changes altered the dynamic and the perception.
Hinkley moved to the bench in Round 4 – out of the Virgin lounge as his players mockingly referred to the coaches box.
Kenny’s long suit is his connection to his players. It became powerful and tangible and was on full display in the shop window for us all to see.
And he entrusted the fortunes of the team to its young tyros in the midfield - Zak Butters, Conor Rozee and Jason Horne-Francis would now control Port’s fate rather than Travis Boak, Ollie Wines and Tom Jonas.
Port played the inches – they saved the Sydney game on the goal line and won the Essendon game by a breath the other side of it.
They stamped signature wins against Melbourne and Geelong.
They appeared driven by a force you can’t always quantify.
“The reality is, this group of players do play for us,” he said on SEN’s Crunch Time in May.
“They play for me at that point, I suppose. There’s a connector that’s strong and real.
“What you’d love about any human being is when someone is being challenged and you can support them, you do your absolute best to do that.
“I just felt like that’s what the team did. We collectively stuck together and we just said, ‘Ok, we know hat’s coming, let’s just play our game of footy and see where it takes us’.
“So far it’s taken us ok.”
Hinkley has done more with less when measured against his rivals.
His captain and full-back (Jonas) has gone over the cliff and his full-forward (Charlie Dixon) can barely get on the park and when he does he’s hobbled.
The midfield is Port’s point of difference - come September it is the most explosive combination in the race.
So to the question of Hinkley’s tenure.
He was asked to sit the exam which he aced.
He has never coached better.
And this is the start of the next Port Adelaide challenge, not the end of the previous run.
This is the new generation – they are among the youngest teams in the competition.
If this contract enshrined a succession plan with Josh Carr it would’ve been awfully disrespectful.
Such notions are crippled by end dates, escape chutes and alternatives… and that’s no recipe for success.
But that isn’t the case… my initial fretfulness was unfounded.
Port has committed to Ken for two years, and potentially longer.
The critical measure is that this remains Ken Hinkley’s job until his time naturally comes to an end, either dictated by results or his own hand.
Carr can now live the experience of Michael Voss in partnership with Hinkley to develop and ready himself for the senior coaching job in the future.
This year suggests they are a perfect combination.
There is no specified date for handover. No deadlines. No Kirribilli agreement. No formal succession plan.
A bit like Paul Roos and John Longmire… there’ll just be a right time somewhere down the track.
But this is Hinkley’s job… and the club is to be commended for keeping it so.
He’s been enormous for Port Adelaide and Port Adelaide has been great for him.
It’s a partnership that has rekindled the faith and will now continue to strive for the ultimate success.