Former Sydney coach John Longmire says he “loved” the way Ken Hinkley and Port Adelaide’s senior players came together to help control Jason Horne-Francis’ temper last weekend.
The 21-year-old was in a fiery confrontation with former North Melbourne teammate Jy Simpkin last Saturday, with Simpkin seen to knock Horne-Francis from behind while running past as a tussle then ensued.
The exchange left the emerging star seething with rage, leading to Hinkley, captain Connor Rozee and vice-captain Zak Butters pulling him aside in a captivating moment as the Power led narrowly at three-quarter-time.
FOX FOOTY, available on Kayo Sports, is the only place to watch every match of every round in the 2025 Toyota AFL Premiership Season LIVE in 4K, with no ad-breaks during play. New to Kayo? Get your first month for just $1. Limited-time offer.
And while four-time premiership winner Jordan Lewis didn’t like the optics of it, Longmire on Wednesday night praised the Power’s handling of their gun ball-winner.
“I know there’s been different opinions about this, (but) I personally loved it,” the 2012 premiership mentor told Fox Footy’s AFL 360.
“I thought Ken and Connor Rozee and Zak Butters — I thought the collection of that group, the senior leaders, how they handled that was absolutely magnificent.
“The main thing was the game; it wasn’t about the optics or the looks … it’s more about the game and what you need to do to win and being able to have that discussion with your key leaders in that moment was critical.
“I just think there’s been far too much focus on those guys that overstep the line. Certainly, this guy seems like he does that at times, but there’s not as much focus on the ones that don’t get near the line.
“These guys that step over the line, I think, are gold, and every coach loves to coach them.”
Demons great Garry Lyon agreed entirely with Longmire’s sentiment, saying: “Every leader or coach I’ve heard says ‘I’d much rather be trying to pull someone back from where he was than try and get them up’.
Longmire added: “I’d love to be able to coach all of these players. I’ve coached some of them, but all of them … I wouldn’t say no to any of them.”
The 14-year coach shared examples of players who were in the ‘ice cold’ category — whose tempers didn’t have to be reined in — and players who had the tendency to go over the top with their on-field emotions.
In the ‘ice cold’ cohort were former disciples Luke Parker and Jarrad McVeigh, as well as Shannon Hurn and Patrick Dangerfield, while his ‘over the top’ operators were Horne-Francis, his teammate Zak Butters, another former disciple in Tom Papley, and Eagles prodigy Harley Reid.
“The ice-cold ones (are) the ones who get to the emotional state really easily,” Longmire said.
“Luke Parker’s case is one of the best I’ve ever seen at being able to be as hard as anything for a groundball yet be clear in his messaging and be emotionally in control.
“And the ones on the right (‘over the top’) sometimes step over that emotional line, but to be honest, they didn’t take up a lot of my time, because I’d rather have those guys every day of the week.
“I think one of the challenges of coaching is … the majority of players — and I was one of them as a player myself — needed to find that line a bit more often, and try to get up to the line, let alone step over it.
“But I think all of us would love those (‘over the top’) guys.”
Discussion about this post