An emotional Ken Hinkley says he felt exploited by the AFL’s promotion of last year’s Power-Hawks Gather Round clash.
Plus there’s been a vandalism double act as pressure rises on coaches, while Fremantle has plans for Nick Daicos despite an injury cloud hovering over the Pies superstar. MORE IN AFL DAILY.
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‘I CAN SAY THAT NOW …’
Former Port Adelaide coach Ken Hinkley believes the AFL exploited and “misused” him before Gather Round last year – months after it showed a lack of care towards him in the aftermath of his infamous plane taunt towards Hawthorn’s Jack Ginnivan.
The Power in September 2024 copped a $20,000 fine from the AFL for breaching ‘Conduct Unbecoming’ after Hinkley engaged with Hawks players – namely Ginnivan – following Port’s thrilling semi-final win.
But the AFL then scheduled a Port Adelaide-Hawthorn clash at Adelaide Oval as the final game of Gather Round 2025, subsequently creating ample promotion and discussion around Hinkley’s actions from the previous year.
Speaking openly on SEN’s Whateley on Wednesday morning, Hinkley said he felt the league showed no compassion towards him – and that that attitude brought him great hurt.
“One of my strengths was to make sure I used everything available and the Hawthorn game (in 2025) was clearly something that was significant and big from the year before with the unfortunate incident that went on,” he said on SEN’s Whateley.
“Then the AFL decided to impose a fine on me and shame me – and I was pretty unforgiving of that, to be honest … I just didn’t think there was an enormous amount of care in their way of treating me through that journey.
“Then we were coming up against Hawthorn in a game that was the headline act of Gather Round and we used it to make sure that we gave ourselves a chance.”
Asked if he felt exploited by the AFL, Hinkley said: “Yeah, I did. There’s no doubt I did – and I can say that now because I’m out of the game and I can be a little bit more honest.
“I made the mistake, I’d done the crime, which was OK. I owned that, I talked about it quite openly straight afterwards and was embarrassed by my own behaviour. But then for the AFL to do what they did in fining me – which they have every right to do as I worked under the umbrella of their rules and everything that went on, so I wear that – but then to promote it on their website leading into Gather Round with me, Hawthorn and ‘Ginni’ – who lucky enough took it in the right way too – it felt a little bit misused, for me, if you’re making a moral stand on what I should and shouldn’t have been allowed to do.
“That’s just the way I felt.”
He later added: “They have every right to do what they did, but I felt like there was a little bit extra in it for some reason. I probably, occasionally, had caused them some problems over the journey in different ways. Maybe this was their chance to clip me properly.”
VANDALISM DOUBLE ACT AS FANS DIAL UP HEAT ON COACHES
Fans from Carlton and Essendon are dialling up the heat on their respective coaches in a vandalism double act.
Code Sports reported the words ‘Sack Voss’ were painted across a Richmond cafe that’s ran by a group of Carlton fans. It came in the aftermath of the 1-3 Blues suffering yet another fad-out loss to North Melbourne on Good Friday.
However, manager of 7 Grams cafe, Omar, says they were framed for the vitriolic message sprayed onto the building.
“(The suspect) knows that we all barrack for the Blues,” Omar laughed.
Barista Jason added: “It’s hard to disagree (with the graffiti).
“Look at the next six games (Adelaide, Collingwood, Fremantle, St Kilda, Brisbane and Western Bulldogs) … ‘Vossy’ is walking the plank right now.”
Meanwhile, Police is investigating an alleged act of vandalism to the playing surface of Essendon’s Tullamarine training facilities, with estimated damages of up to $10,000.
Bombers officials returned to the club’s base on Tuesday after the long weekend to discover a message burnt onto the turf using petrol.
It’s understood the writing, that’s hard to make out, was an attack on the winless Bombers’ bleak start to the season and their coaching staff.
Victoria police released the following statement on the matter: “Police are investigating criminal damage to the grounds of a sports oval on Watsons Drive near Melbourne Airport reported on 7 April.
“The estimated damage is $10,000. Anyone with information is urged to contact Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000.”
FREO PREPARED FOR DAICOS
Fremantle has plans for Nick Daicos despite an injury cloud hovering over the Magpies superstar.
There’s a key watch on Daicos (corked calf) and Scott Pendlebury (Achilles) as the pair look to prove their fitness at Collingwood’s main training session on Wednesday.
It comes after Daicos was a late withdrawal against Brisbane last Thursday night in dramatic pre-game scenes.
And Dockers coach Justin Longmuir said the club would be prepared for Daicos to play in Friday night’s clash at Adelaide Oval.
“We’ve got some plans in place for him. We probably can’t stop him getting the ball, but we can sometimes stop his efficiency,” Longmuir said on Tuesday.
“On the flip side, we don’t want to get too caught up in one player because they’ve got a lot of dangerous players across the field and we need to make sure we pay respect to all their players whilst trying to play our way. So, it’s a balancing act.
“We’ll plan for their best and plan for their best players, and if they don’t play then we’ll just adjust.”
Fremantle has previously used Corey Wagner and Andy Brayshaw to try and nullify Daicos, who had 18 and 43 disposals respectively in his two games against the Dockers in 2025.
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