It was a frosty exchange between the coaches that capped off a spiteful Showdown.
Ken Hinkley and Matthew Nicks were seen exchanging words while walking off the field together following Port Adelaide’s 22-point fiery win over Adelaide on Saturday night.
The already bitter clash had reached a boiling point when the Power’s Dan Houston laid out Crows superstar Izak Rankine in the third term with a crunching hip and shoulder, prompting an all-in brawl between both sides.
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Players continued to go at it well into the fourth quarter, and clearly, that tension extended off the field.
Nicks shook his head after that brief post-match chat with Hinkley as the two coaches went their separate ways.
And according to veteran journalist Caroline Wilson, the Crows coach vented his thoughts on Houston’s act.
“The retort from Nicks was along the lines of: ‘That was a f***ing dog act’,” Wilson revealed on Channel 9’s Footy Classified.
Nicks worked under Hinkley as an assistant at the Power for six seasons from 2013 to 2018.
Labelling it a “Showdown with a bit of everything,” Nicks post-match shed some light on his words with his former mentor.
“‘Kenny’ came over and asked about and Izak and wished him a speedy recovery and we spoke a bit about finals,” the Adelaide boss told reporters on Saturday night.
Port win BRUTAL showdown | 02:31
Houston was referred directly to the tribunal for his hit on Rankine, which has sparked calls for a send-off rule, with the AFL reportedly pushing for a five-match ban.
A five-week ban would rule out Houston for the rest of the season — and potentially mean he’s played his last game for Port amid reports the star halfback is set to request a trade back to Victoria at the end of the campaign.
Both clubs in the aftermath of the Showdown condemned racist abuse of Port forward Willie Rioli, while it’s been confirmed the Power mascot was punched in the face prior to the opening bounce.
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