Koch insists Hinkley still safe in Port coach’s box

PORT Adelaide president David Koch feels the pain of his AFL club’s fans but says coach Ken Hinkley is safe in the job.

Koch last season extended Hinkley’s contract to the end of the 2021 season but Port’s supporter base is increasingly restless amid a dramatic slide from finals contention.

“I can absolutely say there is no question about the future of Ken Hinkley whatsoever,” Koch told Adelaide radio station 5AA yesterday.

Port was on track to make the finals with 11 wins and four losses but has lost five of its past six games to need a football miracle to reach the playoffs.

The ninth-placed Power can only make the finals if it beats Essendon on Friday night and eighth-placed Geelong lose at home to lowly Gold Coast — and overturn a sizeable percentage deficit.

Numerous Port supporters took to social media after Saturday’s capitulation to Collingwood, declaring they won’t renew their memberships should Hinkley remain coach. “I think Ken is the best coach for the Port Adelaide Football Club,” Koch said.

“At 11-4, Ken was seen as a superhero. Then everyone changes their mind so quickly,” he said.

“That is the brutality of the AFL at the moment, it is such a finely tuned competition.

“The last six weeks have been disappointing. [Vice-captain] Ollie Wines put it right when he said he’s a little embarrassed by the past six weeks ... we have all had a tough period.”

But Koch backed the judgement of the club’s hierarchy which extended Hinkley’s contract, saying any successful club showed stability. AAP