Ken Hinkley will coach Port Adelaide for a final season in 2025 before handing over the reins to assistant Josh Carr in a succession plan.
Hinkley has taken the Power to four preliminary finals and is the club’s longest-serving coach, but he has agreed the final year of his contract will be his last.
Josh Carr (left) is successor to Ken Hinkley at Port.Credit: AFL Photos
Carr, a premiership player at Port Adelaide, returned to the club at the end of 2022 and has been earmarked as Hinkley’s successor for more than 12 months. The club has offered him a three-year deal from 2026.
He withdrew from the process to become Richmond coach at the end of 2023 though Port Adelaide maintained an agreement was not in place at the time. He coached at Port Adelaide from 2011-15 as an assistant before taking North Adelaide to a SANFL premiership in 2018, with a team that contained Connor Rozee, who is now Port Adelaide captain, and Port ruckman Jordon Sweet. Carr then joined Fremantle before returning to Port Adelaide.
Port Adelaide chairman David Koch said Hinkley told the club in the off-season this would be his last as senior coach. “Ken has had open communications with the club over the pre-season and confirmed that 2025 would be his last season as senior coach of Port Adelaide,” Koch said.
“As is his way, Ken has put the club first in acknowledging we have a coach in waiting in Josh Carr who will be primed to lead the club in 2026.”
Koch said the club had ensured it had an internal candidate capable of taking over from Hinkley when he was reappointed for two more seasons near the end of 2023.
Hinkley said he was confident the timing was right and he would coach in 2025 with the same energy and enthusiasm that has defined his previous 12 seasons in charge.
“But come the end of the season, it will be time to hand the baton to Josh who would have experienced a further 12 months’ growth as a senior assistant. Without question, Josh will be ready to coach in his own right,” Hinkley said.
Hinkley took over as coach in 2013 when Port Adelaide were on their knees, having missed finals for five consecutive seasons following their humiliating loss to Geelong in the 2007 grand final. He immediately coached them back to the finals in 2013, and they narrowly missed making the 2014 grand final, losing the preliminary final to Hawthorn by three points.
Their best chances to make grand finals came in 2020 and 2021 when they lost back-to-back home preliminary finals. Though players and staff were fiercely loyal, Hinkley came under fierce pressure from supporters but won many back as the team re-emerged in 2023 and 2024.
Port Adelaide’s succession plan mirrors Collingwood’s plan for Nathan Buckley to take over from Mick Malthouse at the end of 2011, which had a two-year lead-in but was ultimately considered a failure when Malthouse left ahead of schedule. Ben Rutten also succeeded John Worsfold as coach of Essendon in 2021 after being selected to take over during 2020.
Hinkley enters his final season on the back of controversy to finish 2024. Port Adelaide received a $20,000 fine following their semi-final win over Hawthorn after Hinkley mocked Hawthorn’s Jack Ginnivan as the players walked from the ground. Hinkley apologised for his actions but the club was found to have breached the league’s conduct unbecoming rule.
