A fired-up Ken Hinkley has launched extraordinary impassioned defence of Jason Horne-Francis and hit out at critics of the Power young gun, claiming in a scathing spray that some fans and commentators should be “embarrassed” by their behaviour.
Horne-Francis on Saturday night starred late in the Power’s gritty 14-point Gather Round win over the Western Bulldogs at Adelaide Oval, racking up 11 disposals, seven contested possessions, five inside 50s and four clearances in the fourth quarter alone.
The 19-year-old, who was taken by North Melbourne with Pick 1 in the 2021 draft, has been the subject of ample discussion among the AFL world since his sensational move to Port Adelaide in last year’s four-club mega trade.
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Horne-Francis was booed by some parts of the crowd during Saturday night’s clash – three weeks after he copped similar treatment during Port Adelaide’s loss to Collingwood at the MCG. He was seen sharing an intense exchange then a hug with Port coach Hinkley after the full-time siren.
Speaking to reporters post-game, a fed-up Hinkley hit out at those who’ve criticised Horne-Francis in recent months.
“Jason Horne-Francis is 19. Some parts really annoy me about the way people treat him. It’s annoying me,” Hinkley said.
“He’s never going to play four quarters every week. He’s 19 years old. If you’re treating my 19-year-old son the way some people have treated him, I’d be embarrassed by my performance if I was those people.
“I think it’s been really unfair. The kid made a courageous decision to come home. Let the kid play footy. He’s 19.”
Asked if he was speaking specifically about the fans that jeered Horne-Francis on Saturday night, Hinkley said: “I’m talking about lots of things. I’m talking about people who write stories every week, talk stories every week and I’m talking about the treatment that they gave him, at times, tonight.
“Without making a big deal of it, the kid’s trying, he’s giving his best. He’s 19. Stop treating him like he’s 28 and treat the kid with some respect.
“And I tell you what, some people who put pressure on kids in this game need to have a good hard look at themselves.”
Hinkley said Horne-Francis hadn’t been affected by the outside noise.
“Great credit to him. He just wants to play good footy. He’s happy being home. Good on him,” he said.
Hinkley was also fired up when he took umbrage at a question around why the Power had performed better late in games across the past fortnight compared to the Round 3 Showdown where they “disappeared for 20 minutes when the game was on the line”.
“Disappear? This team doesn’t disappear,” a perplexed Hinkley said.
“AFL footy is bloody tough and for people to think they (the players) ‘disappear’, I think that’s unfair.
“They just keep going in every game they’re in. I just get really frustrated sometimes when you attack the team … No one gets out there to, in your words, try and ‘disappear’. They try and hang in as long as they can. Sometimes it’s tough, this game.”
Little separated Hinkley’s Power and the Bulldogs all night, with torrential rain leading to the two teams playing out a tough slog.
But Horne-Francis’ brilliant last quarter, as well as clutch set-shot kicks from Todd Marshall and all-round brilliant performance from Zak Butters, helped the Power claim victory.
“That was pretty tough conditions as everyone witnessed … and our boys and the Dogs were at it all night and going pretty hard,” Hinkley said.
“We both had turns at different moments. Luckily enough for us at the end of the game we were really strong and really tough around the footy that swung the game back our way.
“A couple of moments were going to be big and balls that were marked by some people at courageous times and finished their work – it was pretty important.”
The Power are now 3-2 after a tough five-round fixture.
Asked if the Power were now well prepared to launch into the next phase of the season, Hinkley said: “No, because as we’ve seen all the time, every game is so different … You’ve got to turn up every week as best you can, but I don’t think any team is going to be able to do that for 23 rounds and then some.
“You’ve just got to give yourself a chance and what we’ve done now is give ourselves a chance to stay in the comp for longer than we were last year. I think that’s significant for us that we’ve got to the stage 3-2. I’m really proud of the team.
“Sometimes seasons are built around some of these character-building wins.”
