Ken Hinkley

Ken Hinkley (born 30 September 1966) is currently the senior coach of the Port Adelaide Football Club in the Australian Football League and a former player with the Geelong Football Club and Fitzroy Football Club.

Playing career

Hinkley, recruited from Camperdown, started his league career as a forward at Fitzroy but played his best football with Geelong, where he was used as a rebounding defender. Hinkley walked out of Fitzroy in 1988 and asked for a clearance to Geelong. He stood out of football for the rest of 1988 season before being trade to Geelong for the 1989 season. A half back flanker in the 1991 and 1992 All-Australian teams, Hinkley also won a Carji Greeves Medal as Geelong's best and fairest player in the 1992 AFL season. In the same year he finished third at the Brownlow Medal count, behind winner Scott Wynd and Hawthorn's Jason Dunstall. He appeared in 12 finals with Geelong, including the 1992, 1994 and 1995 Grand Final losses.

Coaching career

Retiring after the 1995 AFL Grand Final, Hinkley joined Hampden Football League club Mortlake as coach, where he remained for three seasons. He then returned to Camperdown and steered his former club to back to back premierships in 1999 and 2000, the former as captain-coach. St Kilda acquired his services as an assistant coach in 2001 but the following year he took up the role of senior coach of Bell Park in the Geelong Football League and oversaw a premiership in 2003. He resumed his AFL coaching career in 2004, as an assistant to Mark Thompson at Geelong. At the end of the 2009 season, Hinkley was announced as an assistant at the new Gold Coast Suns Franchise. Hinkley has also interviewed for the Richmond, Geelong and St Kilda senior coach positions but was unsuccessful.