Port Adelaide coach Ken Hinkley won’t be tempted to bring forward contract discussions amid a 10-game winning run as he prepares to face reigning premiers Geelong.
Hinkley, out of contract at the end of the season – his 11th at the helm – and the Power have parked discussions on his future until August.
That pre-season agreement didn’t change after Damien Hardwick departed Richmond and Hinkley was adamant adding more victories to a club-record winning streak wouldn’t affect it either.
Midway through fielding a question clearly leading towards his future after Friday night’s 22-point win over the Western Bulldogs, Hinkley butted in with a quick-fire: “August”, then elaborated on why that wouldn’t change.
“We’re a really good club. We’re really well connected with what we’ve planned and what we’ve thought about,” he told reporters.
“The person standing up the back of the room (football boss Chris Davies), I trust with everything and we just do what we do and we know things take care of themselves. We understand football.
“We’re a performance industry, you have to continue to win.
“I’ve been lucky enough to coach this club for a long period of time and they’ve been an outstanding support to me.
“I couldn’t see why any other way that we would do it. We’re a really smart – understanding team is probably better than smart – we understand what footy is.”
Thursday’s home clash with Geelong at the Adelaide Oval shapes as the perfect litmus test for Hinkley’s exciting young charges.
Cats skipper Patrick Dangerfield should return from a hamstring injury along with Mitch Duncan (hamstring) and Max Holmes (knee).
“This’ll be our third six-day turnaround and they’re coming off a bye so it’s gonna be a great test for our boys,” Hinkley said.
“But they don’t mind a test, they’re quite happy to take on the challenge and we know how great the Geelong footy team has been.
“I did hear Chris (Scott) say last week that there’s a few blokes coming back – we tend to get them with their best group.
“But we want to be able to beat the best and we think they’re one of the best.”
Hinkley expected defender Trent McKenzie (rolled ankle) to be fine to face the Cats.