Ahead of Ken Hinkley’s final Showdown, Michael Whiting takes a look at the Power coach’s best moments in the rivalry

Ken Hinkley is seen after Port Adelaide’s win over Adelaide in round 19, 2013. Picture: AFL Photos

SATURDAY night’s Showdown will mark the end of the Ken Hinkley era in the famous South Australian rivalry.

From his first match in 2013 until Adelaide’s five-point win in round nine earlier this season, Hinkley has led Port Adelaide during some unforgettable contests.

With 11 wins from 24 matches, there’s been highs, lows and plenty of controversy.

We look back across Hinkley’s Showdown career at some of his defining moments as Port Adelaide coach, both inside and outside the coaches’ box.

1. Round 8, 2018

This was one of the all-time Showdowns with one of the all-time reactions. Robbie Gray kicked five goals in the third quarter and after Adelaide hit the lead in the final minute courtesy of a Mitch McGovern goal, the game looked lost. That was until Steven Motlop crossed the arc and kicked the winner with 21 seconds remaining. Hinkley’s emotional reaction in the box – holding up five fingers on one hand and making a zero with the other – came following a week of scrutiny following a poor run in Showdowns. “I was sick of 0-5 and the team was sick of 0-5,” he said post-match. “It was a bit too silly wasn’t it by me but that’s the emotion of this game sometimes.”

2. Round 20, 2018

One of the most controversial moments in Showdown history happened late in Adelaide’s three-point win. With inside three minutes remaining, the Crows trailed, before a Josh Jenkins goal was sent upstairs to review whether it had flicked the post. The call stood, but Adelaide’s full-forward fessed up in an on-ground interview after the final siren. “Grandma raised me not to tell fibs. I think it hit the post,” he said. Hinkley was furious about the decision in his press conference, calling it a “monumental mistake”. “To deal with that last moment, where the player acknowledges it’s hit the post and the AFL, in a billion-dollar industry, can wreck seasons for football clubs. If I was the AFL, I’d be embarrassed and disappointed in an industry that’s so important to so many people.”

3. Round three, 2013

Just three matches into his coaching career, Hinkley would confront his first Showdown – and walk away a winner. Fresh off a disastrous season and confronting a team that had played in a preliminary final just seven months earlier, Port was long odds. But with fresh-faced Chad Wingard kicking three final-quarters goals to help separate a one-point game at three-quarter time, Port got over the line by nine points. One game, one win and the Hinkley era was off and running.

4. Round 19, 2013

Another epic win from Port Adelaide and an emotional response by Hinkley. Trailing by eight points with less than two minutes remaining Angus Monfries gave Port hope with ‘that’ goal courtesy of the biggest off-break ever seen at the Adelaide Oval. Then it was Chad Wingard time, with the teenage prodigy taking an overhead mark and kicking his fifth goal to deliver another Showdown win in Hinkley’s first season. The rookie coach shook his fists in jubilation in the box.

5. Round 23, 2024

Dan Houston’s brutal bump on Izak Rankine, that left the Crow concussed and needing to be helped from the field on a medical cart, led to a post-match exchange of words between Hinkley and Adelaide counterpart Matthew Nicks. The two looked amicable enough as they walked across the ground together, but it was later reported Nicks was not too happy, apparently telling Hinkley that Houston’s bump was a “dog act”. The Tribunal would sanction the running defender to a five-match suspension, ensuring it was his last game for the club before switching to Collingwood during the off-season.