Hawthorn coach Sam Mitchell revealed that his frustration with Ken Hinkley following their semi-final defeat was not solely due to the coach’s contentious exchanges with his players, but also stemmed from an earlier incident in their round 10 matchup. In that game, the Hawks maintained a lead until Port Adelaide scored a goal in the final moments, securing a dramatic one-point victory.
As the final siren sounded, Port’s players and fans erupted in celebration, while Hinkley was seen exuberantly celebrating on the sidelines, yelling and pumping his fists in the direction of the coaches’ box where Mitchell was seated. Following the Hawks’ semi-final loss, Hinkley exacerbated tensions by taunting Jack Ginnivan, which further angered Mitchell.
In his post-match press conference, Hinkley did apologize for the on-field confrontation with Ginnivan and Hawthorn captain James Sicily, who defended his teammate. This incident followed a tumultuous lead-up to the match, making Hinkley’s comments even more incendiary for Mitchell and his team.
Hinkley remarked, “You’re not flying, Jack,” in reference to Ginnivan’s controversial social media post that stirred controversy ahead of the match. Ginnivan received criticism for his brash response to a comment from Swans star Brodie Grundy, who said, “See you in 14 days,” implying that the Hawks would easily defeat the Power and move on to face Sydney in the preliminary final.
After the match, Mitchell expressed his frustration with Hinkley’s comments, stating, “I can only speak for my club. Reflecting on how Hawthorn handled the situation, we had a young player, Jack Ginnivan, who received some harsh words from a much older man who has been in the game for a long time.”
He praised his club’s captain, James Sicily, for standing up for Ginnivan, saying, “I understand that emotions run high during this time of year. I’m really proud of our captain, who, despite his own emotions, was able to lead in a way he could be proud of.”
Sam Mitchell believes he didn’t overreact to Ken Hinkley debacle
Since then much has been made of Hinkley’s actions and Mitchell’s comments. When pressed by Kane Cornes on the incident on SEN on Friday, Mitchell dismissed Cornes’ take that he had overreacted, stating that it was a build-up from what started way back in Round 10.
Mitchell responded to Cornes’ question about whether he felt he had overreacted, saying, “I don’t think so.” He explained that there was context behind his reaction, referring to a similar incident the last time the teams played. That previous encounter, in round 10, saw Port Adelaide trail the entire game before a last-minute goal from Darcy Byrne-Jones sealed a dramatic comeback victory, with Port winning 11.14 (80) to 12.7 (79).
Following the win, Port Adelaide’s players, staff, and fans celebrated exuberantly, with coach Ken Hinkley visibly animated on the sidelines, cheering and gesturing towards the coaches’ box. Mitchell felt that Hinkley and the team had taken their celebrations too far on that occasion.
When Cornes pushed for more details, Mitchell chose not to elaborate, stating, “I don’t think we need to give any extra attention to this. The focus for Hawthorn is that we got what we deserved this season.” He acknowledged that while it made for an interesting story, it wouldn’t be a major point in their review of the game.
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