PORT Adelaide's rise from outside the top-eight to preliminary finalist in the space of 12 months earned Ken Hinkley his second AFL Coaches Association coach of the year award.
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The Camperdown born-and-raised mentor received the honour on Tuesday night, just days after the Power's season ended with a harrowing six-point loss to Richmond.
Hinkley became just the second Port Adelaide coach to accept the award, joining premiership mentor Mark Williams (2004).
He polled 236 votes to win from Brisbane's Chris Fagan, who also took his side to a preliminary final, on 191 and Geelong's Chris Scott, who is preparing for the grand final, on 154.
"I'm very humbled to be voted the AFL Coaches Association coach of the year," Hinkley said.
Hinkley said he was humbled to accept the award given the strong field and praised his extensive support team for helping him lead the Power's charge up the ladder.
"Ultimately this award is a team effort and a reflection upon an entire group at Port Adelaide," he said.
"This wouldn't be possible without an outstanding playing group led by Tom Jonas and the countless hours of support from my assistant coaches, list management team and general manager football Chris Davies."
Hinkley also praised the Power's supporter base for its commitment during a season impacted by a worldwide pandemic and his family.
"Your support of me, the playing group and the entire club has been amazing," he said.
"And of course, without the incredible support of my family I wouldn't be in the position to pursue my passion for coaching. I'm just very fortunate that I have so many great people around me."
Justine McCullagh-Beasy
Sports journalist with an interest in feature reporting. Email: justine.mc@austcommunitymedia.com.au
Sports journalist with an interest in feature reporting. Email: justine.mc@austcommunitymedia.com.au
