AFL 2026: Why Ken Hinkley was named Tasmania Devils inaugural coach, meeting, pitch, details, latest news

Ken Hinkley sold the premiership void in his football resume as a “strength” to the Tasmania Devils with the vision that the “fire still burns” for him to guide a team to flag glory.

Hinkley is set to be named Tasmania’s inaugural coach on Monday, beating out fellow contenders John Longmire and Nathan Buckley in a historic appointment for the 19th club ahead of its AFL entry in 2028.

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The former Port Adelaide coach held the reins at Alberton for 13 seasons in a largely successful run from 2013 to 2025, with a 59 per cent win rate including seven finals series and four prelims.

However an elusive premiership, and even a grand final appearance, is the only thing missing from Hinkley’s otherwise glittering CV.

Instead of that being viewed as a shortcoming, it’s believed the 59-year old pitched it as something that adds extra motivation when he met with Devils officials including a visit to Hobart on Sunday.

“He went down there today and did a two-hour presentation, it was his first trip to Hobart. But the reality is they’ve been keen on Ken for months and there were clues as far back as Gather Round that he might be their man,” chief Herald Sun reporter Jay Clark said on Fox Footy’s The First Crack.

“The missing link in what is a great football CV is obviously the flag… but he sold that to the Devils, not as a weakness, but as a strength.

“He’s desperate to take a club to the top and that fire still burns. In fact, I think he said he would still crawl over hot coals to win a premiership at AFL level.

“So, while some may see that as a void in the resume, I think he sold it very much the other way.”

Hinkley’s traits as a “unifier and connector” are seen as why he was such an appealing option for the Devils to drive interest in the new club and “unite” the state.

“He has a super power to make any player to feel 10-foot tall and bulletproof. So, this is really the grandfather effect for the Tasmania Football Club,” Clark continued.

“They wanted a statesman, someone to unite the whole state and to sell the football club across the whole island.

“He’ll be driving out to the pie nights at the footy clubs to be dealing with the kids, he loves all that stuff because he’s so passionate about the game.

“People will say: ‘At 59, are his best coaching days behind him?’ Well, can I bring the table Chris Fagan? Who won his first flag at 63 and this year is shooting for three-straight premierships and four-straight grand finals at the age of 65.

“So, Ken Hinkley would strongly say he’s still got some of his best coaching days ahead of him.”

Kangaroos great David King thinks Hinkley’s passion as a “great promoter” and “entertainer” and father-figure attributes make him the ideal leader for Tassie in the early years when the club is faced with challenges.

“He’s going to be good for us,” King said.

“Because they’re going to go through some times where they’re not going to be the easiest sell.

“They’re going to have some tough roads early, they’re going to have a group of young players that are going to need pumping up and need to connect together and unite and feel attachment to the state of Tasmania. And that’s going to be a challenge.

“Then there’s (player) retention on top of that. That will be a club-wide challenge, not just for Ken.

“That I think is his strong suit. I don’t know whether it’s a separating factor between John Longmire, Ken Hinkley or Nathan Buckley.

“But I do feel that’s a great fit and we probably all warmed to the late. I think it’s a really good appointment, a natural fit.”

Though King sympathised for Buckley, who was widely viewed as the frontrunner for the Tassie gig for some time and returned to clubland this year as an assistant at Geelong.

“I probably thought for two or three years that this was (Buckley’s) job,” the Roos legend added. 

“It was almost: ‘OK, you upskill yourself, get yourself back on the tools for a while, and it’s yours’.

“And we were talking about Buckley to (Scott) Pendlebury and all sorts of things for a while.

“So, I feel a bit for Nathan. But this is a great day for Tasmanian football and Ken Hinkley.”

Looking ahead, Western Bulldogs champion Brad Johnson is fascinated by the coaching team Hinkley puts around him as the veteran coach begins to plot his supporting cast.

“The coaching panel is the next side of things here I think which is really important for Ken Hinkley to get right,” Johnson said.

“Chris Fagan has a group of assistants that are really strong behind him. So he can manage the group and they can help coach the direction.

“Because if a lot of his time is going to be spent doing a lot of the other bits and pieces that Tasmania football needs at the very beginning, he’s going to have to have others that fill the gap in between to help set things up for the footy club.

“But congratulations to Ken, it’s a huge appointment for the state of Tasmania as they push forward to getting their side out on the park.”