Ken Hinkley is once again facing unwanted speculation about his future after Port Adelaide were humiliated in their second-biggest AFL loss in the club’s history on Thursday night. Geelong cruised into another preliminary final by thrashing Port 20.18 (138) to 7.12 (54) at Adelaide Oval.

This is the Powers’ fourth consecutive defeat in the final and means that on the threshold of another exit from a winless situation. Hinkley did an incredible job with Port Adelaide in 2024, securing the team a second-place finish.

But another finals defeat will raise questions about his 272-game run – the longest in VFL/AFL history without reaching a grand final. “We’ve got to get over this performance in the next 24 hours,” Hinkley said after Port’s 84-point defeat. “We’ve got to get over the facts … our last three or four finals haven’t been to the standard we need.

“It’s about our coaching group, our playing group and our football club. I know and understand that in some ways it falls on the coach. But the reality is that we’ve always said it’s all of us doing it, it’s all of us trying to achieve something together.

“It’s not one person, but there’s someone who represents it, and I’m sitting in that seat. I work very hard to get the best results possible. And my coaching team and the football team are doing everything they can to make sure that doesn’t happen.”

Port Adelaide rocked by Zak Butters injury

The embarrassing home defeat was second only to Port’s 119-point loss to Geelong in the 2007 Grand Final, and the loss was compounded by a rib injury to dual All-Australian and vice-captain Zak Butters, who was forced to miss the game.

Alarm bells rang for Hinkley when Butters, a two-time AFL Most Courageous Player, was unable to return to action. “His mates rated him as the toughest player in the AFL and he couldn’t go out there and play again… he must be pretty sore,” Hinkley said.

Butters will undergo tests on Friday and Power will try to reset for a home semi-final against the winner of the Western Bulldogs and Hawthorn elimination final. “How do we deal with this and move on quickly? Because we have to… we have to find a way,” Hinkley said.

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Asked if there were any psychological scars left after losing the last four finals, Hinkley replied: “I understand that question because they are facts and I always deal with facts. The truth is we think the group is better.”

Port fans were furious with Thursday’s performance, describing it as “pathetic” and “embarrassing”, with many suggesting Power needs to move on from Hinkley, despite his successes during the regular season.

“I think they lack resilience,” Kane Cornes told SEN radio on Friday morning. “You can’t give up in a final like that… and there were many, many times when I think the Port Adelaide players made the decision to give up.”

Port Adelaide’s last four finals matches:

• 84-point defeat to Geelong – 2024 qualifying final

• 23-point defeat to GWS – 2023 semi-final

• 48-point defeat to Brisbane – 2023 qualifying final

• 71-point defeat to Western Bulldogs – 2021 preliminary final

from AAP