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‘Pre season 2.0’ underway, Hinkley ‘icy’ towards shared hotel with Crows

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Brendan Lines    May 18th, 2020  

Life after lock-down began today as Port Adelaide players took part in their first non-contact ‘pre-season 2.0’ training sessions at Alberton.

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Keeping their distance: Port Adelaide players training at Alberton – Image: PAFC

Port Adelaide coach Ken Hinkley spoke just before the conclusion of the midday training group of eight lead by Captain Tom Jonas.

“It’s exciting to have footy back, we know we still got a little way to go, starting the road to getting back to out there and playing, for everyone, for the fans, the community, for us, for the players that are out there now running around it’s just great having it back, and have a bit of light as to where we are going,” he said.

The clubs training regime looks much different than ever before, as groups of eight players are staggered across six training sessions throughout the day beginning as early as 6.30am.

The group lead by Jonas included mid-fielders Tom Rockliff and Xavier Duursma, in what Hinkley describes is a ‘selected’ group.

“Without saying they’re random, they’re just selected based on a mixture of players, different types, positional, age, all the things you would consider, because some of the challenges would be you are trying to protect the whole squad, not just a small squad,” he said.

This will be the order of training for  players under the AFL’s COVID-19 protocols until full-contact training resumes on May 25th.

By then, Port Adelaide will relocate to the Gold Coast hub with Adelaide counterparts the Crows and W.A teams the West Coast Eagles and Fremantle.

Hinkley was ‘icy’ at the prospect of sharing accommodation with rival club Adelaide, after Port Adelaide president David Koch’s ‘We just don’t like you’ comment on breakfast radio in Adelaide.

“We are arch enemies a bit, it doesn’t make a lot of sense to put them together, we have these great matches and these great grudge matches and we’re going to be going into a place and be buddies? I not sure about that it doesn’t quite feel right in Adelaide,” Hinkley said.

Hinkley shutdown questions over wether any request was put to the AFL to remain seperate on his behalf.

“They’re not my issues, my issue is making sure them boys out there are ready to play football and that’s all I care about.

“Wether we live with the Crows or don’t live with the Crows, or Freo [Fremantle] or West Coast, or whoever it might be, we will do whatever we have to do to make sure we win the footy,” he said.

As Alberton re-opened itself to a new-world of ‘over and above’ pandemic testing protocols set out by the AFL, the squad moving to the Gold Coast has completed all it’s isolation and testing.

Except Western Australian players Mitch Georgiades and Jake Pasini who are currently completing their 14-day quarantine periods due to conclude tomorrow.

Matildas settle the score on World Cup bid

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Brendan Lines

November 14, 2020

The Matildas 1-0 victory against Chile at Hindmarsh Stadium on Tuesday night not only settled the score on the field, but set Adelaide’s World Cup bid straight giving women’s football in Adelaide the attention it rightly deserves on the world stage.

Matildas captain Sam Kerr gives her shirt to a young fan after the match. Picture: AAP

Image: Daily Telegraph – Sam Kerr gives away her strip to local Adelaide fan.

A record 10,342 strong crowd attended the women’s international friendly, smashing the previous record in Adelaide of 5186 set in 2006.

From the resounding cheers at the climax of Advance Australia Fair, to the raptures engulfing the moments just after Emily Gielnik’s goal in the 23rd minute — alone would have been more than enough for Premier Steven Marshall to come to his senses.

The roar of approval for The Matildas:

Recent public and political pressure forced the Liberal government to re-think its World Cup bid, before Adelaide was lost to the complete alienation of the country’s football and wider sporting community.

Just hours before kick-off the Premier made a statement re-committing his support.

“The FIFA Women’s World Cup is a massive event to add to our sporting calendar, and Adelaide will be a fantastic location for the competition,” he said.

In August, Marshall balked at the chance for Adelaide to support Football Federation Australia’s bid to host the World Cup, on the grounds of affordability to upgrade Hindmarsh Stadium.

Tourism minister David Ridgway argued that losses of business would have to be paid to the Crows and Port Adelaide AFL clubs if games were to be played at Adelaide Oval — despite InDaily revealing the government was not under any obligation to compensate the Stadium Management Authority.

The opposition’s recreation spokesperson Katrine Hildyard who criticised Marshall for a $24m cut to the Female Facilities Program, later said on Twitter that supporters made their voice heard on Tuesday night.

The government’s change in tack came as Ridgway said “The State Government has negotiated a good outcome for South Australian sports fans and taxpayers.”

But all the politics aside, it was the spectacle that mattered in the end as the Matildas headed by Sam Kerr were dominant against the Chileans.

As their fluent attack wrecked havoc on the Chilean defenders and keeper Natalia Campos.

The win cemented the Matilda’s eighth place in the world rankings for 2019 with seven wins and two losses.

To the Matildas’ credit, not only did they get the job done on the field, but there was an implied victory off the field rousing record local support.

As our ladies silenced the rhetoric with their irrefutable results, giving women’s football in Adelaide a well deserved shot at getting further attention on the world stage.