After a closely contested selection process between three high-profile coaching candidates, Australian Rules football has marked a new chapter in Tasmania’s sporting history: veteran mentor Ken Hinkley has been officially confirmed as the first ever senior coach of the state’s upcoming Australian Football League (AFL) expansion side, the Tasmania Devils.
Rumors of Hinkley’s appointment began circulating over the weekend, when reports emerged that he had presented to club leadership in Hobart. In the days leading up to the official announcement, the Devils fueled public speculation by sharing a cryptic social media clip showing the coach picking up an official club polo shirt, leaving fans to piece together the news before the formal reveal.
Hinkley stepped down from his 12-season tenure as senior coach of Port Adelaide at the conclusion of the 2025 AFL season, as part of a pre-planned succession that saw long-time assistant Josh Carr take over the senior role at the Power. While Hinkley never secured a premiership title during his time at Port Adelaide, he left the club with an overall winning record and a widespread reputation for forging tight, cohesive team cultures and getting the best out of developing players.
Speaking to media after his official unveiling in the Devils’ new team colors, Hinkley expressed overwhelming enthusiasm for the once-in-a-generation opportunity to build a new AFL club from the ground up. “This isn’t just coaching a new football club – this is building something for an entire passionate football state,” he said. “I can’t wait to lead this charge and put Tasmanian football on the national map in a way it’s never been before.”
Reflecting on his decades-long career, Hinkley added: “When I first spoke to Brendon Gale 18 months ago about this role, I told him straight: I’m a football coach. It’s what I know, it’s what my family and I have built our lives around, and there’s nothing I love more than coaching young people and helping them grow. To get to do that as the first coach of the Tasmania Football Club? It’s an incredibly special moment for this place, and for me.”
While the Devils are not scheduled to make their competitive AFL debut until 2028, Hinkley is expected to begin his role with the club at the start of the 2026 season, to oversee the final years of preparation for the team’s entry into the national competition. Tasmania already fields a team in the second-tier Victorian Football League (VFL), and the side has already exceeded expectations this season, drawing massive, record-breaking crowds to its home matches. The strong turnouts have silenced early critics and confirmed the deep existing appetite for top-level professional football across the Apple Isle.
Hinkley emerged as the top candidate for the role beating out two other experienced AFL coaches: Nathan Buckley and John Longmire. Buckley, a former Collingwood senior coach, returned to coaching this season as an assistant mentor with Geelong, a move widely interpreted as a preparation run for the Tasmanian role. Longmire, who stepped down from his senior post at Sydney Swans following the club’s 2024 grand final loss to Brisbane, has worked as a football media commentator since leaving his coaching role.