There are plenty of talking points after Round 19 of the AFL season, including whether Tasmania's decision to appoint Ken Hinkley as its first senior coach was the right move.
Let's get to this week's overreactions column, where we judge the biggest takeaways as legitimate or irrational.
Ken Hinkley was the right coaching choice for the Tasmania Devils
When Tasmania enters the competition in season 2028 it will be led by Ken Hinkley in the coaching box after the former Port Adelaide gaffer beat out the likes of Nathan Buckley and John Longmire to become the Devils' inaugural head coach.
Hinkley was unveiled as Tasmania's first coach on Monday morning after inking a five-year deal with the club.
It's expected that Hinkley, who has spent much of 2026 working in football media, will wrap up those media requirements later this year before taking the coaching reins next season in preparation for Tasmania's first season in the AFL the following year.
Verdict: Not an overreaction
The expectation is that even with a haul of draft capital and a bunch of league concessions, the Devils aren't going to be overly competitive early doors. There's no shame in that. In fact, toiling away at the bottom of the ladder and suffering your share of deflating losses is almost a rite of passage for any AFL expansion club.
So what would a team likely to be in this position need at head coach? Someone with vast experience, a great man manager, approachable, and honest. Someone who knows how to get the best out of his players and someone those same players want to play for. Hinkley checks all of these boxes.
Another reason to love the Hinkley appointment is that he's only just out of the sport, having left Port Adelaide at the end of season 2025. He's got a firm grasp on the modern game, it's demands, and where it's heading. He's the perfect choice to help navigate the Devils through its early years, build culture and set the professional standards that will form the foundation of this club for years to come.
"It's a huge privilege to be given the opportunity to build something from the very beginning," Hinkley said on Monday. "The responsibility to lead Tasmania's entry into the AFL is something very special. It excites me. Tasmania is a proud football state. I can't wait to get to know the players, staff, partners, and community who have, and will continue to be, part of this from day one."
They're all the coaching intangibles, what we can measure are Hinkley's results.
Perhaps it's because he's yet to reach a Grand Final, but Hinkley's successes have often been undersold. Across 13 seasons at the Power, he qualified for finals eight times, led teams to a top four home-and-away finish on four occasions, and reached four preliminary finals. It's an impressive and ultra consistent record that few other coaches of the last 20 years can match.
-- Jake Michaels
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