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South Australian Premier Peter Malinauskas intervened afterwards Port Adelaide coach Ken Hinckley was booed off the ground on Saturday.
The veteran Power coach was in no doubt what his fans were thinking of him after slumping to 79 points AFL loss at the hands of Brisbane.
WATCH ABOVE: South Australian Premier Peter Malinauskas weighs in after Ken Hinckley blows his whistle.
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Sections of the Port crowd loudly booed Hinckley when he was shown on the big screens at Adelaide Oval and also after the match as he walked the race with club staff.
“It’s not fun. It’s not what I like. That’s the reality of my job,” Hinckley said after the game. “If you can’t handle that, you probably shouldn’t be in my job. I can handle this. I don’t like it, it’s not my favorite time.’
Asked about the drama on Sunday, Malinauskas – an avid soccer fan – said he didn’t like what it looked like but understood why it happened.
“Footy fans are passionate,” the Prime Minister said. “I think booing is never great, but people are passionate and desperate to succeed and that’s part of the experience.
“I don’t condone it but I think we all want to see our strong teams do as well as they can and the fans are passionate about that.
“And we often see emotion in our game – there’s nothing wrong with that.”
Brisbane coach Chris Fagan said Hinkley’s mauling was his only defeat of the day.
“For me, if there’s anything disappointing about winning today’s game, it’s the fact that he was booed off the ground, I don’t like that,” he said.
“Coaching is a tough job … I’m a big supporter of all coaches.
“His record here at this club is outstanding and he shouldn’t be judged on one performance.”
Hinckley hold the record for most VFL/AFL games played without reaching a grand final — 262 — despite an impressive 59.7 per cent win rate.
But he is far from writing the season off after a third straight loss leaves the Power in seventh place, two points above the Lions.
Referring to his young midfielders who were collectively beaten by Brisbane’s battle-hardened core, Hinkley said: “I know at their best they can cause any team some serious problems.
“I’m not going to sit here and give up, I’m not going to.
“I’m going to sit here and say I expect the guys to be fine.”
But he admitted the Force fell short of the league leaders.
“We’ve shown we’re good but we’re not one of the best teams in the competition, we’re below that – everyone agrees,” Hinkley said.
The Lions jumped to eighth ahead of Sunday’s games in stunning style, scoring 12 straight goals from midway through the second quarter to midway through the third.
– With AAP
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