Hinkley eyes Port Adelaide trio in early Tasmania recruiting push

Ken Hinkley / Tasmania Devils

Early mail, treat it gently — but Zero Hanger reports that Ken Hinkley has already begun building a target list for Tasmania’s AFL entry, and three current Port Adelaide players are on it.

The Devils haven’t played a game yet, which tells you something about how seriously Hinkley is treating the recruitment side of this job. Selling a ground-floor spot in an expansion club is a particular pitch — it won’t work on everyone, but for the right player at the right stage of their career, being part of something genuinely new carries real appeal.

The Port Adelaide connection is obvious enough: Hinkley spent over a decade at Alberton, so he knows those players, their contracts, their characters, and — probably — which ones the Power could realistically move on. That list knowledge is one of the most underrated assets any new club can have.

Whether any of the three are actually considering it is a separate question entirely. Expansion clubs live and die by early list decisions, and this is at the very beginning of that process. Probability sits at 10% — and with no games played and no draft picks yet committed, that feels about right.

Stranger things have happened than a loyalist coach eventually luring his old players to a project he believes in. But right now, this is Hinkley doing what any smart recruiter does: starting the conversation well before anyone has to answer it.

Reported by Zero Hanger (20 July 2026). Unconfirmed.