Mature-aged draftee to make Pies debut; Hinkley says AFL ‘shamed’ him over $20k fine

Updated April 8, 2026 — 1:33pm,first published 10:49am

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In today’s AFL briefing:A new face for the Magpies, who have also passed stars Nick Daicos and Scott Pendlebury as fit to play on Friday night. Ex-Port Adelaide coach Ken Hinkley says he was “shamed” and exploited by the AFL over his controversial $20,000 fine.

Collingwood royalty Nick Daicos and Scott Pendlebury have been declared certain starters to face Fremantle on Friday night, as the Magpies turn to a debutant after their Easter contested-ball smashing.

Mature-age recruit Angus Anderson will make his AFL debut against the Dockers in a midfield that has been significantly strengthened.

Angus Anderson (left) will make his AFL debut on Friday night.Tennis Australia/Fiona Hamilton

Daicos and Pendlebury were both passed fit to play after completing the Pies’ main session of the week on Wednesday. Daicos appeared to run within himself for parts of the session but was not wearing a bandage on his calf and moved more freely in match simulation.

“I don’t think anyone can declare they’re 100 per cent right to play,” Magpies coach Craig McRae said. “It’s probably close to it, but I don’t think we’ll manage Nick’s minutes.

“We might with some others. We’ve been doing that in the early part of the season, depending on if you’ve got injuries on the bench.”

The Pies’ on-ball brigade was mauled by the Lions’ midfield beasts, losing the contested possession count by 39 – their fifth-worst return since this statistic was first recorded by Champion Data in 1999. They were also outscored by 54 points for scores from clearance and lost stoppages by 18 – both their worst returns since 2016.

McRae is expecting a more contested style of game at Adelaide Oval, which is 17 metres narrower than the MCG. The Pies marked new boundary lines on their training oval to prepare for the dimensions.

Daicos spent time forward during match simulation, but McRae was guarded about the superstar midfielder’s exact role against Fremantle.

“Maybe, maybe not, probably going to the game thinking not, but we need to see what the game gives us,” McRae said.

McRae defended the club’s management of injured players after allowing skipper Darcy Moore to play on with a hamstring strain in their win against Greater Western Sydney, and taking Daicos to Brisbane only for him to be impeded in his movement and withdrawn minutes before the game.

“If you look at Nick in isolation, we go up there with all the intention to play, and it just didn’t quite progress, it happens,” McRae said.

“Whether it’s the plane adds to things, I’m not sure. But we get up there with good intentions, and we have to pivot and come back a couple of days later, and he’s like, even the next day, he was a lot better.

“Darcy played 60 per cent of the game time and made a huge difference to the rest of the squad. If he doesn’t take those minutes, then other guys are loaded up going into the six-day break and other things, and there was no chance of further injury.

“Like it or not, we probably put a guy out in the field that couldn’t kick. Not ideal. It is what it is, and we get the result, and we move on.”

Anderson, the No.57 pick in last year’s draft, is no stranger to Adelaide Oval, having won the medal for best afield while playing for Sturt in the club’s SANFL grand final victory last year at the venue. A graduate of Sydney’s academy, Anderson, 22, is a big-bodied midfielder who can break the lines.

“The fans will love his tackling intensity,” McRae said.

“Every time we show highlights of him in the VFL, he’s really smashing in and hurting the opposition. His contest and clearance stuff is his strength. He’ll play against an opposition that is No.1 in that part of the game, so he’ll bring good strengths for us.”

‘Decided to … shame me’: Hinkley hits out at AFL over controversial fine

AAP

Ex-Port Adelaide coach Ken Hinkley says he was “shamed” and exploited by the AFL over his controversial $20,000 fine for his post-match sledging of Hawthorn players after a semi-final.

Hinkley had overseen the Power’s three-point win in 2024 and, as players left Adelaide Oval, verbally clashed with some Hawks while directing an aeroplane gesture at Jack Ginnivan. He was slapped with the sanction for conduct unbecoming.

The AFL then used Hinkley’s theatrics in 2025 to promote a re-match of Port and Hawthorn in that season’s Gather Round.

“The AFL decided to impose a fine on me and shame me, and I was pretty unforgiving of that to be honest,” Hinkley told SEN on Wednesday.

Port Adelaide coach Ken Hinkley exchanging words with Hawthorn players after the match.AFL Photos

“I just didn’t think there was an enormous amount of care in their way of treating me through that journey.”

Asked if he felt exploited, Hinkley replied: “Yeah, I did.

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“I made the mistake, I done [sic] the crime ... and I owned that and talked about that quite openly straight afterwards and was embarrassed by my own behaviour.

“... But then to promote it on their website leading into Gather Round with me and Hawthorn and Ginni [Ginnivan] – who luckily enough, he took it in the right way – it felt a little bit misused if you’re making a moral stand on what I should and shouldn’t be allowed to do. That’s just the way I felt.”

Hinkley suggested his fine could have been payback for other incidents during his 13-year stint as Port coach which ceased at the end of last season.

“They [the AFL] had every right to do what they did,” he said.

“I just felt like there was a little bit extra in it for some reason.

“I probably caused them some problems over the journey in different ways, but maybe this was their chance to clip me properly, I don’t know.”

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Andrew Wu writes on cricket and AFL for The AgeConnect via X or email.From our partners