A “handshake agreement” was reached to replace the long-serving Power head, but the new coach is “not ready yet.”

According to rumors, Port Adelaide and Ken Hinkley have reached a “handshake agreement” whereby Josh Carr, the assistant coach, will succeed Hinkley as senior coach at the end of 2025.

After bringing the Power back into the playoffs while facing intense pressure to keep his job, Hinkley re-signed late in the previous year and added a two-year agreement. The 2024 season has started off well since then.

However, Carr—a 2004 Power premiership player, SANFL coach, and assistant at Fremantle—has long been considered the obvious choice to take over for Hinkley after his protracted tenure at the team ends.

Wilson stated on Nine’s Footy Classified, “All things being equal, Ken Hinkley will coach this year, next year, and then he will stand aside for Josh Carr.”

Josh Carr and the club are collaborating closely off the field. Josh is being coached by a consultant who works with the coaches. Josh Carr has been granted an understanding, even though the board may not have received it.

“The main reason he didn’t apply for the Richmond job last year was that he was made aware of the handshake deal, which said that he could take the Port Adelaide job when he was ready.

“The board has been told Josh is not ready yet, and he wasn’t ready last year, he’s not ready now. They’re trying to make him ready for the end of 2025. It’s an extraordinary situation and if it works, it’ll be applauded, particularly if Port could get a flag between now and then.”

In recent years, succession planning has been incredibly successful in both Sydney and Melbourne. Both times, once Paul Roos’s stewardship came to an end, John Longmire and Simon Goodwin quickly took over as premiership coaches.

Nevertheless, there was far less success at Essendon, where John Worsfold’s last year was spent preparing Ben Rutten for a 44-game unsuccessful stint; at Collingwood, Nathan Buckley’s replacement of Mick Malthouse was contentious at the time and did not lead the team to another premiership.

Hinkley, who this past weekend told 3AW that “if Josh is going to be a senior coach at some point, I’d love it to be nothing more than at Port Adelaide,” has consistently lauded Carr’s prospects of being a public senior coach.

However, Power legend Kane Cornes claimed Hinkley wasn’t receiving enough support from the agreement.

“At last, he has a key defender or two or three taller than 6’3.” It is inappropriate to interrogate him about a succession plan or what would happen if he were to win the premiership this year. Cornes enquired.

“What if he accomplishes something remarkable over the next two years, and you’ve given Josh Carr the job guarantee? What happens if you force yourself into a succession plan and Chris Scott or another truly great coach becomes available?

“The one thing about Port Adelaide that irritates me is that they listen to the supporters too much… this is to appease a supporter group that has grown a little tired of Ken Hinkley,” he continued.