Tasmania Devils confirmed Sunday's reports that 59-year-old Hinkley defeated both Nathan Buckley and John Longmire (amongst others) to become the team's inaugural AFL head coach when they enter the competition in 2028.
Hinkley will extend his playing and coaching career into a fifth decade, having made his VFL debut for Fitzroy in 1987 with the first of his 132 games as a player.
He then led the Port Adelaide side for nearly 300 games over 13 seasons, finishing up with a win rate of 59% and the 2020 minor Premiership.
Devils chair Grant O'Brien said on Monday that, in addition to his 13 years of AFL experience as head coach, Hinkley impressed the Devils board with constant reference to 'three C's' in his presentation: character, care and connection.
Perhaps most notably, Hinkley was also an inaugural assistant coach at the Gold Coast Suns for three years, giving him a unique insight into how a coaching setup can ideally be built and managed at a startup club.
"Ken's approach, character and experience really fits that bill," O'Brien said.
"We love the focus that Ken has on player development - the 'teaching first' philosophy.
"He's a great connector, which is going to be hugely important for us as we bring together our first playing group. He's also a great connector in terms of bringing the state together behind our football club.
"Ken's experience over 13 years at Port Adelaide makes him a terrific choice. He'll be a great ambassador for our club and our state. One of the things that stands out from Ken's presentation were the three C's on the front page: Character, Care, and Connection.
"He's got that in spades, and he'll need it, because that's what we'll need as a club in 2028."
Hinkley confirmed that he had first been approached by inaugural Tasmania CEO Brendon Gale 18 months ago about the role and that the idea of coaching a young group and making history as an inaugural coach both appealed to him immediately.
"My first line (to Gale) was 'I'm a footy coach'," Hinkley explained.
"It's what I know. I don't know too much else. My world and my family's world is that I'm a coach.
"When I get an opportunity to coach young people in particular it's something I thrive in and always have. It keeps me really young and really excited.
"It's about the beginning. Inaugural coach. In 100 years time when Tasmania have won so many Premierships, at some point there'll be a revision moment where we look back and go: 'Who was the first coach of the footy club?'
"My name is going to be there forever. It's something I'm going to be so proud of. To be a part of that is such an exciting time for me. I'm now a Tasmanian."
Hinkley again used the 'character, care and connection' line to reporters when asked about the football identity and playing philosophy he wishes to instil in the playing squad.
"There'll be a way we play and go about it," he said.
"Character, care and connection was what I do really well. We have an identity that we'd like to build. We've got a bit of grit down here that's in this Tasmanian football club.
"We'll be pretty tough to play against. Every club wants to be strong and hard over the ball but we're going to play exciting and energetic football. People will want to come and watch us, especially Tasmanians. They'll pack the joint out and it won't be a nice spot to come if you're a visiting team."
As was the case when the Gold Coast Suns and GWS Giants entered the competition in 2011 and 2012 respectively, Tasmania have been awarded a raft of playing list and draft concessions to ensure they can field a competitive club from day dot, starting with priority access to Tasmanian-grown talent, and Hinkley declared there'll be 'no limits' to who they pursue for their playing squad from the mainland.
The club have been granted picks 1, 3 and 9 for the 2027 national draft - as well as picks 5, 7, 11 and 13 on the proviso that they are to be used in trades with other clubs to lure already established talent to the Devils or to be rolled forward into the 2028/29 drafts.
In addition, Tasmania also have access to an additional $5m of funds outside the salary cap, spread across 2028 and 2029, to use as sign-on bonuses.
The Devils will also be able to take advantage of the father-son rule and get first crack at sons of any Tasmanian-born V/AFL players with 100+ career appearances, whilst they'll also have access to sign one uncontracted player from each of the other 18 clubs across their first two seasons.
'In saying that, they have to be the right people, not just people," Hinkley added, asserting that he'll be expecting recruits to buy into his publicly stated philosophy.
Aaron Murphy has been with Flashscore since 2018 and, as the founding editor of the Australian newsdesk, has reported on-site at several major events in Melbourne including the Australian Open, State of Origin, A-League, NBL and international cricket. You can read his pieces here and contact him on X or LinkedIn.
