PORT ADELAIDE coach Ken Hinkley counts himself lucky to have been in the game of football as long as he has, saying he gave himself a moment to reflect after yesterday’s win in his 300^th game as player and coach.

Hinkley qualified for AFL Life Membership with the milestone, and his players ensured it would be a memorable day by beating Greater Western Sydney by 17-points.

They also pushed Hinkley into the middle of the circle for the team song after the game and covered him in sports drink.

“It was a special day with the win that the boys got and not so much the shower of Powerade that I got,” Hinkley joked on Melbourne radio on Monday morning.

“I think a couple of the coaches made an effort to make sure the players had some bottles in their hand before the end of the song but I wasn’t sure.

“I was a bit surprised from when I was pushed into there but it felt like a moment I wanted to share with the team and with the boys and they were obviously wanting to share with me.

“I met the boys at the door and it was almost a push and a spread by a few of the boys – I think Tom Jonas as the captain was making sure the boys acknowledged the moment.”

While the milestone was mentioned with a brief announcement by General Manager – Football, Chris Davies during the 6:30am flight to the Gold Coast yesterday, it was not something Hinkley was thinking about in the lead up.

“I was just too wound up wanting the day to go the way we wanted it to go,” he explained.

“It was an opportunity for us, a big game for us against a quality team. We had to bounce off a poor performance the week before and I believe we’re becoming a good team ourselves and to do that I believe you have to do those types of things.

“I was more concerned about the outcome of the game and of course by the end of the day we’d got the job done in a tough scrubby game, it was nice to reflect then for a moment.”

After 132 VFL/AFL games with Fitzroy and Geelong, including finishing third in the Brownlow Medal voting in 1992, and three state games, Hinkley spent time at St Kilda, Geelong and Gold Coast as an assistant coach before finally getting his opportunity as a senior coach at Port Adelaide in 2013.

On reflection, he counts himself very fortunate for the opportunities the game has given him.

“Lucky. Very lucky. I’ve had a lucky time,” Hinkley said of how he would describe his journey.

“I’ve been allowed to play and wasn’t always convinced about wanting to play it as a lot of young boys were and the coaching journey has just been incredible.

‘To go back to my home club in Geelong in 2004 and what are we now, 2020, and somehow and some way I’ve found a way to still be involved.

“I still love it as much as I did when I first started.”