Port Adelaide’s head coach Ken Hinkley will step aside for two AFL pre-season games, allowing defensive coach Matthew Nicks to take control.
Nicks, considered a head coach in waiting, will lead Port in pre-season games against Richmond in Lavington, NSW, on March 14 and against the Adelaide Crows the following weekend.
“Nicksy’s work as defensive coach has been of a very high quality and we think it’s good for him, the coaching group and the players if he gets a chance to put the game plan together,” Hinkley said in a statement on Monday.
“Anything we can do to develop our coaches is going to help the team.”
Nicks, a former Sydney player, has been Port’s defensive coach since 2013 and was a development coach at the club in the two seasons prior.
“This is a great chance for me to continue to develop my own coaching skills, sitting in the seat of the senior coach,” Nicks said in a statement.
Hinkley will coach Port in their opening pre-season game against West Coast this Sunday.