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"Who will replace them?": Why Hinkley is against swinging the axe
Jaiden Sciberras • April 1st, 2026 6:22 pm
Sometimes, swinging the axe at the selection table is the statement that struggling sides desperately need.
Whether dropping senior players, leaders or talented youngsters, making a statement in selection can help to reignite motivation and form within the players that need it most.
However, sometimes it’s not always conducive to the best results, and as Ken Hinkley explains, often times the pressure on a coach can lead to rash decisions.
Referring to the cases of Brad Scott and Michael Voss, Hinkley has urged the under-fire coaches not to rush into any major calls at selection despite their ongoing on-field woes.
“If the pressure is getting to you, your judgement may be clouded with ‘what is the right selection?’,” Hinkley told SEN Whateley.
“Sometimes, easier is to drop (a player), to make someone a bit of a victim. The reality is, you need to think clearly about the best way to win. I think that’s what both coaches in these situations are thinking.
“‘What side gives us the best chance to win?’. At Essendon, they are quite young already. They probably need to hang on to most of their senior people more often than not and tell them exactly what is needed.
“There is a tipping point where, if you get past a stage, you have to go for the younger player.
“At Carlton… It’s a really interesting one at Carlton. What changes has Michael Voss got that are powerful enough to make a selection shift, but also a performance shift?
“I’ve heard people talk around Harry McKay and those types of names, but who is going to replace them? Who is going to stand there at 6’10” and be the forward that takes the heat?
“Don’t forget, Harry is now getting the best defender, because Charlie (Curnow) is not there. Some of the other results of that will be passed on to the next person, if you make those decisions.”
That said, Hinkley does believe that when form calls, those decisions may be entirely justified.
“I will say, there is a time,” he said.
“There absolutely is a time where performance has to be at a level that allows you to keep your spot in the side. You don’t own the spot.
“I used to often say, as a coach, we pick you into the side. You select yourself out. That was my view on it. We will put you in, you will select yourself out.
“We don’t drop you; your personal form is the reason you end up getting out of the side. That’s your control. If you can control your form, you’ll stay in the side. Like great players do, they stay in the side for hundreds of games.
“More often than not, in some point in a players’ journey – I would say 99 per cent of players – get to a point where being dropped is actually a relief, and you need that to correct things.
“That’s what Michael and Brad and whichever other coaches are in this situation – you’ve got to figure out the moment that the relief is needed. Then you’ll get them back in much better shape.”
Selections for Essendon’s clash with the Western Bulldogs and Carlton’s Good Friday contest with North Melbourne will be released at 6:20pm AEST this Thursday, with both sides desperate for a positive result.
