Ken Hinkley reads as an inspired choice to helm the Tasmania Devils as they venture into the AFL landscape.
A renowned motivator, and a lauded connector of men, Hinkley boasts the grit to do the dirty work and the polish to present to stakeholders.
However, if he's to maximise the club's considerable draft and list concessions, and ultimately bring the cup to the Apple Isle, he'll be doing something that he never achieved in more than a decade with the Power, and something the inaugural coach of an AFL team has never, ever done.
Not every inaugural coach struggled - some almost broke even by the conclusion of their tenure.
Take a trip down memory lane, as we rank the inaugural coaches of AFL teams!
4. Fremantle Dockers / Gerard Neesham
After a successful and lengthy stint as a player in the WAFL and at state level, Gerard Neesham was awarded the opportunity to coach the Fremantle Dockers upon their entry to the AFL.
In his four-year tenure, the Dockers went 32-56, but rather infamously never won a Derby, and never qualified for finals.
Those tidbits don't define Neesham's legacy, though.
He innovated. His was a counter-attacking style of play, heralded as before its time. His commitment to showcasing Indigenous talent has also been praised in the time since, as has the nobility of his efforts, given the club's modest list concessions.
The club's first finals win, captured in 2006, took 12 seasons, and there exists some Fremantle-esque symbolism in them being the club to be vanquished by the Gold Coast Suns when the latter claimed its first finals win, some 15 seasons in the making, last year.
