Port Adelaide star midfielder Zak Butters has defended coach Ken Hinkley, after fans booed him after the club’s dismal 79-point loss to Brisbane in round 15 at Adelaide Oval.

Hinkley was booed when he was flashed up on the big screen at Adelaide Oval, then again when he briefly appeared on the ground as he walked through to the changerooms at the end of the match.

The loss spurred questions around Hinkley’s future at the helm, despite still being contracted until the end of the 2025 season.

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Hinkley has been Port’s coach for 12 seasons, but has failed to reach a grand final, despite their recent run in the finals, which included a preliminary final loss to Richmond in 2020.

Hinkley joins Neale Daniher (223 games coached at Melbourne), Nathan Buckley (218 games coached at Collingwood) and Brad Scott (211 games coached at North Melbourne).

Despite his bleak record, Butters has thrown his full support behind the coach, whose job is evidently on the line.

“We’ve been around the club for five or six years now, and we’ve seen these periods, especially with Ken and our supporter base. I wouldn’t say it’s anything unusual,” Butters said on SEN Radio.

“I don’t think it’s all on Kenny, that’s definitely not the case and the playing group knows that.”

Butters lauded Hinkley’s ability to galvanise the group, whom he took over at a low point 12 years ago.

“The way he handles himself in these moments in front of the group, it’s really professional and nothing changes from his coaching aspect, the way he handles his emotions or shows up every day,” he said.

“We couldn’t ask for much more from him.”

The 23-year-old midfielder also confirmed that the entire playing group support their coach, as they still look to push for another crack at September, sitting in eighth after 15 rounds.

“I love Kenny whether he’s my coach or not, it’s unwavering from my end and I know the boys are in the same boat,” Butters said.

“The message is definitely still getting through, and we have a lot of respect for Kenny, I know that he wants the best for us and that’s to make us better, to win football games, ultimately try and play finals footy and get our fans on board.”

Even though Butters has expressed his love and trust in Hinkley, Nine’s Caroline Wilson and Kane Cornes recently confirmed that the coach could be out of a job as soon as season’s end, if the Power fail to make the finals.

But the once-certain Hinkley replacement, assistant coach and 2004 premiership player, Josh Carr, looks to have some new competition for the job that was guaranteed as his just a month ago.

Wilson reported that the Power has backflipped on a handshake agreement with Carr, who was preparing to replace Hinkley, potentially as early as this season.

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“The way it stands now, is that Josh Carr is no certainty to take over as coach,” Wilson said on Nine’s Footy Classified on Monday night.

“I said there was a handshake agreement. He hasn’t been told he’s got the job.”

But the Power are still keen to maintain some stability at round 15, with Wilson confident they won’t axe Hinkley mid-season.

“I don’t think that Ken is going to move mid-season, unless there was a series of disastrous losses like that one,” she said.

The Power have a shot at redemption against St Kilda at Marvel Stadium on Sunday.