The second week of the AFL Finals featured two epic encounters that will be talked about for years to come.

Both matches ended with scenes that will be replayed time and again in montages of great final moments for future fans to watch as coaches and players express their emotions.

At the Sydney Showgrounds, Brisbane Lions coach Chris Fagan was spotted running around the pitch, signalling to the Lions fans who had travelled the length of the state tour to get up and get moving after the incredible win.

The previous evening at Adelaide Oval, Port Adelaide coach Ken Hinkley had faced off (verbally) with Hawthorn captain James Siciliy after an equally inspiring win in a week in which he and the club had been attacked from head to toe.

Both scenes were equally memorable for fans and provided almost the same amount of entertainment for viewers, but one of them was not to the liking of the league itself.

Two different incidents, same fine

Hinkley was officially fined $20,000 by the AFL for his verbal exchange with the Hawks after the match.

On Sunday, the Port coach was ordered to “please explain” and was subsequently fined for breaching AFL Rule 2.3(a) on unbecoming conduct.

Hinkley’s fine was the same as that handed to GWS boss Jason McCartney for physical contact on the pitch with Sydney forward Tom Papley in the first week of the finals.

If Hinkley felt aggrieved by the AFL’s penalty, he had every right to do so, as the two incidents should not have been punished by the same fine.

AFL general counsel Stephen Meade compared the two incidents in a statement explaining why Hinkley was fined.

“We don’t want opposition officials or players making inappropriate contact with each other because it can escalate and set an example for lower levels of football. We’re disappointed that this moment has been taken away from us, which was one of the best finals games,” Meade said.

McCartney decided to take matters into his own hands after watching his players get into a fight with Papley late in the quarter, and his actions had far greater “potential to escalate” an explosive situation than Hinkley’s.

“When I saw (Hinkley’s confrontation with Sicily) after the game, I didn’t even think he was going to get a fine. It was hilarious,” AFL star Paul Roos told ABC’s AFL Daily podcast.

“They (the two incidents) can’t be similar. If they’re fining Ken $20,000, they’ve got to fining McCartney $60,000. It’s a physical confrontation versus a verbal fight after the game.”

Things like McCartney hitting Papley — physical confrontations between referees and players — are undeniably impossible. But a snide conversation between the two camps that isn’t personal at all? Oh come on.

Hawthorn and the AFL community have celebrated the audacity of the young Hawks all year and rightly so. The confidence of the Hawthorn players belies their experience and this has made them the most watchable team in the competition.

The Hawks didn’t lose to Port Adelaide because of Ginnivan’s cheeky comment on Brodie Grundy’s, even if it did provide some motivation for the Power. They lost because Port Adelaide came out ahead in important moments late in the game. None of the 44 players on the pitch for the final two minutes of the semi-final would have thought about what Ginnivan posted on Instagram.

The game needs characters like Ginnivan, or Nick Watson – the pantomime villain. Sports around the world use this character, so why shouldn’t the AFL?

Ginnivan is more than happy to play the role and is smart enough to know that it could get out of hand at any moment. He talked the talk and walked the walk, playing solidly. Yes, his team lost, but you can’t win ’em all.

This brings us to Hinkley’s answer.

Hinkley is an incredibly proud man and the manager of an equally proud football club that was under attack from all sides in the week leading up to the match.

Port, which won 16 or more games for the third time in four years, was talked about as an opponent in the Hawks’ path to this year’s championship.

To expect Power to react kindly to such treatment and Ginnivan’s comments would be to seriously underestimate just how ambitious everyone at the football club is.

Hinkley could have hidden behind a press conference to get back at Ginnivan by sending a subliminal shot at the young Hawks, but he said it to his face and there’s something to respect in that. It was absolutely brilliant theater.

What is surprising is what exactly Hinkley had to “explain” to the AFL. That he and Port felt aggrieved in the run-up to the Hawthorn game may not have come as a surprise to league bosses.

The trade also lights the fuse for Port Adelaide and Hawthorn to face each other next year. You can bet your ass a dollar Ginnivan will be thinking about doing a little airplane celebration when he scores a goal.

As with any sport, the AFL is an incredibly competitive and cutthroat environment. This is even more so in the finals, where players compete in competitions that often define legacies.

If players are allowed to show emotion and personality without getting personal with opponents, coaches should be able to get involved in the verbal sparring. The pressure isn’t limited to players.

Some of the most iconic moments in league history have come when coaches’ emotions were at their peak.

Remember when Port coach Mark Williams tugged on his tie in response to the nickname “Strangler” that was slapped on his side moments before he won the championship in 2004?

If we go back even further, Kevin Sheedy’s gesture of waving his jacket as he came down the steps of the MCG during the 1993 final win over West Coast became a gesture repeated by thousands of fans over the three decades of Bombers-Eagles clashes that followed.

Hinkley’s outburst is a sign of pressure at Port

It is now obvious that Hinkley’s post-match emotions stemmed from a week of obituaries being written about his tenure as Port Adelaide coach.

In leading Port against Hawthorn, Hinkley equalled Mark Williams’ club record for most games played by a manager at the club, but no one would have noticed given all the talk about his position and future.

Port find themselves in a difficult situation with Hinkley, whose contract expires at the end of next season.

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Typically AFL coaches don’t go a decade at a club without winning a premiership, but there are two factors working in the 57-year-old’s favour.

The first is Port Adelaide’s ability to continue to produce strong home and away seasons under Hinkley, and the second is the players’ obvious love for their coach.

After the win over Hawthorn, Port captain Connor Rozee was close to tears as he spoke about the attack his coach faced. Soon afterwards, teammate Zak Butters also came on for Hinkley. Replacing a beloved coach is fraught with danger, and Port know it.

Roos, Sydney’s 2005 premiership coach, had no objection to Hinkley facing the Hawks but believes it is a sign of the weakness of Hinkley’s position at Port.

“It showed Ken how much pressure he was under,” he said.

“Every manager is under pressure (but) what this has told me is that (Hinkley) can’t cope with the pressure. I understand that we haven’t achieved results as a football club, I understand that we probably should have achieved better results over the last 12 years, I’m over the moon.

“It’s not good for Ken. As a coach, we’re under pressure all the time, but we want to stay calm, stay composed. I want to tell my team that I’m really here, I’m doing well and we can continue to do better.

“What it did was show football fans that Ken knew he was under pressure, that he didn’t perform at his best and that he blew up at the wrong time.

“At that moment he had to show calm to his team and the football fans and that’s where he wasted his chance.”

Hinkley declined to discuss the penalty at length ahead of this weekend’s preliminary final during his midweek press conference.

If Port beat Sydney to reach the grand final, don’t be surprised if you witness a celebration in Hinkley that will go down in history.