AFL 2024: Nick Watson, Jack Ginnivan to hold replacement clinic

Hawthorn football boss Rob McCartney has defended the character of two Hawthorn forwards after a clinic no-show upset kids.

Hawthorn football boss Rob McCartney says Jack Ginnivan and Nick Watson’s junior footy clinic no-show was an “isolated incident” as the pair arrange a new date for disappointed kids.

McCartney said the small forwards’ failure to attend an Ivanhoe clinic, which was not organised by the Hawks, was not a reflection of their care for fans.

Ginnivan, 21, and Watson, 19, pulled out of the clinic at the last minute before it was due to be held on Sunday morning after Hawthorn’s Peter Crimmins Medal night.

“What I’ll say on this is that there is a need to first and foremost acknowledge the disappointment that the kids felt by not having our two players at a clinic,” McCartney told AFL Trade Radio on Friday.

“It was obviously not organised by Hawthorn, but a clinic that was going to involve both Jack and Nick and we acknowledge that disappointment was real for those kids.

Jack Ginnivan (left) and Nick Watson are working with their managers to organise a new clinic date after they were late withdrawals from a Sunday morning event in Ivanhoe. Picture: Dylan Burns / Getty Images

“The second part I want to say is that while their not being there is a reflection on that day, what I will say is that both these boys give a lot of time to kids, to supporters and to fans throughout the entire journey.”

McCartney said the Hawthorn goalsneaks “gave more than most” when it came to fan engagement, and their managers had been working to rectify the situation with the families who had bought tickets for the clinic.

“We just need to get the balance right. They might not have delivered on this day for those kids, but they do deliver on a regular basis. They are two players who actually give more than most,” he said.

“Importantly, what has happened after this disappointment is that both the boys – and their management who have been dealing with this – have acknowledged that to try and repair some of the disappointment, they will inform those kids that they’re going to run another clinic on another date.

“Again, is it ideal? No. But we have to take all of these things in the fullness of the picture and not in just an isolated incident.”

Originally published as AFL 2024: Nick Watson, Jack Ginnivan to hold replacement clinic