AFL Gather Round Collingwood v Hawthorn: Ginnivan, Hawks nearly flip the script on Pies

‘The outside narrative is fascinating’, Sam Mitchell of Jack Ginnivan after the loss to Collingwood. But the Hawthorn coach was full of praise for the former Magpie.

Jack Ginnivan of the Hawks tackled by Patrick Lapinski and Tom Mitchell. Picture: Michael Klein

A key question Hawthorn coach Sam Mitchell will ponder after the Hawks’ Gather Round thriller against Collingwood is ‘Should Blake Hardwick join Jack Ginnivan in the forward line permanently?’

With his side trailing by 38 points, Hardwick was swung from defence into attack at halftime and his four second-half goals nearly dragged the Hawks over the line for their first win of the season.

After a week in the spotlight, Ginnivan handled the occasion well, booting two goals, and was part of a forward line that looked a lot more potent with the addition of Hardwick.

Sam Mitchell at Adelaide Oval on Sunday. Picture: Michael Klein

“He is a frustratingly good player, so I’m really nervous to move him out of the back half at any time because he is so important for us back there,” Mitchell said of his Hardwick conundrum.

“But we knew the contest in front of the game was an area where we had struggled.

“We made a few changes at halftime and I think everyone who has watched him train and play at different times forward has thought he was going to be able to kick a score at some point.

“We’ve used him at different times there, but this was the first time he really got the opportunities and took them.

“I was pleased for him, but moving him out of the back line you’re always a bit nervous.

“I daresay the back line coach will be saying ‘No, he’s really important here’ and I’m pretty sure the forward line coach will be saying ‘You can’t be serious – he has to play forward’.

“I really don’t know.”

Jack Ginnivan huge former teammate Will Hoskin-Elliott after the siren. Picture: Michael Willson/AFL Photos

Mitchell was equal parts proud and disappointed with his side’s performance, but desperately wanted his players to be rewarded for their resilience, work ethic and desire to claw back into the contest.

He was pleased that Ginnivan was able to cope with the intense focus in the lead up to the clash that he conceded the premiership Pie had fanned the flames of to some degree.

“The outside narrative is fascinating for the world, but he’s a really important player for us and I thought he had a good game,” Mitchell said.

“He’s 21 years old, he’s had an enormous amount of scrutiny. For him to go back and kick our first goal and be a strong performer, I thought his maturity today was going to be challenged.

“People said to me; ‘How do you think he’s going to handle it?’ A 21-year-old under that much scrutiny, how do you know? I thought he played another really good game for us.

“He’s loving life in the brown and gold and he is as passionate as any of our players about making sure we’re going to have success.

“I think how he handles the external (scrutiny), the proof’s in the pudding.

“He’s playing good footy so ‘Keep doing what you’re doing, Jack’.”

Hawks nearly flip the script on footy’s big stage

– Glenn McFarlane

Jack Ginnivan wouldn’t have had it any other way.

A first goal against his old side from a head-high free kick that set the twitterverse alight, brought boos from those Collingwood fans who used to cheer him and set a platform for the footy showman to unveil his latest trick – a ‘dart’ style celebration.

It was the opening-term bullseye he had been imagining all week, no matter who it was aimed at.

Then, sensing the moment of a Hawks’ second half fightback, Ginnivan raised the tempo when he won a free kick against Brayden Maynard early in the final term, then was gifted a 50m penalty – and certain goal – after his good mate Isaac Quaynor didn’t give the ball back.

This was the sort of footy theatre the fans had come out for in the finale to the second Gather Round, the pairing of a controversial former Magpie against his premiership teams just sevens months after holding up the cup.

And it lived up to the occasion, at least in excitement!

Jack Ginnivan of the Hawks tackled by Patrick Lapinski and Tom Mitchell. Picture: Michael Klein

There was little love lost during the contest and more than a hint of niggle as Maynard and Ginnivan squared off in an intriguing match-up, as Collingwood controlled the early stages of this match before a predictable fightback from the young Hawks.

The Magpies had led by 38 points at half-time, but a few Sam Mitchell magnet moves and a far more aggressive Hawks approach produced a stunning turnaround.

In the end, the Magpies desperately clung on to win by five points after a thrilling final term.

The Hawks could have nailed it late when a Ginnivan handball to Connor Macdonald gave them the chance to steal the lead with just over three minutes left.

But the young Hawk faded his kick across to the wrong side.

The match-up gods got their wish early … as the two teams separated from their huddles and headed to their positions moments before the first bounce.

Maynard ran like a magnet straight to Ginnivan just as Darcy Moore had suggested he might do 24 hours earlier.

Ginnivan had predicted Quaynor would be the man. Maybe that was wishful thinking, as Maynard played him tight from the outset.

Isaac Quaynor and Jack Ginnivan clash after Ginnivan was awarded a free kick. Picture: Michael Willson/AFL Photos via Getty Images.

Just as tantalising was the fact that Mitchell initially sent Finn Maginness to Nick Daicos in an attempt to reprise his round 21 role from last year.

He’s aptly named Finn. Every time you saw Daicos heading for the ball early on, it was as if you could see a ‘Finn’ through the wave of players in an effort to stop the prime mover.

Ginnivan’s first kick was a soccer off the ground; his second sailed landed in the hands of a teammate … well actually a former teammate in Billy Frampton.

The mark that set up that errant kick on the outer wing brought about a chorus of boos from Collingwood supporters – the same fans who cheered for him throughout 42 matches in black and white, including last year’s grand final.

Ever the showman, Ginnivan was always going to impose himself on the contest, and it came 24 minutes into the opening term, and the umpires again were front and centre.

After two and a half years of controversy over missed head-high tackles, and a rare AFL concession last week, Ginnivan was on the end of a generous one to help kick the Hawks’ first goal.

He was tackled deep in attack by Patrick Lipinski and Tom Mitchell, and given what happened last week, there seemed a sense of inevitability the whistle would blow.

He was never going to miss this opportunity … he went back, rolled around his body and slotted the goal through.

Then he brought out the ‘dart’!

A mix of jeers and cheers came when the Hawks small forward held on to long to Maynard after a mark in the third term, resulting in a 50m penalty which took the ball deep into the Collingwood forward line, as the Pies pinched a goal through Nick Daicos to break a run of Hawks’ goals.

Dylan Moore celebrates after bringing his side within touching distance of the Pies on Sunday. Picture: Michael Willson/AFL Photos via Getty Images.

At the other end, Lachie Schultz – the man whose recruitment hastened Ginnivan’s decision to leave Collingwood – played his own part in the theatre.’

After a relatively tough first month in black and white, he started to find his place in the Magpies’ attacking patterns.

He kicked the first goal of the game after some good teamwork from Lipinski and Darcy Cameron, then nailed a second just before quarter time with a neat shot from an acute angle.

He could have nailed a third by half-time but his kick faded into the post.

The Daicos-Maginness clash wasn’t making the headlines it did in round 21 last year.

By half-time, the pair had almost identical stats – 12 disposals and three inside 50s – and Sam Mitchell eventually sent Maginness to the other Daicos, Josh, who had been dominant in the opening two quarters.

The other move of note was Mitchell’s switch of Blake Hardwick from defence to attack, as he slotted home three goals – and a poster – in the third term to keep the Hawks in the hunt.

But wait, there’s Moore. He kicked the opening goal of the final term, which helped kickstart the Hawks’ comeback.

In the end, that comeback fell just short.

But in a team that had an average game tally of 66 compared to Collingwood’s 144 – and had seven players with 20 games or fewer – this was a sign that the Hawks’ first win of 2024 isn’t far away.

Originally published as AFL Gather Round Collingwood v Hawthorn: Ginnivan, Hawks nearly flip the script on Pies