- Jack Ginnivan had final say after pre-final ‘incident’
- Was spotted at a pub night before the Western Bulldogs game
- Hawthorn coach Sam Mitchell had no problem with Ginnivan
Hawthorn coach Sam Mitchell has responded to Jack Ginnivan’s pre-final pub dinner, stating that for him personally it was ‘absolutely’ not an issue.
The Hawks impressively secured a place in the semi-finals on Friday night by beating the Western Bulldogs by 37 points at the MCG.
Cult hero Ginnivan pretended to open a can of beer to celebrate a goal in the final quarter after he was photographed by fans in a Richmond pub on Thursday.
Mitchell said he was aware of Ginnivan’s plans for Thursday night and had no problem with the pub visit as the Hawks forward had to go to bed early.
The 21-year-old had 15 disposals at a 93 per cent efficiency and provided three goal assists in a convincing performance on his return in September after Collingwood lost its 2023 championship.
“Absolutely (no problem). I didn’t ask, I probably should have: I wonder how many players went out to eat in a public place last night? I think maybe half,” Mitchell said after the game.
‘I think most of us have watched football in a public place on a Friday night or Thursday night for most of the year – (Ginnivan) played well, he lives the way he lives, and I knew about it.
“As long as he went home around half time, I was happy with what he did. That’s not a problem for me at all.”
Hawthorn star Jack Ginnivan celebrated for the ages after scoring a goal against the Western Bulldogs in their elimination final
Ginnivan pretended to open a can of beer while celebrating a goal in the final quarter after being photographed by fans in a Richmond pub on Thursday
The Hawks now take on Port Adelaide, who were defeated by Geelong on Thursday night
First-year forwards Nick Watson (4.1) and Calsher Dear (3.4) ensured the Bulldogs made a great finals debut, which Mitchell credited to the ‘naivety of youth.’
“I wonder if they just don’t know it’s such a big problem that they don’t really know the difference,” he said.
‘But they enjoy football and play with a lot of energy.
‘I thought Wiz (Watson) was a bit off in the beginning but he had a few chases, a few pressures, he touched someone and then a goal came.
“What we’ll show (in the review) will probably not be so much the goals, but more the chase and the pressure. I think we’re good at that tonight.”
Mitchell said the Hawks’ resilience in front of the biggest crowd of his coaching career had surprised him as they play a semi-final against Port Adelaide next Friday night.
“I thought we were pretty mature. It’s definitely the biggest crowd I’ve ever coached, and most of them would have played in front of, and the players handled every aspect of the game pretty well,” he said.
‘Even the first five or eight minutes of (Marcus) Bontempelli in the last quarter… I think everyone thought ‘oh no’, and the fact that the players could deal with such things showed that we are mature, and that gives me confidence.
‘We’ve got a Port Adelaide team who would obviously be disappointed with their performance on Thursday night and we’re not that happy with the last time we played them, so it’s going to be a great game.’
