Jack Ginnivan under fire after ugly finals incident comes to light
Collingwood have been turning their attention to this week's do-or-die clash against Fremantle on Saturday night, but a key moment involving forward Jack Ginnivan has prompted criticism of the 21-year-old.
Geelong proved just too good for the Magpies in a thrilling contest last weekend, but the Cats were reportedly left furious after star midfielder Patrick Dangerfield claimed Ginnivan had put him in a 'chicken'wing' tackle.
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Ginnivan was not cited for the move by the Match Review Panel becase it was incredibly difficult to see what had taken place from any of the broadcast angles.
An alternate shot from behind the goalposts shows Ginnivan appearing to wrench Dangerfield's left arm and shoulder back after he had been pinned to the ground in a fair tackle from Taylor Adams.
Dangerfield can be seen grimacing in pain, and according to AFL 360's Mark Robinson, was left 'furious' about the incident.
The 32-year-old was apparently filthy about Ginnivan's act when he returned to the Geelong bench, and spoke about it with the club later, however Cats boss Simon Lloyd told the Herald Sun they had to leave the incident in the hands of the Match Review Officer.
“It is the MRO’s role to investigate anything they deem outside the rules,” he said.
“We will continue to leave this area of the game in the AFL’s hands.”
Ginnivan wasn't cited because of the difficulty in seeing the moment, however Robinson said the footage was 'seriously, not good', while former AFL great Dermott Brereton said he'd seen it after following Ginnivan from ground level during the game.
“You have to zoom right in. Ginnivan sort of rolls on him and grabs an arm and rolls him over. He winces there, Dangerfield," Robinson observed.
“Arms aren’t supposed to do that, go in that direction.”
The veteran football writer said not only had the MRO missed a crucial incident, but Ginnivan had broken one of the unwritten rules of football by trying to injure Dangerfield when he was already on the ground.
“There’s codes in football amongst the players. There’s certain codes and chicken-winging is certainly out because the person’s vulnerable," Robinson said.
“You can pop a shoulder or dislocate an elbow. I’m not picking on Jack Ginnivan, but this is a great game to play, you’ve got to respect aspects of this game.
“(Collingwood coach) Craig McRae and the footy department have got to sit him down and say, mate, that can’t be done. It can’t be done.”
Jack Ginnivan under fire over Patrick Dangerfield act in AFL final
Brereton was left equally unimpressed, saying had he been a teammate of Dangerfield witnessing that he'd be 'incensed' by the act.
The former premiership star said he had been guilty of similar acts during his playing days, but said it should be obvious to all playing that the game has moved on from some its the more thuggish aspects.
“I was at ground level and I thought, ‘I’m going to watch nothing but Ginnivan for 10 minutes’,’’ he told the Herald Sun.
“I saw it and had I been a teammate I would’ve been incensed by it.
“It had nothing to do with playing our sport. It wasn’t a spur of the moment, it was something designed to hurt somebody when play was dead.
“And I’ve done those things, and I’ve copped my whack for them, but the game has moved on from my era.
“One thing I would say about myself and the way I see the game now, if you want to catch a poacher, hire a poacher to catch him.’’
Magpies coach McRae took issue with some of his players "acting like a loser" on the final siren of Saturday's six-point qualifying final heartbreak final, stressing their season was not yet over.
"We want to act like winners - I must admit, the siren goes and there's half a dozen of our guys lying on the ground," he said in his post-match press conference.
"For me, that's not a winner, that's acting like a loser.
"We lost the game, we're not losers. I just made that point.
"For the lifetime I'm sitting in this chair, maybe barring a grand final, if we don't win, don't lie on the ground."
Veteran Steele Sidebottom backed his coach, saying the situation reminded him of losing a qualifying final in 2018, en route to that year's grand final.
"Although we lost (on Saturday) and clearly boys were tipping in, you've got to be able to move on pretty quick," he told reporters on Monday.
"The way that you carry yourself throughout a game and the way that we've carried ourselves throughout the year, and it started from pre-season, is with our body language and everything.
"We want to stand tall and be proud and that's what winners do.
"I support what Craig said and that's the way that we go about our business around here."
With AAP
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