Jack Ginnivan ripped over pre-season absence after move to Hawthorn from Collingwood

Kane Cornes has questioned Jack Ginnivan's absence from Hawthorn pre-season training this week after the young star's switch from Collingwood. The Hawks snared Ginnivan in a trade with the Magpies after the 20-year-old seemed to fall out of favour at Collingwood this year.

Ginnivan wasn't required on the first day of the Hawks' pre-season this week after playing in Collingwood's grand final triumph over Brisbane. The Hawks will likely give the midfielder until mid-December so he can have a decent break after Collingwood's premiership campaign.

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But according to Port Adelaide 300-gamer Cornes, the 20-year-old should have fronted up off his own bat. Cornes pointed out a number of players at other clubs who made the effort to show up even though they wouldn't have been required.

“I don't think with Dylan (Stephens) and his experience he was required to be there, but he turned up at his new club (North Melbourne) and he won the (running) test,” Cornes said on SEN radio. “Jy Simpkin was there, he didn't need to be there. Liam Shiels was out there in season number 16. I thought, ‘Good on you Liam for turning up and setting the example which is what you’re there to do’.

“At the Bombers, Dyson Heppell was there. Todd Goldstein was even there, this guy is 34 years of age. At the Hawks, James Sicily was there, Dylan Moore was there, and James Worpel was there, they didn’t need to be there. One player who wasn't there was Jack Ginnivan.”

Cornes said Ginnivan owes it to his new club to make a good first impression after they took a punt on him following some off-field troubles. “Jack Ginnivan needed to be there, I don't care what anyone says,” Cornes said.

“He wasn't required to be there by law because he played long in the season, he played in the grand final. That means you get extra leave and he's probably not required back for some time yet. But if you were ever going to want to have a first impression, Jack Ginnivan needed to be at his new club on day one of pre-season.”

Should Jack Ginnivan have been at Hawks' pre-season?

Ginnivan spent a lot of the 2023 season in the VFL and was used as the emergency substitute on five occasions in the AFL. “His workload hasn't been big, he doesn't need the extra break,” Cornes said. “He's 20 years of age. He's played 42 games, a lot of those were as the sub.

“It's not as if he is Scott Pendlebury who needs a rest, it’s Jack Ginnivan. I just would have thought I would have loved for him to be out there in good shape.

“I would have planned my overseas trip so that I was back on day one of pre-season. I think it would have been a huge boost for his teammates to see him out there. He needs a big pre-season and he needed to make a statement.

“It’s certainly not a hanging offence, I’m not going to hold it against him, but I was just a little bit disappointed that he wasn't there. I just think there's only so much help we can give Jack and I think that the penny's going to have to drop at some point. I’m not sure it’s quite dropped yet.”

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