AFL News: ‘He hasn’t learned his lesson’ – Ginnivan criticised for pub visit on finals eve, Cornes slams ‘pathetic’ Port
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AFL News: ‘He hasn’t learned his lesson’ – Ginnivan criticised for pub visit on finals eve, Cornes slams ‘pathetic’ Port

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For the second year running, Jack Ginnivan’s pre-match antics caused a stir ahead of the grand final.

The Hawthorn star hit the Richmond pub with mates the night before the Hawks’ crucial final win over the Western Bulldogs, almost 12 months after a night out at the races on the eve of the grand final during which he drew criticism from Collingwood coach Craig McRae.

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Ginnivan informed coach Sam Mitchell of his plans, did not drink alcohol and was home by 9pm, cheekily responding to SEN journalist Sam Edmund’s post on X about his visit to Mooney Valley in 2023 ahead of the Pies premiere.

Despite this, the 21-year-old has been met with criticism from a group of former stars, with David King saying: Fox Football it was a “bad impression” in light of the controversy he caused in 2023 – although he said there was “no harm” in it.

“It just looks bad that he hasn’t learned from his previous mistakes,” he said.

“But if it’s just dinner, a drink or two, and then back home for a break, there’s nothing wrong with that, right?”

Hawks legend Jason Dunstall gave his initial approval but said he didn’t want Ginnivan to have a poor performance on Friday night.

“I think people prepare for games in different ways,” he said.

“Personally, would I do it? I wouldn’t think so. I think you’re taking a risk.

“But it’s a completely different game and the younger generation are completely different people.”

In an interview with SEN, Kane Cornes was more critical of Ginnivan, saying he should have been aware of the media circus a pre-match visit to the pub would create.

“I don’t know why he would put himself in that situation and cause a distraction,” Cornes said.

“He’s got us talking about this now. Why does he think it’s a good idea, after what happened before the Grand Final last year, to go to the pub?

“He’s done nothing wrong here – he’ll be out until 9pm, he’ll be home before half-time – but is it a risk-reward situation?

“He did nothing wrong. He even tweeted at Sammy Edmund last night. I think it’s just an unnecessary distraction.

“I can’t imagine anything worse than going to the pub before a game, but that’s me and the Hawthorn team do things differently and he does them differently.

“For me it’s just that we’re talking about it. There’s a picture in the Herald Sun – he looks like he’s drinking Pepsi Max. He clearly doesn’t.

“I don’t know what the point is of doing this, especially after what happened before the Grand Final last year.”

Ginnivan once again gave a brief response to the Channel X drama, posting another tweet on Friday morning in which she suggested the romance was just brutal.

‘Quite pathetic’: Kane Cornes slams Port after final qualifying humiliation

Port Adelaide once again lost ground in the September campaign, beating Geelong by 84 points in the home qualifying final to end their championship dreams.

After finishing second in the table at the end of the home and away season on the back of six consecutive wins, the Power have a chance to avenge themselves next week, although they will certainly go into it as underdogs who will face the winner of the qualifier between Western Bulldogs and Hawthorn.

It was the Power’s second heaviest final defeat, following the memorable 119-point defeat to Geelong in the 2007 Grand Final, and left coach Ken Hinkley seemingly needing a miracle to avoid extending his record as the longest-serving coach without a Grand Final appearance in VFL/AFL history.

In an interview with SEN, Power legend Kane Cornes did not mince his words, saying his former club’s midfield was “absolutely shattered” and described the performance as “pathetic”.

“I was stunned watching it last night,” he said.

“The midfield was absolutely smashed. I look at the first bounce of the centre – Zak Butters wins it, a handball to Willem Drew who just loses the ball for no reason.

“Geelong then get into the 50 and Brandon Zerk-Thatcher drops an easy, uncontested interception. Port get the ball and kick it out from 15 metres – and I thought to myself, ‘What the hell is going on here? That’s three errors in a minute.’”

“There was something completely wrong with this group, it was completely different from the previous nine weeks.”

For Cornes the answer is simple – the Power, who have lost four straight finals, including three at Adelaide Oval, “lack resilience”.

He was particularly critical of captain Connor Rozee, who as a star midfielder had just 16 balls at his disposal and had minimal influence on the game.

“I think they lack a bit of resilience when things get a little tough. You can’t give up in a final like that,” he said.

“You look at that and say there are probably 10 Port Adelaide players who didn’t make it last night and got caught out – from Jase Burgoyne to Lachie Jones, Esava Ratugolea, Charlie Dixon, Jed McEntee, Francis Evans, the list goes on.

“You’ve had it from your bottom 10, but you’ve also had it from your top three or four. You can’t have it from Connor Rozee last night. You’re the captain of the football club. He’s had a disappointing year, Rozee.

“When the going gets tough, they are not ready to attack and regain momentum.

“Some of the efforts were unacceptable. The last four finals have been a similar story.

“It was just a pathetic performance.”

Speaking after the match, criticised manager Ken Hinkley appealed for calm, saying he was approaching the humiliation from a “glass half full” perspective and bearing in mind the fact the Power have an immediate chance to make amends in next week’s semi-final.

“We need to go back to what we think suits us better,” he said.

“We haven’t been like that in the last five or six weeks. The group has been pretty consistent in what they’ve been able to do, and I trust they’ll be just as consistent next week.”

“I try to look at things in a positive way as best I can. The glass is half full, every experience you have, you have to learn something from and you have to deal with it.

“We had another experience that we definitely didn’t like and we want to be better, but our next chance is to show that we’re trying to be better again.

“I will support them and say that I think they will do much better next time they have the chance to play.

“They’ve managed to do it for a long time — except, if you ask me, in the finals.”

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