- Jack Ginnivan admitted he made a mistake with his social media post
- The 21-year-old was overlooked by Port Adelaide ahead of his final match.
- He said he needs to ‘mature’ after the dispute.
Jack Ginnivan has admitted he needs to “grow up” after sparking an ugly finals row with a reckless Instagram comment ahead of Hawthorn’s loss to Port Adelaide.
Ginnivan, 21, commented “see you in 14 days” on Sydney Swans star Brodie Grundy’s page ahead of the preliminary final in Adelaide last week, which the Power went on to win to end the Hawks’ season.
After the match, Port manager Ken Hinkley addressed Ginnivan directly, reportedly saying: “You know you’re not going to fly anywhere,” in a clear reference to the youngster’s goal celebration earlier that night, where he imitated a plane.
That sparked a verbal exchange between Hinkley and Hawthorn captain James Sicily, who told the 57-year-old he had been in charge of a “club with no future for eight years”.
Hinkley was fined $20,000 for his role in the dispute, a decision that has divided the football community.
And Ginnivan says his social media comment was “not the smartest idea” but thanked the Hawthorn hierarchy for supporting him.
“On reflection, it probably wasn’t the smartest idea, but the leaders and coaches had my full support and backed me,” he told 7News.
Jack Ginnivan says he needs to ‘grow up’ after sparking an ugly brawl in the final last week
The 21-year-old was the subject of a verbal tirade by Port Adelaide coach Ken Hinkley.
“I guess I just have to grow up and be a little smarter.”
Elsewhere, Port Adelaide youngster Jase Burgoyne has revealed how his side used Ginnivan’s polarising five-word text message to their advantage on Friday night.
“We addressed it (Ginnivan’s comments) earlier in the week,” Burgoyne said. 3AW.
“They showed it on the projector and said it was a little disrespectful. I guess it’s a comment that says they can fire us like this.”
“But like I said, we were confident and we used that as fuel before the game… all the guys contributed and it was a good win.”
Burgoyne said his coach knew he had crossed the line and immediately regretted his actions.
“Immediately after the game we were in the locker room and he said he immediately regretted it,” Burgoyne explained.
“He’s an emotional coach and football is an emotional sport. He let his emotions get the better of him at the time.”