The unexpected departure of dynamic small forward Jack Ginnivan on the last day of the AFL trade period has devastated Collingwood supporters.
The premiership player, who still had a year left on his contract, moved to Hawthorn following an unbelievable chain of events that put him on the outside looking in.
Less than three weeks after participating in the team’s 16th VFL/AFL championship, Ginnivan’s management informed the Magpies that he wanted to be traded, setting off the first bombshell on Tuesday.
On Wednesday, hours ahead of the trade deadline of 7.30 p.m., the deal was finalised.
As part of the deal, Collingwood received future second and third-round picks, and the Hawks received Ginnivan along with future second and fourth-round picks.
Collingwood essentially got nothing in return for the star, but they had already strengthened their small forward stocks when they signed Lachie Schultz from Fremantle earlier in the week. By joining Bobby Hill, Norm Smith Medallist, and fellow premiership player Beau McCreery at Collingwood, Schultz managed to force Ginnivan out.
Fans felt that the club had “turfed out” their cult hero, so they weren’t happy.
Yes, the Pies had found Ginnivan to be quite the handful.
Following a contentious start to the 2023 campaign, he found it difficult to replicate his 40 goal campaign from the previous year.
He was suspended for the first two games of 2023 after he acknowledged using illegal drugs at a preseason camp in January.
After that, he played for a while in the VFL, but he was ineffective for Collingwood’s three finals victories.
Additionally, he got into trouble for going to a horse racing event on the eve of the grand final.
When asked about Ginnivan’s night at the races during his post-grand final press conference, Collingwood coach Craig McRae responded, “Read the room, Jack.”
“You must mature, but in order to grow, you must make mistakes and learn from them.”
Fans reacted angrily when the club shared information about the Ginnivan trade along with a “farewell” message on social media.
One person wrote “heartbroken,” another “spewing,” and a third person wrote “gutted.”
Someone else noticed that the club was using the word “farewell.”
“Goodbyed him? You shoved him aside. Without providing a plausible justification, Graham Wright—the football manager—lied on Monday. They wrote, “Really can’t believe anything the club says.”
Wright stated on Trade Radio, “No, I haven’t taken any calls about (Ginnivan)… (and) we haven’t sought to take calls either,” to which the fan was alluding. We haven’t seen any problems with it at all. Jack is employed with us for the upcoming year, and we haven’t taken any calls at all. We view him as an integral part of what we do.
The terms of the agreement also didn’t sit well with the fans.
“So basically, Ginnivan was given away by Collingwood for nothing???? “Jaysus Christ, we can get twisted around in a deal,” an enraged Magpies fan exclaimed.
“So basically given away for nothing:/,” said another.
Another said: “Seems a little desperate to just get rid of him for giving sweet nothing in return? Well, whatever, Gin, see you later! Have faith in the club.
Another person remarked, “If we have given him away for practically nothing, something has to be up here.”
Head of the Hawthorn List Mark McKenzie stated that the addition of Ginnivan to the team “couldn’t be happier.”
He remarked, “We love the way he approaches his footy; he’s a clever forward that hits the scoreboard and exudes energy on the pitch.”
At twenty years old, he recently won a premiership, so we think he hasn’t reached the full potential of his abilities.
“We’re excited to watch how much better he can get at Hawthorn in the years to come.”
Hawthorn, who placed sixteenth this year, lost their youthful forward Tyler Brockman to West Coast and will be without their veteran goal scorer Chad Wingard for the majority of 2024, which is why Ginnivan is a compelling offer.
“We respect and acknowledge Jack’s decision to pursue additional opportunities at Hawthorn,” Wright stated.
“Jack has made a substantial contribution over the past three years, and he will always be a part of the 2023 Premiership team.”
On deadline day, in a four-way trade, former top-10 draft picks Paddy Dow and Nick Coffield also found new clubs.
Dow relocated to St Kilda from Carlton, and Coffield joined the Western Bulldogs after leaving the Saints.
The deal included Essendon as well, and it was made possible by the exchange of draft picks.
As a result, the Bombers improved their draft position this year and were awarded pick 35 and a future fourth-round selection.
They forfeited a future third-round pick and pick 52.
Trade target Ivan Soldo, a ruckman from Richmond, was also acquired by Port Adelaide.
In addition to a future second-round pick linked to Fremantle and a future fourth-round pick, the Power forfeited picks 41 and 49.
