‘I never want to have that feeling again’: The embarrassing moment driving Jack Ginnivan

There are many things Jack Ginnivan would do differently in his five seasons as a professional footballer if he had his time again.

Like going to a packed pub in Richmond the day before a final, as he did before last year’s elimination final. Or some of his cheeky social media work, including riling up Port Adelaide the week before his Hawks ended up beaten by them in a semi-final.

“I’ve just learned to straighten up a bit,” he says.

“I remember being in New York in the off-season with a few mates and just saying no a few times there, and in LA. Those are decisions now I look back [at] and go, maybe that has helped me that 2 per cent.

“Instead of going out 10 times on the trip, I just went out six and spent the other times in my hotel room.”

While headlines last September were dominated by Ken Hinkley’s aeroplane gesture (which drew the ire of the AFL) after the siren that sealed the Hawks’ defeat that night at Adelaide Oval, there was a moment only minutes earlier that had a more significant impact on Ginnivan’s career.

“It was late in the last quarter – I think like 10 minutes to go, and I couldn’t run it out,” Ginnivan explains.

“I was just useless – I had to come off, and [it was] just that feeling of, yeah, probably embarrassment and just not being good enough to help your team out in those big moments.

“I still kicked a few goals … had like 15 touches, but when the game was on the line, I couldn’t be there. So yeah, in the off-season, I worked extremely hard to get fit because I never want to have that feeling again.”

He’s 22, but he speaks more like a 32-year-old. He’s unapologetically himself, but he’s also honest and raw when he reflects on his mistakes.

That’s not what the public might expect. Ginnivan is one of the most polarising players in the game.

From the perfectly planned goal celebrations that Hawthorn fans love and opposition fans hate, to the way he turned a mirror on the media pack hounding him at Adelaide airport last week – everyone has their own opinion of him.

On the surface, it might seem that Ginnivan is an attention seeker.

But he says he’s a little embarrassed by the spotlight.

“I guess there is parts of, like, ‘Why me?’

“I’m obviously not in the best 50 [players] in the comp – I’m not like Bontempelli, I’m not like [Nick] Daicos. I’m different.

“I’m a good footballer – I’m not unbelievable at the moment, [but] I hope I get to that stage.

“But yeah, it doesn’t make much sense to me. It’s a little bit embarrassing when all my teammates are walking around me and I get to the bus and, I don’t know, it’s sort of awkward.”

But even if he’s not the game’s best player, Ginnivan has come to understand since his trade from Collingwood after the 2023 premiership that his actions and behaviour can impact those around him, including his teammates.

“When I was 19, 20, I didn’t understand the responsibility I had as a footballer, and who Jack Ginnivan was and how big an impact and influence he had on others,” he said.

“Since coming to Hawthorn, and probably learning a bit about myself, I’ve done some self-reflecting.

“I can’t remember what the name is, but me and [coach] Sam [Mitchell] did a self-reflection task and that was really good. It talks about how much impact you have on the group and influence – and it’s hard to say that because I don’t feel that, but everyone around me tells me I do, which is weird. I understand it, but it’s always difficult to understand that from your own perspective.

“So yeah, definitely that has been a big one to know and feel how much impact what you say or what you do is going to have on others.”

When Ginnivan is asked about Mitchell, everything changes. He uncrosses his arms and sits up straighter in his chair. A beaming smile spreads across his face. He loves Mitchell and is terrified of him, all at once.

Incidentally, it’s when Ginnivan is discussing how important the coach is to him that the man himself walks into the room. Mitchell is the one who names the self-reflection task – it’s called the Johari Window.

“What are you two talking about?” Mitchell asks sternly as he comes through the glass door of the CEO’s office at Waverley Park, where the interview is taking place. He wants you to think he’s joking when he’s saying that. But he isn’t.

“I was talking about learning about how I have influence on others,” Ginnivan responds.

He might be slightly embarrassed by the spotlight, but Ginnivan is not afraid of it. He kicked five goals in just his 10th game to win an Anzac Medal at the Magpies in 2022. And he’s been in dangerous form ahead of Friday night’s much-hyped preliminary final against Geelong.

He describes himself as “spontaneous, adventurous, easygoing”. A “no-fuss operator”.

But as a footballer, he says, he is “now a hard-working, disciplined person within the four walls, 100 per cent, who has worked extremely hard” to get to where he is.

He’s turned goal celebrations into an art form.

“I also just love, like, since I was a younger age, the game of football and I’ve always wanted to play it in a way that makes me smile and carry on,” he says.

“I feel like if I was playing with my best mates at home in Castlemaine, like, I’d be carrying on probably the same way.”

But Ginnivan has learnt two important things.

“I learnt to trust people around the four walls … and that Jack Ginnivan is not always right.”

When asked about his on- and off-field persona, Ginnivan admits it can be difficult to handle and that he has to approach every situation on its merits.

“Navigating [the public and private aspects of his life] is a mission in itself, but I don’t know … from a performance point of view, that stuff [his past public-facing incidents] has never got over the top of me or overawed me for the big occasions or anything like that.

“I love playing in big games. I’ve always felt like I’ve stepped up in big games when the pressure’s on. But that embarrassment and awkwardness [that comes from having a big profile] is probably two words to describe it.”

Friday night is indeed a big game. And there pressure is on.

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