WATCH: 'Gets umpired harshly' - Ginnivan caught HTB despite being taken high AND getting a handball
Death, taxes, and Jack Ginnivan getting ignored!
Alastair Clarkson’s laser focus on Hawthorn’s next premiership rather than past glory is clearly evident in his decision to hand Changkuoth Jiath an AFL debut instead of granting Jarryd Roughead an AFL goodbye.
The master coach’s ‘hunt for this club’s next piece of silverware’ line has been a regular feature of his press conferences this season and he continues to back up his talk with actions at the selection table.
Jiath was named in the side to face GWS in Canberra on Friday night along with James Cousins and Jonathon Ceglar, with Ben McEvoy (hand) and Grant Birchall (hamstring) out injured and Conor Nash dropped.
With the Hawks unlikely to play finals, that means four-time premiership hero Roughead has just two AFL opportunities left to farewell fans: next week’s clash against Gold Coast at Marvel Stadium and the round 23 encounter with West Coast at Optus Stadium.
“We’d like to think Roughy would play again for us, but whether that’s next week or not, we’ve got to wait and see,” Clarkson said.
“Things happen in games of footy that have to send you down a different direction.
“I’d hate to make a commitment to all and sundry that that’s going to happen, then it doesn’t, so we’ll wait and see what happens with it next week.
“We’re not opposed to it, but nor are we making declarations right now that it’s going to happen either.”
Jiath, 20, is a defender who was born in an Ethiopian refugee camp to South Sudanese parents and joined the club last year as a Category B rookie.
The fifth-placed Giants brought in Adam Kennedy, Jeremy Cameron and Dawson Simpson to replace injured duo Harry Himmelberg and Jeremy Finlayson and Connor Idun, who was dropped.
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Death, taxes, and Jack Ginnivan getting ignored!
Round 5 of the AFL provided plenty of action, from big scorelines to upset wins and pressure starting to build on some clubs and coaches already.
Collingwood premiership defender Nathan Murphy has been forced into a premature and immediate AFL retirement through concussion to prioritise a "full and healthy life"…
Geelong has been crafty and creative in its list management and has quietly assembled a very exciting young group of midfielders and half-forwards.
Brisbane co-captain Lachie Neale will be looking to lead his team to a victory against Melbourne in what will be his 250th AFL game.
It’s high stakes with five teams having lost their first three games of season 2024, and in desperate need of a win.