Most of us have heard the fable The Boy Who Cried Wolf, but there’s an unresolved question we never really think about or consider: does the boy seriously deserve to be eaten just for previously telling lies?
It just gets accepted by most readers that he does – it’s his fault for lying, so he should cop his punishment. But at the end of the day, does the punishment fit the crime?
That question should yield a different response when the AFL considers how Jack Ginnivan is treated, both by opposition players and, it seems, umpires, when he is repeatedly taken high and rarely if ever receives a free kick.
Yes, the Hawks goalsneak has admitted in his past to playing for frees, or manipulating his body to trick umpires – but should that remove his head-high protection for life?
I am not talking about special treatment, but basic duty of care, and protection under the rules of the game, that every player on the field deserves to have when they are hit in the head.
Back in 2022, while playing with Collingwood, Ginnivan gave the Goes Alright podcast a frank admission.
“I feel like it’s just a great way to kick a goal. I reckon I’ve kicked 10 goals from free kicks or something like that,” he said.
Jack Ginnivan. (Photo by Darrian Traynor/Getty Images)
“Instead of going to ground, I was trying to stand up in the tackle and take it.”
From that moment, the number of free kicks he receives has dried up, even to the extent that Magpies coach Craig McRae said in late 2022 that the AFL privately contacted him to concede umpires ‘missed’ multiple free kicks.
Then a few weeks later, Ginnivan admitted the fallout from his podcast admission.
“It’s definitely taking a toll on my mental health and all that stuff,” he told Fox Footy after a Magpies win.
It now seems that the bias has followed him to Hawthorn. In the Hawks’ Easter Monday loss to Geelong, Ginnivan was collected high in the first half twice, in tackles from Zach Guthrie and Max Holmes, and then several times again in the second – including clear high contact from a Cat’s spoil that was, once again, overlooked.
Despite Fox Footy’s Jason Dunstall arguing Ginnivan has ‘created a rod for his own back’ from previous incidents of ‘milking’, co-commentator David King pointed out that there were 11 free kicks for high contact in the first half of the Hawthorn-Geelong game… while both of Ginnivan’s were non-calls.
“There are two sets of rules, it is as simple as that,” King said.
“[Dylan] Moore is doing the same thing. 11 [frees] today, and none to Jack. The case rests.
“The only guy out there not getting free kicks is the one with sleeves on.”
Ginnivan’s dwindling free-kick numbers make for remarkable reading: he received 22 high tackle frees in 2022, but just four in 2023, and after three games as a Hawk he has apparently only once been taken high illegally.
Hawks coach Sam Mitchell has thus far sidestepped the issue, saying post-match he ‘will get in touch with the AFL this week’ if he and his fellow coaches believe the 21-year-old has been unfairly treated.
But maybe Mitchell needs to fight fire with fire.
A campaign appears to have formed against Ginnivan for what he confessed to in 2022 as a 19-year-old, and as a result free kicks that are being awarded to every other footballer in the AFL – including his Hawks teammates – are simply not being given when, as King puts it, the bloke being taken high is wearing brown and gold sleeves.
Rather than take the diplomatic approach, his new club and coach should be crying from the rooftops of Waverley Park to try and reverse this trend before it gets worse.
Jack Ginnivan – playing under a different set of rules? (Photo by Dylan Burns/AFL Photos via Getty Images)
Whether you like Ginnivan or hate him, the mounting evidence of bias against him is not a good look. Yes, umpires have got on top of him milking free kicks, but it has now gone to the other extreme.
The balance between a player being held accountable for when they contribute to receiving high contact, and being protected from such reckless tackles, is out of whack.
Sure, Ginnivan does have a reputation for faking contact, and has played for free kicks in the past – it’s understandable umpires will look at incidents involving him with greater scrutiny knowing his reputation.
But they still need to be trained and experienced enough to determine the genuine from the fake, because they certainly aren’t applying high contact rules anywhere near as strictly when it comes to every single other player in the game.
If everyone else receives a free when an opposition player touches their head – which was very much the case on Easter Monday – so should Ginnivan. His past should have no effect.
Missed high tackles could easily create a situation where opposition players start to believe in the ‘Ginnivan bias’, and know they don’t need to be as careful when tackling him. It only takes one to go horribly wrong for serious consequences.
The AFL needs to get its head out of the sand and realise this is a serious issue, one attracting widespread condemnation from around the football world.
The longer the league and its umpires pretend there is nothing to see here, the situation becomes more embarrassing than anything Ginnivan could do himself.
Knackaz
Roar Rookie
Rubbish. He was totally protected by umpires and commentators throughout his whole career and got frees “high contact” frees constantly. He also started sniping the older and slower he got, but got away with that too …
Shane
Roar Rookie
Ducker
nostats
Roar Rookie
a good example of people seeing what they want to see i think .
nostats
Roar Rookie
agree pete , wasnt a fan of his blatent ducking early on at pies and i was embarassed by it ,a young brash upstart was my opinon of him , however found myself supporting him more as the afl/ umpires and wider football public put the blinkers on .sometime he duks others he doesnt .
Jack Russell
Roar Guru
Maybe, but if he didn't have the reputation he probably would have got the kick. The message to players should be loud and clear - stop playing for frees and you're more likely to get free kicks. Trying to cheat your way to frees will not work.
Birdman
Roar Rookie
AFL concedes the umps got it wrong - well done. https://www.afl.com.au/news/1100048/afl-concedes-a-few-missed-free-kicks-for-polarising-hawthorn-hawks-jack-ginnivan
PeteB
Roar Rookie
Ginnivan embarrassed the umpires and the AFL in 2022 and paid his penance in 2023. Now it’s time for the umpires to move on show some maturity and professionalism and pay the free kicks they actually see. The umpires and the AFL are embarrassing themselves more now than Ginnivan ever did in 2022.
Mr Right
Roar Rookie
A couple of times yesterday he got caught high before he got a chance to raise his arm & drop his legs. The no calls have brought this to a "head", excuse the pun.
Tufanooo
Roar Rookie
There wasn't an over correction last year, so not sure why there would be one next week.
Tufanooo
Roar Rookie
Both statements are accurate. He's to blame for his current predicament (boy cried wolf etc etc) He's also not to blame when umpires aren't making the correct call.
Cinderella's Big Score
Roar Rookie
Kennedy v Goldsack in 2018 Grand Final was a classic. Goldsack game but outclassed, desperately trying to find the grey area between legal and illegal defending. One free kick each. But Kennedy took 11 marks, kicked 3.2, remained calm when so many around him were panicking, probably won the match for them.
Tufanooo
Roar Rookie
Adam Goodes received 0.96 per game as was booed mercilessly for that sole reason...Apparently.
Doctor Rotcod
Roar Rookie
Josh Kennedy,WCE forward, averaged 1 free kick a game. Illegal blocks, tackled around the knees and brought to ground,jumper tugging,knees to the head in the opposition's 'legitimate' marking attempts, one example was Noah Balta. He was penalised one per game for his indiscretions. Not so many head high tackles on him but apprehended advance exemptions for his opponents. All nothing to see here, move along. The waving and arguing Hawkins and Riewoldt got/get their share. Franklin not so much. I'm still cranky about umpire bias against the great Kennedy, even though he never was, publicly. Ginnivan just needs a greater body of work and at a higher level like Duckwood or Shuey to have his claims of injustice to be more clearly heard.
Wikipetia
Roar Rookie
Laura Kane emphatically obscure on this today - he's not to blame... but he's to blame... she needs a "please explain" on this one
Cinderella's Big Score
Roar Rookie
I think he might get a few next week, just quietly. :laughing:
Cinderella's Big Score
Roar Rookie
Some interesting comparisons: In 2022, Ginnivan received 32 free kicks in 23 games (1.4 per game). Since then he has received 6 free kicks in 17 games (0.4 per game). Leigh Matthews averaged 2.45 free kicks over his 328 games. Kevin Bartlett (surprisingly) averaged slightly less, at 2.35. Wayne Richardson, who spent a long career getting his head belted in, averaged just on 3 per game. Don Scott, who spent an equally long career belting heads in, also averaged 3 per game (no justice there!). Our friend Joel Selwood averaged 2.51 free kicks per game.
andyfnq
Roar Rookie
What a ridiculous over-reaction this article is. Because we noticed the free kicks he was playing for earlier, every time he doesn't get one now people notice it. Lots of players miss getting a high contact free kick at various points and it isn't treated like the footy apocalypse. Honestly, to read thisbyou'd think the umpires eyeball him at the start of each match and then tell him that stagers can look after themselves. Maybe if he stops bending at the knees as soon as he hears a footstep and starts building a reputation a tough, fair small forward who doesn't look for soft free kicks, he'll play better footy? Oh, he might want to lay off the nose candy too.
Tufanooo
Roar Rookie
Well, no decline then either. Hehe If he gets a free next week, then he's on track to soar over last year.
Munro Mike
Roar Rookie
#Birdman No..........re Lindsay Thomas. Well.......Dermie in the media in particular. I have no sympathy for whinging Hawthorn. Guerra was one of those who'd go to ground; Poppy would drop the knees when tackled similar to........and Selwood would.........we know what he would do. Thomas would get low to gather the ball and then as he's coming up - he'd try to slip through the 'gap' past a player.........that player had to tackle correctly. It's the issue of a player MUST be permitted to come back up..........but.......if he gets back up to height and then drops again.......then bang - prior.
Yattuzzi
Roar Rookie
At least your boys had a crack yesterday. Ginny is a diversion. Concentrate on your proper players.