Craig McRae's ominous Jack Ginnivan warning before Collingwood trade fallout
Jack Ginnivan made the huge move after some wild late trade drama.
Collingwood coach Craig McRae may have given his final sending off to youngster Jack Ginnivan only moments after the AFL grand final with his message resurfacing before the youngster signed with Hawthorn. The Magpies confirmed Ginnivan's exit on Wednesday with the 20-year-old signing for this year's 16th placed team Hawthorn.
Reports suggest the 20-year-old felt he was being pushed out the door at Collingwood and Ginnivan deleted a post only moments after the stories broke on Tuesday. Hawthorn were the favourites to sign Ginnivan having lost young forward Tyler Brockman to West Coast. And Collingwood confirmed Ginnivan's departure on Wednesday afternoon.
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The club will also be without veteran goalsneak Chad Wingard for most of 2024. On Monday, it appeared Gannivan might remain at Collingwood and see out his contract till the end of 2024.
However, the situation is vastly different on Wednesday as Gannivan was free to talk to rival clubs. And while the news has rocked the AFL community, coach McRae's comments after the grand final may have given an insight into the fracture between the club and the player.
Ginnivan was one of the standout performers in 2022 having kicked 40 goals. The 20-year-old struggled in 2023 having only made 14 appearances. While he did come back into the team for the grand final, the night before the showpiece event he visited the local races.
The 20-year-old admitted after the grand final he wasn't the average footballer and hit back at the critics to claim he was now a premiership winner. However, McRae had a different view on the incident.
"Read the room, Jack," McRae said in his post-grand final press conference when asked about Ginnivan's night at the races. "You've got to grow up, but you've got to make mistakes to learn from them."
Despite McRae's public annoyance, Ginnivan went to Collingwood's Mad Monday celebrations dressed as a jockey. Ginnivan's antics may have frustrated the coach and the club with the player on the trade table.
Ginnivan fell out of favour with coach McRae and spent the majority of the season in the VFL. He was used as the sub in the Magpies' first two finals games, before winning a recall to the starting side for the grand final.
Jack Ginnivan deletes post amid Collingwood trade drama
The sudden reports Ginnivan could be on the move on Tuesday took everyone by surprise and it appears this includes the player himself. At a similar time the news broke, Ginnivan took to social media - clearly unaware of the reports - and posted an Instagram story that read: 'Locked in'.
He appeared to be at Collingwood headquarters in a training session. Ginnivan deleted the story moments later and also deleted photos from his account. The damning move comes as reports suggested the 20-year-old felt Collingwood were pushing him out the door in a tough move.
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