- Ginnivan was drafted by Collingwood before moving to the Hawks
- Is now a key player for the early premiership favourites
- Sent a cheeky message to his old Magpies mates in win over Essendon
Former Collingwood star Jack Ginnivan has kick-started his AFL career with his new club Hawthorn and rolled out a new, cheeky goal celebration in the Hawks’ win over Essendon on Friday night.
And the Hawks star has revealed the celebration was a subtle nod to a former Collingwood teammate.
Tom Mitchell, who played for both the Hawks and Collingwood during his 203-game career, made his commentary debut for the Hawthorn v Essendon clash on Friday.
Ginnivan was instrumental in the Hawks’ 17.9 (111) to 12.13 (85) triumph in front of 80,735 fans at the MCG on Friday night.
And when he booted a goal to open up a commanding 46-10 lead in the second quarter, he sent a message by making a T shape with his hands to celebrate.
Speaking with Abbey Holmes after the match, he revealed it was a tribute to Mitchell who had spoken with Ginnivan before the match and helped inspire the huge performance.
Jack Ginnivan celebrates a goal with this celebration as the Hawks won against traditional rivals Essendon
Ginnivan said the celebration was dedicated to former Collingwood teammate Tom Mitchell
Premiership-winning Magpie Tom Mitchell, pictured right, is now retired and made his commentary debut on Friday
‘Tom Mitchell made his [Channel] 7 commentary debut today, he said you guys had a chat and had a nice little celebration ready, you happy with how that rolled out,’ Holmes asked.
‘Yeah the Big T, Big Tommy,’ Ginnivan laughed.
‘[It was] also [for] my mate Toby.’
It showed what Collingwood fans are missing, with Ginnivan now at the Hawks and Mitchell now retired.
Despite the win, Hawks coach Sam Mitchell said there was plenty of room for improvement.
‘We lost a lot of statistics that say we shouldn’t win that game,’ he said.
‘There’s a lot of area that needs attention for us but we were able to kick 111 points and win the game.
‘That part makes me happy, but with some of the underlying stuff we’ve got some work to do.
‘We had enough of a lead to be able to hold them off but we had some key moments that were important.
‘In seasons like this you’re going to have to win some games where you lose some stats, but it’s not sustainable to keep winning in that style.’
