Sam Mitchell okay with Jack Ginnivan’s goal-scoring taunt but makes clear there is a line not to cross

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Sam Mitchell okay with Jack Ginnivan’s goal-scoring taunt but makes clear there is a line not to cross

Hawks coach Sam Mitchell has flagged he does not support players taunting each other if it is “disrespectful” but has not criticised Jack Ginnivan for showing the ball before kicking a goal in the 22-point victory over the Bulldogs.

The has been overshadowed the crucial victory for Hawthorn which ended its three-game losing streak on the back of a strong performance from the premiership winner who had two goals and 23 disposals.

As Ginnivan ran into an open goal during the last quarter of Thursday night’s AFL game at Marvel Stadium, he showboated by turning and showing the ball to the opposition.

But a lot of the talk post-game was about the showboating and Ginnivan was unmoved.

“Why everyone wanna be so serious, bro can’t have fun,” Ginnivan tweeted, adding a couple of dinosaur emojis to drive home his point.

Mitchell said he had not rewatched the moment but had no great issue with it.

A similar act by Power forward ******* Rioli sparked an all-in melee after he was pushed over for showing the ball to Hawk Changkuoth Jiath.

“I won’t be having a chat with him (Ginnivan), I’ll let the players handle that,” he told SEN on Friday.

“As long as it’s not disrespectful to the game or the other team or the fans, and if it’s disrespectful I’d kind of err to not enjoying it as much.

“I haven’t rewatched it. I don’t know the banter that was going on out there.

“He had a bit of a job on Bailey (Dale) at different stages. Making sure he kept a bit of an eye on him because he’s obviously a potent player.

“So you really need the context of it.”

Ginnivan said the act was directed at Dale – who was also involved in an incident with Rioli when the Port star sent a threatening text message about the Bulldog after a game.

“Last quarter I was trying to keep Dale to not many, so giving it to him a little bit…but it’s easy to chirp when you’re up,” Ginnivan said.

But teammate Mabio Chol, who starred with four goals, wasn’t rapt with Ginnivan’s taunting.

“Look, I wasn’t a fan of it, to be honest,” Chol told Fox Footy.

“It’s Ginnivan. What can you do? It’s him. It’s his personality.”

Hawks defender Karl Amon backed Ginnivan, saying his form had been impressive since the forward was dropped earlier this season.

“I’m down the other end, so I don’t do that stuff. But it’s all part of the package with Jack,” Amon told AAP.

“Ever since he’s been dropped, he’s come back to the AFL with a massive workrate and it’s got him involved every week.

“It’s a credit to him that he’s come back in really good form and worked his spot really well.”

Camera IconHawthorn Hawks’ Jack Ginnivan makes his point after kicking a goal against the Western Bulldogs. (James Ross/AAP PHOTOS) Credit: AAP

Mitchell smiled sheepishly post-game when asked about Ginnivan’s gesture and did not want to comment, while Bulldogs counterpart Luke Beveridge was unfussed.

“Sometimes, with the contemporaries these days, it doesn’t even go in the memory banks,” Beveridge said.

“Next time we play the Hawks they won’t even remember it and I won’t show it.

“That’s what he does, it’s the way he rolls.”

Hawthorn snapped their three-game losing streak and Mitchell was rapt with how they played.

“If we hadn’t won tonight … I still would have thought of this game as closer to the way we want to play,” he said.

“We showed what our best can look like.”

Mitchell had NRL coach Todd Payten looking over his shoulder in the coaches’ box.

“The boys were making a bit of a joke that I had him just to make sure they tackled well. If not they might get tackled by him,” Mitchell said.

Indeed, the Hawks ramped up their tackling and Beveridge admitted it was too much for his team.

“If the opposition coach says we were too physical, that’s a pretty good blueprint to win most games,” Mitchell said.

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