As Hawthorn’s Jack Ginnivan lined up to kick a goal against Collingwood in Adelaide last week, he winked at Scott Pendlebury.

The context barely needs re-stating. Ginnivan is a topical player, and this was his first game against the club with whom he won a premiership last year. It was preceded by a week of discussion about him and high tackles and unpaid free kicks throughout his career, and an admission from the AFL that he had deserved more. Now he had been paid one at the first opportunity - against Collingwood.

Dayne Zorko and Harrison Petty shakes hands on Thursday night.Credit: Getty Images

Ginnivan said he winked at Pendlebury because both knew he would kick the goal. Provocative? Only if you were looking to be provoked. In the circumstances, it was a first-rate, self-aware piece of theatre.

So in its way was Ginnivan’s romp through a knot of his former teammates after he had landed the goal, and so was the stony silence with which the Magpies treated Ginnivan throughout the match.

The goal hurt figuratively, but otherwise no feelings were harmed in the making of this pantomime. It fell comfortably into the rules of engagement in AFL battle. It would be a tame game without them.

Jack Ginnivan goals as Scott Pendlebury tries to spoil.Credit: Getty Images

What are those rules? They’re unwritten, of course. They shouldn’t need to be codified, nor sanctions for their breach. Everyone knows or should know intuitively what is in the spirit of the game.

And isn’t. At the MCG on Thursday night, Brisbane’s Noah Answerth taunted Melbourne’s Harrison Petty with a crybaby gesture after his kick at goal missed.

QOSHE - Lions and their crying shame - Greg Baum
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Lions and their crying shame

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12.04.2024

As Hawthorn’s Jack Ginnivan lined up to kick a goal against Collingwood in Adelaide last week, he winked at Scott Pendlebury.

The context barely needs re-stating. Ginnivan is a topical player, and this was his first game against the club with whom he won a premiership last year. It was preceded by a week of discussion about him and high tackles and unpaid free kicks throughout his career, and an........

© The Sydney Morning Herald


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