AFL News: Jack Ginnivan’s missed gesture comes to light as bigwigs denounce Brayden Maynard incident

The video of a fan of Jack Ginnivan The furor over Collingwood fans has come to light as two AFL greats criticised Brayden Maynard’s errant forearm at the Hawks youngster. The fallout from the clash between Hawthorn and Collingwood has continued with AFL Fans blow up part of Magpies fans boo Ginnivan for his antics.

A section of Collingwood fans gave it to Ginnivan throughout the game, which angered the opposition fans because the Magpies fans criticised the opposing fanbases for attacking the 21-year-old prodigy in black and white. This time Ginnivan did his usual antics and kissed the Hawthorn badge after his first goal.

Then Ginnivan signalled to 74,171 fans that it was time for Collingwood to go to bed after his second goal of the night. And now footage has emerged of Ginnivan giving his goal to the fans away from the broadcast cameras.

After walking out to the diehard Collingwood fans after a goal, footage showed Ginnivan provoking the crowd with a hand gesture, which infuriated the fans and made them all jump out of their seats. There is no doubt that Ginnivan thrived at the MCG as he mocked his former club’s fanbase. However, many feel a part of Collingwood fans went too far in defending Ginnivan for similar antics in the past. Many felt that Ginnivan’s confidence added to the spectacle every time he played.

Brayden Maynard receives criticism for forearm

While Ginnivan received a lot of attention for his antics towards fans on the field, his former teammate Maynard let the Hawthorn star know he would not stand for it. In the second quarter, Ginnivan charged at Maynard to tackle him as he was collecting the ball.

The Collingwood star attempted to fend off the onrushing Ginnivan but raised his forearm and struck the Hawthorn star in the face. Maynard then disposed of the ball before falling gently to the ground after a collision with Hawthorn.

And fans were not happy. Many felt Maynard could get into trouble with the match review officer after players such as Isaac Heeney were given one-match bans for an uncontrolled arm in recent weeks. And dangerous play was punished in 2024 when Charlie Cameron and Toby Bedford were both initially banned for three weeks for controversial moments.

Matthew Lloyd and Kane Cornes challenge Maynard

In an interview with Footy on Nine, former player Matthew Lloyd criticised the inconsistency in the AFL and wondered if the tackles were worse than the Maynard incident.

“That’s what frustrates me about this game,” Lloyd said. “Because reports say he’s going to get fined for it. Whereas if you make a good tackle and it happens by accident, someone hits their head. In that situation, you try to defend yourself but you hit them in the head. But they’re going to be OK,” Lloyd said.

Kane Cornes echoed Lloyd in saying he should not get away with a fine. “He looked at him, raised his forearm and hit him on the head… ridiculous,” Cornes added. Fans were furious at the incident, with many arguing the raised forearm was worse than some of the recent tackles the AFL has seen that have resulted in lengthy suspensions.

After the heated encounter, Hawthorn coach Sam Mitchell spoke about the attention Ginnivan receives from opposing fans, saying that as a young player he is coping very well with it. “When you consider how long he’s been around – how many times he’s been on the back page or there’s been a story about him – he seems a lot older,” Mitchell said.

“But he’s 21 years old, so he’s still maturing, still growing into his football and still learning how to deal with different opponents, situations and roles.”