Hawthorn coach Sam Mitchell expressed that his frustration with Ken Hinkley after their semi-final loss stems not only from a heated exchange with his players but also from a previous incident in their earlier match this year. During round 10, Hawthorn had led the game until Port Adelaide scored a last-minute goal to win by just one point. As the siren sounded, Hinkley celebrated exuberantly on the sidelines, which did not sit well with Mitchell.
After the finals match, Hinkley further aggravated the situation by mocking Jack Ginnivan, which angered Mitchell even more. Following the game, Hinkley apologized in a press conference for his on-field confrontation with Ginnivan and Hawthorn captain James Sicily, who had defended his teammate, especially after a tumultuous buildup to the match.
Hinkley said “You’re not flying, Jack”, in reference to Ginnivan’s social media post that caused uproar in the lead-up to the game. Ginnivan faced backlash for a cocky reply to a post from Swans star Brodie Grundy that said: “See u in 14 days”, suggesting the Hawks would easily sweep past the Power and play Sydney in the preliminary final.
Mitchell hit out at Hinkley post-match saying: “I mean, I can only speak on my club’s behalf. And if I think about how my club, the Hawthorn football club, dealt with the post-game, we had a very young player (Jack Ginnivan), having had some very aggressive words said to him by a much older man, who has been in the game for a long time.
“The captain of my club (James Sicily), stood up for him (Ginnivan). I understand the emotions of this time of year are really, really difficult. I’m really proud of our captain, who would have been just as emotional, who was able to stand up and lead in a way that he could be proud of.”
Mitchell recalled that after that match, Hinkley celebrated passionately, gesturing towards the coaches’ box, which Mitchell felt was excessive. When pressed for more details about the incident, he opted to keep the focus on his team, emphasizing that Hawthorn got what they deserved this year and that such drama wouldn’t be central to their review of the game. He reiterated that there was context to his frustration and dismissed the notion that he had overreacted.
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