Craig O’Donoghue: Why Hawthorn’s Jack Ginnivan should be brought up in West Coast Eagles coaching interview

One of the key questions West Coast should ask all of its coaching candidates is how they would have handled Jack Ginnivan’s request to join his mates at a pub on the night before his elimination final against the Western Bulldogs. Coaches make a vast number of decisions every day, but managing individuals is one of the most important skills for a modern day AFL coach. What would you have said? There was a time when the standard answer would have been ‘hell no’ - stay at home and focus on your preparation, Jack. But that doesn’t work for everyone. We just witnessed the results of a player being given the freedom to stay relaxed. Ginnivan ran hard all night. He put his body on the line when it was required. He kicked a goal. He set up others. And he finished with 15 possessions and seven score involvements. Across at the Western Bulldogs, we can all be confident that captain Marcus Bontempelli didn’t go out on Thursday, ticked every box in his preparation and couldn’t have been better prepared for a final. But he failed to deliver. What happens the night before the game isn’t always reflective of what will happen on game day. All players can do is train hard and prepare in the best way for them. It’s never been more important to be in-tune with the modern footballer. Remember when players were criticised for wearing coloured boots? Patrick Cripps wore bright orange boots on Saturday. Lachie Neale’s were blue. It doesn’t matter. Don’t get tattoos, don’t dye your hair, don’t wear long sleeves, don’t grow a beard. You’d better play bloody well if you do that. These have all been past mantras. If we go back further, players were told that drinking water made them weak! Harley Reid is younger than YouTube. The majority of this year’s draftees will be younger than Twitter. They see the world differently. Why can’t they celebrate like players in the NBA, NFL and EPL? Why can’t they be trusted to prepare for games differently and take selfies on the field after wins? There’s an obvious line for what not to do as a professional athlete. Ginnivan stepped way over that line during the 2023 pre-season and was suspended. But if drinking water at the London Tavern while watching the footy with mates wasn’t okay, is going the movies allowed? What about a restaurant? How about a mate’s house? What if those mates are drinking? Sam Mitchell is letting players be themselves and they’re thriving. It’s not a new approach for him. There’s a video from 2020 of Mitchell addressing Box Hill players for the first time as VFL coach. He jokes about quickly identifying the Rat Pack, and the youngsters who are scared of him and the group that feel inspired to chase greatness. Then he asked the player wearing “ridiculous looking jeans” to stand on the chair and promote his clothing brand. So here’s the question for West Coast’s next coach. What would you have said to Jack Ginnivan?