Why Collingwood teenager Jack Ginnivan has more right to a pint than West Coast Eagles players

There’s nothing wrong with footy players letting off some steam. They are human, after all, and in your 20s, a night out is as much a part of your weekend as a sleep in. Especially on a Saturday, during an eight-day break, where reviews aren’t happening for days and there won’t be any sign of a hangover on Monday morning - but that doesn’t mean there won’t be consequences. For West Coast’s Jackson Nelson, being at the Hip-E Club with teammate Josh Rotham is a perfectly normal thing for a 26-year-old in Perth to do. But being spotted at the same nightclub as players in the team that just embarrassed the AFL side you play for on your home deck by 109 points is a little less normal. The situation, naturally, will draw comparisons to Collingwood’s Jack Ginnivan - the 19-year-old who divides opinions over Go-Pros, bleach blonde haircuts and goal celebrations. His coach, Craig McRae, backed Ginnivan in on all of the above but not on a post-match visit to the pub after winning the Anzac Day medal, with only a six-day break coming up. Opinions came in thick and fast over AFL players’ right to “have a life” outside of football. While McRae was displeased, he appeared to let it slide, accepting that Ginnivan was celebrating five goals and a win in the biggest game of the home and away season. Simpson, on the other hand, is “furious and disappointed” at his players – and rightfully so. Nelson and Rotham, both considered fringe players, weren’t celebrating four points. Nelson had just played in the Eagles’ third-straight loss by more than 10 goals, while Rotham featured in a 55-point thumping by Fremantle’s state league affiliated side for West Coast’s winless WAFL team. Earlier that day, Rotham told The West Australian: “If I can keep holding up my form in the WAFL, then hopefully I’m back in (the senior side) soon.” This Saturday against Brisbane, he will be – but only because the Eagles have been decimated by COVID cases and injuries. Who was one of them? Nelson. Who is another? Simpson. Nelson was one of the first cases reported, with Simpson one of the last. There’s no way to know if the Eagles’ virus chain started on the team bus, or at a Leederville nightclub, or a supermarket, or getting fuel, or any of the mundane, everyday tasks the players do in their time off. But putting yourself in a packed club during the height of a COVID outbreak in Perth, while trying to hold your spot in a 6-1 team, is hardly showing commitment to the coach, the club or the fans. West Coast will have eight players, staff and officials missing from their ranks as they face second-place Brisbane at the Gabba, starting down the barrel of a hefty defeat. How about that for consequences?

Why Collingwood teenager Jack Ginnivan has more right to a pint than West Coast Eagles players

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