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Sport Nation
Why Cornes is ‘nervous’ about Jack Ginnivan’s role at Hawthorn
Nicholas Quinlan • March 14th, 2025 2:58 pm
Kane Cornes believes that Jack Ginnivan needs to find a point of difference within his game to maintain his spot in Hawthorn’s best team.
After the Hawks' 20-point win against the Swans last week, much has been made out of their young stars and the potential they have as they continue their rise.
But Cornes worries that this rise might see Ginnivan left behind by some of the Hawks’ up and coming stars as they push towards a premiership tilt.
“I don’t think I’m barracking any harder for any one individual in the game than I am for Jack Ginnivan,” Cornes said on SEN Breakfast.
“He’s won me over, I got to know the family a little bit,
“I’m nervous for him in terms of what is going to be his biggest weapon in the game.”
Cornes cited the rising stars that Hawthorn have selected in the draft over the last few years that are either in or around the best 23, who could take his spot.
“Are there players at the Hawks that are going to go past him?” Cornes asked.
“I look at what (Cam) McKenzie did last week, I see (Josh) Ward back in the side, we know about the small forwards that they already have.
“What’s his biggest weapon? Is he athletic? Well probably not. Is he an elite finisher? Probably not, we saw that last week.
“Kicked a lot of goals from free kicks early and the umpires are now onto that, so has that eliminated a score source for him.”
While Ginnivan didn’t have a great game to start his 2025 season, his debut season as a Hawk gives Cornes hope.
Using stats from last year, Ginnivan was ranked elite in disposal average (career best) and was ranked above average in goals, marks and clearances when benchmarked against other forwards in the competition.
But as Hawthorn’s young guns get better with more experience, Cornes wants to see Ginnivan find a skill set in his game that can make him stand out and become a long-term player in the AFL system.
“I hope he can really find that and become a 200-game player," he said.
“But I am just concerned that there is a lack of any one real strength for him that’s going to have him stand out.”
Ginnivan will feature for Hawthorn when take on their old nemesis in the Essendon Bombers tonight at the MCG.
SEN’s AFL Nation coverage will begin 6pm AEDT with the first bounce taking place at 7:40pm.
