{"id":854948,"date":"2026-08-14T12:18:21","date_gmt":"2026-08-14T12:18:21","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/854948\/"},"modified":"2026-08-14T12:18:21","modified_gmt":"2026-08-14T12:18:21","slug":"two-forwards-two-mindsets-the-contrasting-philosophies-driving-the-hawks-and-magpies","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/854948\/","title":{"rendered":"Two forwards, two mindsets: The contrasting philosophies driving the Hawks and Magpies"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"Jake<\/p>\n

August 14, 2026 \u2014 7:42pm<\/p>\n

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Hawthorn were interested in Lachie Schultz during 2023, when the then Fremantle forward was exploring a move back to Victoria, but, in-part due to Collingwood\u2019s appeal as the premiers and the Magpies\u2019 more aggressive pursuit, Schultz ended up in black and white.<\/p>\n

Had Schultz gone to the Hawks, who were 16th in 2023 and seemingly still mired mid-rebuild, then it\u2019s a reasonable bet to say that Jack Ginnivan wouldn\u2019t have been strutting the social media stage as a Hawk.<\/p>\n

\"HawthornHawthorn star Jack Ginnivan and Collingwood\u2019s Lachie Schultz.Photos:\u00a0 AFL Photos\/Getty Images. Artwork: Matt Davidson<\/p>\n

Further, had Schultz chosen Hawthorn \u2013 and vice versa \u2013 then it\u2019s entirely possible that Ginnivan might not have been traded from Collingwood.<\/p>\n

Schultz was due to be an unrestricted free agent in 2024. Collingwood were willing to jump early, and pay the premium, having met with Schultz in the days after their storied premiership, in which Ginnivan had been the sub and recorded only seven touches in three quarters.<\/p>\n

When Ginnivan met with Sam Mitchell and his football lieutenant Rob McCartney at Mitchell\u2019s home (how many players have been hosted in that abode?) following the 2023 grand final, it was evident that this would be a more suitable marriage than Ginnivan\u2019s three-year union with Collingwood, where his profile \u2013 on social media in particular \u2013 exceeded his station as a player in the competition.<\/p>\n

Schultz, conversely, would prove a better fit for the Magpies in terms of his playing style and ethos. Not as flashy or cocky. Not one to play to the madding crowds, to rile up the opposition. \u201cShooter\u201d was a cog in the machine, and a defensive desperado; as nearly every person I consulted for this piece remarked, Ginnivan and Schultz are \u201cvery different players\u201d and people.<\/p>\n

After Ginnivan\u2019s brilliant and, at times, stormy 2022 breakout season, when he booted 40 goals and drew constant commentary for milking frees for high contact, Craig McRae had Ginnivan playing a more straightened role in 2023. This restrained role did not see him gain as much of the ball as he would have liked.<\/p>\n

The parallel stories of Schultz and Ginnivan offer insights into the different mindsets and philosophies of Collingwood and Hawthorn.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n

The \u201cFly\u201d Pies prize adherence to system, and while Nick Daicos is allowed greater freedom, the McRae system is less flexible than that of the Hawks, who, as one insider put it, put a fence around players, \u201cbut the fence isn\u2019t that tight\u201d.<\/p>\n

Schultz, after an initial adjustment period in 2024, has shown himself to be a consummate cog within the Collingwood collective. At a team that places a huge premium on pressuring the opposition, Schultz is the AFL\u2019s No.1 player for tackles inside the forward 50-metre arc in 2026 (39 in 19 games to date).<\/p>\n

\"HawthornHawthorn coach Sam Mitchell addressing Ginnivan and star teammate Nick Watson.AFL Photos<\/p>\n

Schultz plays much closer to goal than Ginnivan, his scoring lifting since Jamie Elliott\u2019s season-ending injury from one goal per game to 1.6. He is efficient rather than flamboyant \u2013 you won\u2019t see him in mocking or edgy banter with opposition fans \u2013 a trait that Ginnivan first demonstrated in that 2022 Anzac Day game when he booted five, and which culminated in the notorious exchange with Ken Hinkley on the boundary after Hawthorn\u2019s narrow loss to Port in that semi-final in 2024.<\/p>\n

Collingwood had recognised Ginnivan\u2019s talents and felt he was capable of playing upfield and wasn\u2019t merely a deep forward with goal sense. \u201cWe had a level of confidence in his draft year that he\u2019d be able to play up the ground,\u201d said Collingwood\u2019s long-serving recruiting boss Derek Hine, now with the Tasmania Devils.<\/p>\n

But Ginnivan\u2019s missteps in 2023, not least his decision to go to the races the night before the grand final, put him in a position where Collingwood were willing to let him go. At Collingwood, he was always a headline act \u2013 more so after a two-match suspension when filmed with an illicit substance in a Torquay hotel \u2013 and he did not have the full trust of the team\u2019s leaders.<\/p>\n

\"SchultzSchultz (left) is a key cog in the Magpie machine under Craig McRae and alongside superstar onballer Nick Daicos (right).Getty Images<\/p>\n

One could argue that the Magpies, as the more system-based team and club \u2013 and who offer only select individuals significant autonomy to run their own race (e.g. \u201cthe Daicii\u201d) \u2013 would not have extracted the kind of footy from Ginnivan that the Hawks and Mitchell have harvested.<\/p>\n

Schultz\u2019s style \u2013 high pressure, but lower profile, more structured and blue collar \u2013 fitted the McRae methodology.<\/p>\n

Ginnivan\u2019s style \u2013 playing higher upfield, taking risks to create opportunities for teammates and hitting the scoreboard (albeit less this year) \u2013 was a match for the free-form Hawthorn DNA, as personified by Nick Watson, Ginnivan and Connor Macdonald.<\/p>\n

Related Article\"Mark<\/a><\/p>\n

Ginnivan has gained only 19 per cent of his disposals inside the forward 50-metre arc this year, compared to 35 per cent in 2024 \u2013 that share was 49 in his 40-goal season of \u201922. He has just 19 goals this season after 29 last year, but is averaging nearly 20 possessions per game.<\/p>\n

Where Hawthorn have fared better than the Magpies was on the question of draft price, as Fremantle pushed for \u2013 and gained \u2013 Collingwood\u2019s future first-round choice, which was earlier than budgeted; this deprived Collingwood of a first-rounder in the deep 2024 draft, and became part of Fremantle\u2019s exchange for the prodigiously skilled Shai Bolton.<\/p>\n

The draft cost for Ginnivan was close to net zero for Hawthorn.<\/p>\n

The way Collingwood play, as it happens, is a touch more \u201cone for all and all for one\u201d than the mighty freewheeling Hawks. Schultz and Ginnivan found the homes that fitted their personal traits and talents.<\/p>\n

Keep up to date with the best AFL coverage in the country. Sign up for the Real Footy newsletter<\/a>.<\/p>\n

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\"JakeJake Niall<\/a> is a Walkley award-winning sports journalist and chief AFL writer for The Age.Connect via X<\/a> or email<\/a>.From our partners<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"August 14, 2026 \u2014 7:42pm Save You have reached your maximum number of saved items. Remove items from…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":854949,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[560],"tags":[638,64,63,55,639,85],"class_list":["post-854948","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-afl","tag-afl","tag-au","tag-australia","tag-australian-football-league","tag-australianfootballleague","tag-sports"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/854948","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=854948"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/854948\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/854949"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=854948"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=854948"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=854948"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}