Nathan Buckley has rejected claims from Kane Cornes that Collingwood “gave up” on Jack Ginnivan, after the Magpies’ decision to trade away the young gun backfired brutally. Ginnivan torched his old club on Saturday, notching career-high tallies of 31 disposals and four clearances, as well as kicking two goals in Hawthorn’s 66-point rout.

Ginnivan has been shining for the Hawks this year after being given much more freedom than he did at Collingwood. The 21-year-old helping the Magpies win the premiership in 2023, but was traded to Hawthorn in the aftermath after a falling out with coach Craig McRae.

Ginnivan previously opened up about feeling too restricted at the Magpies and lauded Hawks coach Sam Mitchell for allowing him more flexibility in the forward line. On Monday, former Port Adelaide player Kane Cornes said Collingwood “gave up” on Ginnivan too early and should have stuck by him.

“Essentially they gave up on him. He’s now 21 years of age and Hawthorn are saying, ‘Ok, this guy has got something’,” Cornes said on SEN radio. “He may not be perfect but Collingwood gave up on essentially a 20-year-old because of a couple of things off the field that many young players go through.

“Now he’s at a team that fully embraces what he’s able to do, the attributes that he has and the way that he plays in and amongst a system that allows the players to play with a bit more freedom. He had 30 disposals, which is a career high, and the most he ever had at Collingwood was 20. Clearly they pigeon-holed him into a role that didn’t fully suit the attributes that he’s got.”