Two forwards, two mindsets: The contrasting philosophies driving the Hawks and Magpies

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’s appeal as the premiers and the Magpies’ more aggressive pursuit, Schultz ended up in black and white.Had Schultz gone to the Hawks, who were 16th in 2023 and seemingly still mired mid-rebuild, then it’s a reasonable bet to say that Jack Ginnivan wouldn’t have been strutting the social media stage as a Hawk.Hawthorn star Jack Ginnivan and Collingwood’s Lachie Schultz.Photos: AFL Photos/Getty Images. Artwork: Matt DavidsonFurther, had Schultz chosen Hawthorn – and vice versa – then it’s entirely possible that Ginnivan might not have been traded from Collingwood.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.When Ginnivan met with Sam Mitchell and his football lieutenant Rob McCartney at Mitchell’s 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’s three-year union with Collingwood, where his profile – on social media in particular – exceeded his station as a player in the competition.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. “Shooter” was a cog in the machine, and a defensive desperado; as nearly every person I consulted for this piece remarked, Ginnivan and Schultz are “very different players” and people.After Ginnivan’s 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.The parallel stories of Schultz and Ginnivan offer insights into the different mindsets and philosophies of Collingwood and Hawthorn.The “Fly” 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, “but the fence isn’t that tight”.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’s No.1 player for tackles inside the forward 50-metre arc in 2026 (39 in 19 games to date).Hawthorn coach Sam Mitchell addressing Ginnivan and star teammate Nick Watson.AFL PhotosSchultz plays much closer to goal than Ginnivan, his scoring lifting since Jamie Elliott’s season-ending injury from one goal per game to 1.6. He is efficient rather than flamboyant – you won’t see him in mocking or edgy banter with opposition fans – 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’s narrow loss to Port in that semi-final in 2024.Collingwood had recognised Ginnivan’s talents and felt he was capable of playing upfield and wasn’t merely a deep forward with goal sense. “We had a level of confidence in his draft year that he’d be able to play up the ground,” said Collingwood’s long-serving recruiting boss Derek Hine, now with the Tasmania Devils.But Ginnivan’s 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 – more so after a two-match suspension when filmed with an illicit substance in a Torquay hotel – and he did not have the full trust of the team’s leaders.Schultz (left) is a key cog in the Magpie machine under Craig McRae and alongside superstar onballer Nick Daicos (right).Getty ImagesOne could argue that the Magpies, as the more system-based team and club – and who offer only select individuals significant autonomy to run their own race (e.g. “the Daicii”) – would not have extracted the kind of footy from Ginnivan that the Hawks and Mitchell have harvested.Schultz’s style – high pressure, but lower profile, more structured and blue collar – fitted the McRae methodology.Ginnivan’s style – playing higher upfield, taking risks to create opportunities for teammates and hitting the scoreboard (albeit less this year) – was a match for the free-form Hawthorn DNA, as personified by Nick Watson, Ginnivan and Connor Macdonald.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 – that share was 49 in his 40-goal season of ’22. He has just 19 goals this season after 29 last year, but is averaging nearly 20 possessions per game.Where Hawthorn have fared better than the Magpies was on the question of draft price, as Fremantle pushed for – and gained – Collingwood’s 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’s exchange for the prodigiously skilled Shai Bolton.The draft cost for Ginnivan was close to net zero for Hawthorn.The way Collingwood play, as it happens, is a touch more “one for all and all for one” than the mighty freewheeling Hawks. Schultz and Ginnivan found the homes that fitted their personal traits and talents.Keep up to date with the best AFL coverage in the country. Sign up for the Real Footy newsletter.From our partners