Angry parents have expressed their kids’ disappointment after being stood up by Hawthorn star duo Jack Ginnivan and Nick Watson at a footy clinic.
Ginnivan and Watson, two of the biggest characters in the AFL, were due to appear at a kids’ clinic on Sunday morning in Ivanhoe.
It was the morning after the Peter Crimmins Medal for the club’s best and fairest awards the previous night.
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The clinic was due to start at 10.30am, with the Hawthorn players expected to arrive at 11am, from which point they would coach the session for the next 45 minutes before a 15-minute Q and A, and photo opportunity.
Organisers were setting up for the event just after 9am when they got a message saying both Ginnivan and Watson had fallen sick and could not attend.
It left about 80 kids, aged between seven and 15, shattered.
Word of the kids’ disappointment was first speculated on 3AW’s rumour file on Monday morning.
“Good morning, boys. Rumour has it, on the weekend there was a junior football clinic,” a caller told the Melbourne radio station.
“They (the kids) were told that two AFL players were meant to be at the clinic, which started at 10.30am.
“At 9.15am, the parents received a message saying the two players were sick.
“The question is: were they both really sick?”
That rumour was later confirmed by two parents, whose kids were both due to participate in the program, which cost parents $65.
Speaking to Jacqui Felgate on 3AW Drive, footy mum Vaissy said her son was: “More than disappointed — absolutely heartbroken.
“He was in tears most of the day and said it was the worst day of his life.”
Vaissy said she thought the AFL players’ supposed sickness sounded fishy, given they had the best and fairest the night before.
“They (the players) posted on Instagram around midnight, Nick Watson posted on Instagram yesterday afternoon — you don’t do that kind of stuff if you’re sick,” she said on 3AW.
“If it was anyone other than Ginnivan then maybe I’d believe it. Maybe I should give them the benefit of the doubt, but the fact that two of them were sick is pretty poor.”
Vaissy’s son even had specially made cards for the players to say thank you for running the clinic.
“He made the most beautiful thank-you cards for each of them,” she said.
“He made one for The Wizard, and it had a wizard hat on the front with Hokball written on it and the most beautiful words inside. And also one for Ginnivan, the same sort of thing, absolutely stunning, all in Hawthorn colours.
“He put a lot of work into them and was really looking forward to the day.
“There were actually 80 kids enrolled and due on the day and, as I understand, the (organisers) had put an incredible amount of work into it, hiring a venue, they had food in the canteen that they’d ordered, they were all there setting up when they were told at the last minute (that the players weren’t coming).”
A text from organisers to parents on Sunday morning read: “We put so much hard work into the program and we were setting up on the ground when the phone call came through.”
Vaissy added: “And they’ve had to apologise to all the parents and they’ve had to offer refunds.
“Earlier in the week when I booked it, I actually thought, ‘Hey, the best and fairest is on the Saturday, what are these kids thinking?’ I know they’re young, I know they’re going to go out and have fun and get drunk and all of that, but what are they thinking having to be at the (clinic) at like 10.30 the next morning — is that the best decision?
“I guess although I was super shocked when the message came through, I wasn’t that surprised.
Ginnivan’s management told 3AW he was unwell on Sunday morning, but said that he would try to reschedule.
A second caller, Peter, also had the unenviable task of breaking the bad news to his son.
“I enrolled my son earlier in the week to the footy clinic with these Hawthorn players on the Sunday morning,” Peter said.
“I live about an hour’s drive from the venue, down on the Peninsula, and was on my way there, got a text message saying, ‘Sorry about the inconvenience…’ And I thought, oh yeah, maybe it’s one player that couldn’t turn up.
“And then by the time I got there, looking at the message, both players weren’t coming because they were sick. I had my gut feeling (about) the reason why.
“It was very hard to let my son down, because he was very excited to see two of his idols — he’s a massive Hawthorn fan. He was very disappointed.
“My son’s 11, so he’s pretty well just starting his footy journey, like all young kids do. (He was) just excited to be able to be trained by young people that they look up to, who are idols for them.
“So, he was very disappointed just to not be able to run around with his idols.”
Peter had his doubts over the reason the players pulled out.
“You don’t know if they really were sick. But being an hour, not even an hour, before the clinic, to get that message saying they’re both sick at the same time, it kind of gets you guessing,” he said.
“I was aware of (the best and fairest) only that night. That’s why I put two and two together.
“These kids look up to these AFL footballers and I always say, if you make a commitment, you at least stick to it. Especially if you’re going to have a couple of drinks, at least know, ‘OK, I’ve got something on tomorrow, I’ll stop, I’m going to not disappoint these young fans’.”