Collingwood captain Scott Pendlebury has shed light on the advice he offered to 2022 ANZAC Day medallist Jack Ginnivan after his five-goal outing earned him the prestigious best-on-ground honour.
The 19-year-old Ginnivan has been berated by pundits this season for antics such as labelling Round 1 opponent St Kilda "light work" and tussling with Geelong skipper Joel Selwood during an MCG clash in Round 3.
Ginnivan was judged the best player afield on Monday, receiving 11 votes and edging out star Essendon midfielder Darcy Parish (seven votes) for the best-afield honours.
Speaking on SEN Breakfast on Tuesday, Pendlebury jokingly said he wanted to ensure Ginnivan didn't make any more waves during his acceptance speech.
"I sort of cottoned on that he won the Anzac Day Medal because someone was talking to him," Pendlebury began.
"Before the mic came to him I said, 'make sure when you get up there you just don't say light work to start, that won't go down well'.
Pendlebury, who has been spending time in defence as well as the midfield, went on to praise the way the youngster has worked to get to where he is at the moment.
"But seriously, he's a guy that works extremely hard, his pre-season was phenomenal.
"A guy who's a second-year rookie list pick to be doing what he's doing ten games into his career, he's already an integral part of what we do.
"He's just so classy, he works really hard on his goalkicking, so there's no surprise to what he did yesterday with his finishing stuff because of how hard he works on it."
Ginnivan, a product of the Bendigo Pioneers before being taken by the Pies at the 2020 Rookie Draft, claimed he is unaffected by comments made about him in the media, citing strong external support and previous experience in the spotlight.
"I'm just trying to be myself," he said after the win over Essendon. "Whatever people say about me, I don't really care. I know I've got people in my corner, supporting me, helping me backing me in.
"It was hard last year obviously with zero crowd. But when people doubt me and judge me, whatever, I really feed off it."
But Ginnivan said he's attracted scrutiny "since I was a young kid", so it hasn't been a new development for him.
"I love being competitive and I love when people doubt me. It gives me the edge to go out and show them what I've got," he said.
"That's how I dealt with [recent criticism]."
The livewire forward has gone at an average of 2.2 goals per game to start the season, providing his Magpie teammates with another attractive option inside forward-50.
Forward
Disposals
Marks
Goals
Ginnivan, like Jamie Elliott and Jordan De Goey before him, has quickly made a name for himself as the newest fan-favourite forward at Olympic Park and has shown no signs of slowing down in 2022.