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Collingwood captain Scott Pendlebury says Jack Ginnivan is being umpired differently to his rivals after again not being paid a free kick despite high contact
Collingwood captain Scott Pendlebury believes teammate Jack Ginnivan is suffering from unwarranted treatment from umpires, saying the 19-year-old is being officiated differently from the rest of the competition.
Ginnivan again made headlines in his side's narrow win against Port Adelaide, as he was penalised for holding the ball despite being hit above the shoulders by Power veteran Robbie Gray.
The young Magpie had again appeared to drop his body into the tackle, in effect creating the high contact.
It came just a week after a similar incident when he was hit high by Essendon's Mason Redman, with the AFL later releasing a statement suggesting Ginnivan was responsible for the initial contact.
But Pendlebury suggested he was being singled out for that treatment by umpires and was far from the only footballer playing that way.
"It's a bizarre situation playing, because as much as you don't want to shine a light on it, it does feel for some reason every time he gets the ball it's a different set of rules," he told Triple M.
"It shouldn't feel like that, and I don't know if they're officiating the correct way with him and then they're still a little bit behind with other players.
"I'll give you the hot tip, he's certainly not the only guy in the AFL that knows how to shrug a tackle.
"Because he's been made the example of, everyone's hot on him and not so hot on other players."
Ginnivan kicked three goals in the win to continue a breakout season in which he's scored 32 majors.