Former Melbourne mentor Paul Roos suspects Hawthorn coach Sam Mitchell would be “absolutely fuming” behind closed doors at forward Jack Ginnivan‘s recent behaviour on social media.

No stranger to controversy, Ginnivan’s latest antics overshadowed the Hawks’ first week of finals and have since spilled into the second.

Following Sydney’s qualifying final win over GWS, Ginnivan took to Instagram to comment on a post by former Collingwood teammate Brodie Grundy.

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Now at the Swans, Grundy posted a series of selfies with teammates post-match to which Ginnivan replied: “See u in 14 days”.

Ginnivan’s Hawks will take on Grundy’s Swans in a preliminary final if they beat Port Adelaide in this week’s first semi final.

Known to stoke the fire, Ginnivan’s comment conveyed disregard for the challenge Port Adelaide presents on Friday night.

This followed an X post from Ginnivan earlier in the week which read, “Just gone for a walk”, alongside a fictional breaking news image after he was spotted at a Richmond pub the night before his side’s elimination final.

The Hawks have defended Ginnivan’s behaviour but Roos is not convinced that Mitchell is OK with the special attention.

“Sam Mitchell would be fuming, absolutely fuming,” he told the ABC’s AFL Daily podcast.

“This is their first final and they’re a really good footy club. Pull your head in, Jack. This is a team sport, this is not about Jack Ginnivan.

“This is a footy club that everyone loves watching play and they’re tough and they’ve got a great system. Don’t spoil it for your teammates.

“That is up on the board at Port every time the players walk in this week. Does it make a difference? I don’t know, maybe, maybe not, but it’s just unnecessary. It just smacks of ‘I, I, I, I’ not ‘team, team, team, team’.

“I would raise it, absolutely. He would’ve been in my office the next morning whatever time training started.”

Roos believes comments such as Ginnivan’s is a danger to the AFL’s team-oriented culture.

“I’ve seen the way American media has gone and I’ve seen the way athletes have gone, the only thing that resembles a team in America now is they all wear the same jerseys, that’s it, everything else is about the individual,” he said.

“One of the great things about Australian football is it is about the team.”

Last season, Magpies coach Craig McRae publicly condoned Ginnivan for attending the races the night before the grand final.

Collingwood was victorious but Ginnivan was traded to Hawthorn only weeks later.