Jason Dunstall has swatted away a cheeky jab over Patrick Cripps’ snap at goal, saying on Triple M on Friday evening he had “no problem with it” after being dragged into a debate that started with Carlton’s match-winner last week.

The exchange grew out of Cripps’ winning goal against Geelong last Friday night, when he marked strongly 25m out directly in front and then snapped the ball around the corner instead of taking a drop punt. A few days later, he explained on the Ball Magnets podcast why he trusted the snap, and Jack Ginnivan and Tom Mitchell quickly joined in, calling it easier and more comfortable than the old-fashioned set shot.

That is why Dunstall’s name surfaced so quickly. Ginnivan cheekily threw up the Hawthorn great as one of the old timers who would have hated the choice, and Mitchell added that players from another era would have asked why anyone would kick a snap at all. The running joke landed because Dunstall has spent years criticising snaps and dribbles that miss when a drop punt might have been the cleaner option.

He did not back down from that reputation. Dunstall, who kicked 1,254 career goals for Hawthorn and sits third in V/AFL history behind Tony Lockett and Gordon Coventry, said he was quite happy to be lectured by three blokes who have 11 goals between them. The line captured the whole point of the exchange: a Hall of Fame Legend elevated to Legend status in 2025 being teased by three current players whose combined haul, for all their confidence, hardly matches his.

Cripps had argued earlier in the week that he knows the right spots inside 50, has a routine for his snaps and feels the curved kick takes away some of the danger of missing to the right. He even said teammate Harry McKay told him to snap it, although he was already locked in. That confidence sat comfortably with Ginnivan and Mitchell, who made the snap sound natural rather than reckless.

What Dunstall’s response leaves open is whether the back-and-forth stops there or turns into another on-air volley. For now, the old timer has taken the joke, kept his own view on goal-kicking technique intact and, with one line on Friday night, made clear he is not offended by being outvoted by players with far fewer career goals.