Jason Dunstall hit back on Friday evening after Jack Ginnivan, Patrick Cripps and Tom Mitchell took a cheeky swipe at his long-running disdain for players who snap for goal instead of taking a drop punt. Dunstall, who kicked 1254 goals for Hawthorn and sits third on the V/AFL all-time list, said he was happy to be lectured by the trio after they mocked his views on the snap.
The exchange followed Cripps’ winning goal for Carlton against Geelong last Friday night, when he took a strong mark 25 metres out directly in front and snapped the ball around the corner to put the Blues in front. A few days later, he explained the choice on the Ball Magnets podcast with Ginnivan and Mitchell, and that was enough to bring Dunstall back onto the topic on Triple M just days later. The debate landed now because Cripps’ finish was decisive, and because Dunstall’s response came while the clip was still fresh in the game’s weekly conversation.
Mitchell argued that snapping can be easier and more comfortable because it gives the kicker more surface area of the ball to work with, while Cripps said he had that exact spot at training and always knew which kick he wanted to use from there. Ginnivan then threw Dunstall’s name into the mix as one of the old timers who would have hated the decision. That set up the comeback from a Hall of Fame forward who has spent years jokingly, and sometimes not so jokingly, taking aim at players who choose the snap when a set shot is available.
“I’ve got no problem with it. I’m happy to get lectured by three blokes that have got 11 goals between them, that is absolutely fine,” Dunstall said. The line landed because it cut straight through the modern-versus-old argument without pretending it was settled. Cripps, Ginnivan and Mitchell have 344 career goals between them, but Dunstall’s tally of 1254 is the number that still defines the discussion. He was elevated to Legend status in the Hall of Fame in 2025, and for now the question is not whether he has the pedigree to talk about kicking, but whether today’s forwards will keep snapping anyway.
Patrick Cripps snap goal sparks Jason Dunstall’s blunt Friday night reply
