Jason Dunstall Fires Back at 11-Goal Podcast Trio
Jason Dunstall hit back on Friday evening after Jack Ginnivan, Patrick Cripps and Tom Mitchell took a cheeky swipe at him during a podcast debate about snap shots for goal. The Hawthorn great said he was happy to be lectured by three players with 11 goals between them, turning the jab back on the trio in one line.
Cripps Sets Up the Debate
The exchange started after Patrick Cripps kicked the winning goal for Carlton against Geelong last Friday night, then explained on the Ball Magnets podcast why he snapped the ball around the corner instead of using a drop punt. Cripps said: “That spot on the ground, I always practice that spot at training. I feel like there are certain areas inside 50 where I know what kick I do” and added, “I was always gonna snap it. I love the snap.”
Ginnivan backed the choice with a short verdict: “(The snap) is so much easier.” Mitchell went a step further and dragged Dunstall into the discussion, saying: “There’s more surface area of the ball. Like, old timers would say ‘why would you kick a snap’, but it does feel more comfortable for most players.”
Dunstall’s Hall of Fame Weight
Dunstall’s reply landed with extra force because his record still sits high in the game’s scoring history. He kicked 1254 career goals for Hawthorn, stands third in V/AFL history for career goals behind Tony Lockett and Gordon Coventry, and was elevated to Legend status in the Australian football Hall of Fame in 2025.
Cripps, meanwhile, had explained that he trusts the routine behind the kick. He said: “I always think if you look at soccer, they kick a round ball, but they always draw it to a curve. I reckon if you snap it, you take away missing to the right, unless you (hit the belly of the ball), but I just think there’s less room for error than a drop punt if you practice it enough” and added, “As long as you’ve got a routine with it. I’ve got a routine with my snaps. Big Harry McKay came up to me and said ‘make sure you snap it’, but I always already that locked in and was snapping it.”
Friday Evening on Triple M
By Friday evening, Dunstall had made the point back on Triple M without raising the temperature any further. His line about “three blokes that have got 11 goals between them” turned the original joke on its head and left the conversation where it began: with a debate over one kick, one match-winner and three players who thought they knew how the old timers would react.
For Carlton, the sequence starts and ends with Cripps’ finish against Geelong. For Dunstall, it became another reminder that his name still comes up whenever players argue over how to score from 25m out, and that he is still sharp enough to answer back in the same language.
