After crazy excitedly talking up the joys of getting back out to the GIANTS’ Spotless Stadium all summer, I felt like the proper bunny, double booking the GIANTS’ first Homebush home game of the year. Vindicated by this week’s poll that pegged Spotless as the number one venue to watch our great Australian game in the country (Yes Melbourne, it really actually is that good, and yes, I have been to many stadia in many states) I had been champing at the bit to get out there and smell the liniment first hand.

Except then I remembered my little alt-rock band had a show booked that night in the Blue Mountains, and tragically the timing just wasn’t gonna work. Instead I faced the full mixed media affair, first half on telly, some car radio, ABC radio via the smartphone, and some small screen vision via the AFL app. Loading guitar amps and drum kits into and out of vans, over stairs, and into a sticky carpeted pub was not going to stop me clinging to every moment of this game.

And what a game to miss. GIANTS by 75.

Of course I didn’t really know too much about this Hawthorn mob, wasn’t sure if they had done much these past few years, the problem is all these Melbourne clubs tend to just blur into one another after a while. I could vaguely recall the 2015 home game, the Hawks seemed like they had a bit of potential I guess, but were no match for the cocky GIANTS midfield that was then beginning to seriously assert itself. However for the rest of that year GWS displayed a few major shortcomings. Lacked a bit of defence, some attack finesse, and too reliant on the man mountain that is Shane ‘Mummy’ Mumford.

Fast forward to 2016 and over the first few games of the season these problems have one by one been ironed out. First clicked the defence, bolstered by the seriously in form co-captain Phil Davis (a bit quiet today but for happy reasons) along with fellow tall slayers Matt Buntine, Joel Patfull and todays bounding return of Nick Haynes. Add the profoundly menacing rebound specialists in Heath Shaw, Adam Kennedy, Nathan Wilson, and Zac Williams (who was also thrown in the middle to fine effect) all combining to launch many an attack from down deep.

And the forwards have also transformed around some bloke from one of those Victorian teams called Stevie J. He seems to have a little something (five goals by half time), a little style, a little loveable lunacy, the kind of spark starter every team needs. Then from nowhere comes this 6 foot 20 former basketballer called Rory Lobb who not only can take a crazy contested mark or eight, can kick goals (four for the day) and can provide some highly competent ruck relief around the ground to give the ever menacing man-monster Mummy the occasional spell. And then there was last week’s return of that 196cm rover (yes, really) Jeremy Cameron (three goals), and this week’s return of Rhys Palmer (three goals) who also showed why he deserves his spot.

But the day was fundamentally won again by the awe inspiring running power of the gutsy GIANTS midfield. If this hyper-speed tsunami grows any bigger, there will not be many teams left that will be able to survive the force. Shiel, Coggsy, Scully, Ward, Greene, Whitfield, Steele, Kelly. One simply can’t keep them all down.

So what did Hawthorn do while all this was going on? I guess that Sam Mitchell bloke has some potential. And Gunston could kick a goal or five. But the rest of them looked a little tired and rattled, and kept bumbling and bumping into each other (hence the Frawley concussion) and kicking to the wrong team. It just wasn’t a good day out.

GWS on the other hand have announced themselves as serious finals contenders, and after dealing out the third belting in a row the rest of the comp are finally starting to notice.

So I tragically missed being with a very satisfied looking crowd of 13,766, which according to the Footy Almanac is a new non-derby record. But nevertheless something new was not lost in transmission. It first came through my television audio the minute Rory Lobb kicked the GIANTS first major 3 or 4 minutes in. It was the beautiful sound of big genuine swelling crowd roar. And after Saturday’s show, I can guarantee that roar is only going to grow louder.

See you at the next home game.
Quit your band for it.

Chris Dubrow is a passionate GWS GIANTS member from Katoomba in the Blue Mountains. He plays loud alt-rock music, loves twitter (@chrisdubrow) and works in IT and Law. 

More stories and other fan-writing can be found on the GIANTS page at www.footyalmanac.com.au