Once pigeonholed as a hard-at-it inside midfielder without many tricks, Greater Western Sydney's Toby Greene has turned himself into one of the AFL's most damaging half-forwards.
The 22-year-old scored a career-high 28.4 Schick AFL Player Ratings points in Sunday's game against Essendon, sparking a lacklustre GIANTS side to a 27-point win at Etihad Stadium.
Greene had 22 disposals, 11 score involvements, three score assists and gained 597m for his side, as well as kicking four goals, to achieve the second highest Player Ratings score of the round – behind only Geelong's Patrick Dangerfield (35.2).
Largely through necessity, with the continual improvement of the GIANTS’ talent-laden midfield contingent, Greene has been forced to vacate his starting spot in the middle and create a niche for himself as a high half-forward.
The move hasn't seemed to have an adverse affect on his production, with Greene averaging 2.3 goals per game, which places him 15th in the AFL, serving as a ready-made replacement for the injured Devon Smith.
Greene also ranks second in the AFL for inside 50s (5.7), fifth in score assists (1.9) and seventh in score involvements (8.4).
Coach Leon Cameron spoke of his desire for the GIANTS’ forward line to be "unpredictable" and not just rely on tall forwards Jeremy Cameron and Jonathon Patton to kick them a winning score.
That the GIANTS are ranked No.1 in the AFL for points per game (108.2) can be firmly attributed to Cameron's mantra.
"One thing I'm really pleased about is that we don't have a dominant forward at the moment," Cameron said.
"I'd prefer not to have a dominant forward and have six forwards that are constantly contributing."
Cameron is certainly getting that from Greene, who is still averaging 22 disposals per game in 2016.
However, it is his frantic forward pressure and his determination to win the ball in one-on-one contests that make him a constant threat up forward.
Such has been his impact, Greene (27 goals in 2016) actually tops the GIANTS’ goal-kicking table, having booted two more majors than spearhead Jeremy Cameron.
Veteran forward Steve Johnson, who has an injured foot, is next best with 24 goals followed by Rory Lobb (17) to underline the GIANTS’ spread of attacking weapons.
