Aaron Cadman and Darcy Jones led a host of youngsters who shone as the GIANTS beat the Swans by 14 points in the VFL edition of the Battle of the Bridge in Blacktown on Saturday.
Played in wet and slippery conditions, the GIANTS overcame a strong Swans start as several youngsters pushed their claims for AFL selection to help the Orange Tsunami surge to a 12.18 (90) to 11.10 (76) Sydney Derby victory.
After their slow start the GIANTS kicked eight of the next nine goals before half-time to enter the main break holding a 27-point lead as Cadman and Jones were joined by Conor Stone, Joe Fonti and Phoenix Gothard who all had moments of brilliance in an entertaining first half.
While the Swans fought back to tie the scores early in the final quarter, Nathan Wardius (13 touches, nine marks) soon kicked his first goal in GIANTS colours before Tom McCaffrey and Matt Harms kicked back-to-back majors to put the finishing touches on the Derby win.
Along with victory over the crosstown rivals, Saturday’s stoush with the Swans brought plenty more positives, with Cadman, Fonti, Jones, Gothard and Stone the standouts amongst several strong performances.
Playing his first VFL game of the season after being dropped from the AFL side, Cadman gave Adam Kingsley plenty to think about at the selection table next week with a brilliant response in attack on Saturday.
The number one pick was extremely lively across centre half forward despite tough conditions not suited for a key forward, with the 20-year-old finishing with 18 touches, 2.3 and six marks in a great response to his AFL omission.
Fonti (23 touches, one goal) and Gothard (20 touches, one goal) were others to shine as the draftee duo backed up last week’s season-best games with further evidence of their promising futures.
Fonti in particular caught the eye of onlookers, with the dashing defender strong in the air in addition to his blistering speed which saw him kick a brilliant running goal to set Blacktown alight in the second term.
Fellow speed machine Jones also showed off his bag of tricks to push his claims for an AFL recall, with the 20-year-old kicking a pair of trademark running goals to go along with 15 touches - with his five behinds the only blemish in what was a starring return from a month out with a hamstring injury.
Stone (19 touches, seven marks) was another sure to come into AFL consideration after a commanding performance in which he spent a large chunk of the game in a new role down back, where his power and line-breaking speed were on full display with countless attacking forays.
Lachlan Keeffe (16 touches, 11 hit-outs, five marks, 2.1) and Harry Rowston (21 touches, four tackles, six clearances) were also strong contributors in the impressive win.
In more good news, inaugural GIANT Adam Kennedy (16 touches) got through his long-awaited return from his ACL injury with a solid outing in reduced game time, while highly-rated draftee James Leake (13 touches, four tackles) made a strong first impression in managed minutes in his first official game in GIANTS colours after overcoming a persistent quad injury.
Meanwhile, Isaac Cumming (12 touches, six marks) put in another typically classy performance as he builds his way back from injury, while VFL-listed GIANTS Marc Sheather (25 touches, seven tackles, seven clearances) and Jackson Bowne (22 touches, 10 clearances) were also huge contributors in Saturday’s win.
Academy duo Logan Smith (19 touches, 28 hit-outs, five marks, five clearances) and Joey Delana also had their moments against the Swans, with Delana dancing around an opponent late in the game to take two running bounces and set up a goal in a head-turning piece of play.
After beating the Swans, the GIANTS will next face the Sharks in Southport next Saturday at Fankhauser Reserve at 11:05am.
VFL Round 13
GIANTS: 3.5 8.13 9.18 12.18 (90)
Swans: 4.3 5.4 10.6. 11.10 (76)
Goals:
GIANTS: Cadman 2, Jones 2, Keeffe 2, Harms 2, Wardius, McCaffrey, Gothard, Fonti
Swans: Warner 3, Lloyd 2, Hamling 2, Konstanty, Hanily, Fox, Edwards
