A final-minute dribble goal by livewire forward Bobby Hill led the NEAFL GIANTS to a two-point win over Sydney University at Henson Park on Friday night.

It was an arm-wrestle all night with the lead changing multiple times over the final minutes of the game. With the Students ahead by three points, the GIANTS worked the ball forward thanks to desperate kicks by Aiden Bonar and Kieren Briggs before Hill used his speed to get forward and dribble home the winner.

The drama didn’t stop there, with Sydney Uni’s Harry Morrison getting a running shot on goal away just before the siren, however it stayed right and only registered a behind with the final score 8.6 (54) to 7.14 (56).

The GIANTS’ fourth consecutive win didn’t come easy with goals hard to come by for both teams. The team in orange led by two points at half-time, while scores were tied at the main break as the inaccurate GIANTS failed to capitalise on their opportunities. 

Matt Flynn continued his strong form, notching up one of his best games for the season as he and Dawson Simpson dominated the ruck contest winning 29 and 67 hitouts respectively.

Flynn kicked two goals and took 12 marks in tough condition, while match-winner Hill also kicked two goals. 

The GIANTS’ tackling pressure was again impressive with Daniel Lloyd pressing his claims for an AFL return laying 13 tackles, collecting 23 disposals and kicking a goal, while Bonar also had 13 tackles to accompany his 21 disposals.

“We’re in some good form, I think against Redland last game was an example as well of us just getting it done late in the game and this week was again a reward for that,” GIANTS NEAFL Coach Adam Schneider said.

“It was slippery and contested there were over 200 tackles for the game and probably neither team deserved to lose but lucky we were on the right end of it this week.”

The GIANTS now face ladder leaders Brisbane at GIANTS Stadium on Sunday, July 7 at 1pm as a curtain raiser to the GIANTS v Brisbane AFL clash at 4:40pm 

Sydney University 1.0, 3.3, 6.4, 8.6 (54)

GIANTS 2.2, 3.5, 5.10, 7.15 (56) 

Goals: Flynn, Hill 2; Lloyd, Edwards, Briggs 1

GIANTS NEAFL Coach Adam Schneider on the GIANTS’ AFL listed players: 

Aiden Bonar – 21 disposals, two marks, 13 tackles, five inside 50s

“It really was a midfielders game on the weekend, ‘Bons’ we know is a beast inside and he had 13 tackles for the game. He was pretty good for us in there and really set the tone early. He consistently tackled hard and did some in and under stuff that we take for granted at times.”

Callum Brown – 16 disposals, four marks, one tackle

“’Cal’ was very impressive for us, very, very impressive. He’s developing very quickly; he’s been down back for a couple of weeks in a row and really seems to be finding his feet. I thought it was his best game down back for us, his speed is his greatest asset; he’s super-fast and super-strong. He’s starting to see the game a lot better which is great to see. We sent him forward in the last five minutes and he was part of the play which kicked the winning goal for us.”

Connor Idun – 12 disposals, two marks, five tackles

“Another really solid game from Connor, he’s one of those players that if you had to play on him, you’d be absolutely shattered, because he just crashes and bashes all day. He doesn’t give you an inch. One thing that’s been impressive about him is that he goes until the last minute, he doesn’t just do it for a quarter. He’s getting a really good reputation of being a very hard defender to play on.”

Daniel Lloyd – 23 disposals, one mark, 13 tackles, five inside 50s, one goal

“’Lloydy’ was super for us again. He started forward for the first quarter and a bit then, as I said it was a real inside game, we got him up around the footy where he does his best and his grunt work was super. His leadership to help organise around there was sensational. He kicked a good goal for us as well and was in our top three players on the weekend.”

Dawson Simpson – 18 disposals, two marks, seven tackles, 67 hitouts, four inside 50’s

“He was massive, we kind of take him for granted a little bit, I expect him to dominate the ruck each week which is unfair on him, but he did it again on the weekend. The thing I was most impressed about with Dawson’s game was his seven tackles and five clearances. For a big guy it was super important and to get 18 touches in weather that wasn’t suited to a big guy’s game was super. He really gave us best possible use at the stoppage.” 

Bobby Hill – 15 disposals, two marks, seven tackles, seven inside 50s, two goals, five behinds

“Bobby has been due for a while; I’ve said this for a couple of weeks now he’s not far away from kicking a bag. He kicked two goals five and kicked one out on the full, but again the area of his game that he’s been working on has been his defensive side and to have seven tackles was great for a small forward. We saw the sealer that he kicked which showed the sort of talent that he’s got. Two goals five will be five goals two soon, it’s not far away. I was really pleased; he’s put a lot of work into his game over the last five weeks and we’re starting to see it pay off.”

Isaac Cumming – 27 disposals, seven marks, five tackles, four inside 50s

“I feel like ‘Cheese’ has gone to a new level in his game now after playing his last couple of games in the AFL. It was a different role for him (on Friday) and he’s starting to adapt to what’s required. I think when he first got here, he was that half back running type whose defensive side wasn’t quite there but now he’s defending really well, and his tackling has gone to a new level. We know how skilful he is with his run and dash but he’s now putting his defence together.” 

Jack Buckley – 14 disposals, two marks, seven tackles, three inside 50s

“Jack played on the wing for us against a lot of his mates, he copped a bit of a hard time from them but again he did a lot of the tough stuff for us on the outside of the stoppages. He had seven tackles, made a couple of mistakes but what I love about Jack is that his work rate means he gets back and helps out his mates in the backline.”

Jake Stein – six disposals, one mark, two tackles

“Stein played on their best forward and was given a challenge, we saw him play AFL last week and he was definitely up to that standard, his game has grown each week. I think he kept his player to one goal on the weekend, so it was another really solid performance by Jake.” 

Kieran Briggs – 13 disposals, two marks, five tackles, six hitouts, two inside 50s, one goal

“Wasn’t quite a centre half-forward’s game with it being slippery but he fought well and kicked one goal one. He laid five tackles and what we asked from him was to bring the ball to ground and let the Bobby Hills and our forwards get to work which he did well. I don’t think he got out-marked, it was another solid contribution by ‘Briggsy’.”

Matt Buntine – eight disposals, one mark, four tackles

“’Bunts’ didn’t have a lot of the footy but his defensive work, a lot of which he did off ball, was sensational to help the team out. He’s tough and courageous and his leadership is fantastic, on the weekend he did a lot of stuff that you wouldn’t have seen that would have saved us on numerous occasions.” 

Matthew Flynn – 23 disposals, 12 marks, 1 tackle, 29 hitouts, two inside 50s, two goals

“It’s the best game I’ve seen ‘Flynny’ play in my two years at the club. To kick two goals one, have 23 disposals and take 12 marks – eight of them were contested – at big times of the game was sensational. I think that’s all due to his work rate, I think he covered 13km on the weekend, which is big for a ruckman, but he was super for us, clearly best on ground. His 12 marks have come from the work he’s done over the last month with Amon Buchanan, it showed on the weekend, he pretty much helped us win the game on the weekend.”

Nick Shipley – 31 disposals, five marks, eight tackles, four inside 50s

“Nick again found plenty of the footy, he runs on the inside all day, he runs really hard and he’s been working on his stoppage stuff, body craft and two way running but once he gets that all together he’ll become a really valuable player for us. We know he’ll find plenty of the footy, we just need to make sure we get both sides of his game up to scratch so he can play at AFL level.”

Tommy Sheridan – nine disposals, one mark, three tackles, four inside 50s

“Tommy started really well coming back, his first game back was on restricted time.”