Just three listed GIANTS took to the field against the NT Thunder in Darwin on Saturday night, but they were ably served by a raft of top-up players as the Reserves went down by 55 points against one of the top teams.

The GIANTS’ injury woes at the top level has been covered extensively, but for the GIANTS Reserves it meant that just three listed players made the trip to Darwin to take on the NT Thunder in round nine of the NEAFL.

Second-year ruckman Matt Flynn and rookies Zach Sproule and Jake Stein represented the club, alongside 19 top-up players from the GIANTS Academy and clubs around Sydney who put in a resilient effort during one of the toughest road trips in the competition.

“In terms of what we wanted to get out of it, I thought the guys competed and fought it right through until the final siren, I was actually pretty pleased with their effort,” NEAFL coach Brad Miller said.

“We’ve been faced with that for probably the last six weeks where the balance has probably been more in favour of the young Academy kids that are playing with us, as opposed to GIANTS players.

“The weekend was obviously an extreme circumstance, having three, because we were going to Darwin and the senior team needing two travellers.”

Down by 39 points at half-time, the GIANTS eventually went down by 55 points in what was an admirable effort considering the available players.

Miller reviewed each of the listed players’ performances below, but also took the time to credit those who stepped up in GIANTS colours in Darwin.

“We’ve had some kids go through the midfield that wouldn’t go through there when you’ve got the likes of Matt Kennedy, Matt de Boer, Daniel Lloyd, Sam Reid and all those guys who took those spots in the first part of the season,” Miller said.

“They’re getting exposure to big minutes in the midfield and playing against men and I think across the board, most of them have really stood up and enjoyed the challenge.

“Last week we saw Brendan Myers stood up and got a lot of the footy, this week is was Jake Gaynor going through the midfield who was able to get a bit of the ball.

“We had a couple of young kids from different clubs come and join us. Kyle Devlin played his first game at 23 from North Shore, he was able to influence the contest and tackle hard.

“We saw a couple of players down back were able to influence the ball as well; Riley Budd playing centre half back, which was a new position for him, he was able to develop as a defender.

“And also Matthew Walker up forward was able to kick four goals which was a really good result. It was breezy conditions and he marked the ball well and was really dangerous at ground level.”

Miller also saw the positives of giving the less experienced players more opportunities with the club.

“As numbers come back over the second half of the year, those guys knew they were playing for spots and we found out a fair bit about them so when we need them and call on them, they’ll be ready to go.”

NT Thunder 18.18 (126) def. GIANTS Reserves 11.5 (71)

Goals: M.Walker 4, S.Driscoll 2, N.Coxall, B.McParland, R.Pollock, K.Devlin, Z.Sproule

Best: M.Flynn, M.Walker, Z.Sproule, K.Devlin, J.Conlan, S.Driscoll

Matt Flynn

“‘Flynny' got the chance to play first ruck with Dawson Simpson going to Perth so that was a really exciting opportunity for him. He also got to captain the side, which was something he hasn’t done yet. I thought he really relished that opportunity and I thought as the game went on, he was able to work his way into probably being one of the better big men on the ground. He took some really nice contested marks, his work around stoppages was really good, he was a physical presence throughout and I think it gave him a chance to really develop his leadership too. It’s a challenge for a young player but when you look around and everyone is younger than you then you’re kind of forced into that position and I thought he did it really well.”

Zach Sproule

“Sproule, over the last couple of weeks, has moved into the midfield which is a different position for him. To his credit, he’s just been open-minded in approaching a new position. His willingness to learn and take on information and go out and implement it is first-class. For a young kid to be able to do that and show his flexibility has been terrific so I’ve been really pleased with his effort over the last couple of weeks. His ability to apply defensive pressure has increased which has been something he’s been working on. He’s still able to go forward and he was still able to kick a nice goal on the weekend so he's still able to have that influence and we’re really pleased with his development.”

Jake Stein

“Stein probably had the toughest job of the night playing on Darren Ewing, who is an experienced goal-kicker at NEAFL level. Knowing we were going to lack experience and that he was going to be faced with a lot of inside-50s, I thought the way he started the game was fantastic - up for the fight - and I don’t think at any stage, even though Ewing got off the chain and kicked a few goals, he didn’t wave the white flag at all. I thought the way he fought it out was really, really pleasing. It was great to see from someone who has played so little footy, to be able to stick to his task and never give up.”

The GIANTS Reserves take on Redland at Spotless Stadium at 12.55pm on Saturday in a curtain-raiser to the GIANTS' clash with Essendon.