The short history of GIANTS victories at the MCG is as short as it comes - there has only been one.
The GIANTS record at the home of football currently stands at 1-10, with the only occasion the club took home the four points happening in Round 21 of 2014.
It was a day of mixed emotions for the club - winning on the games’ biggest stage for the first time, but also losing one of it’s favourite sons for another twelve months.
Many who were there on that cold Sunday afternoon in August, saw that 64-point win as a coming of age for the GIANTS.
Not only for securing a big win at the ‘G, but also for doing so with the odds against them with three key players missing the majority of the match.
Key forward Jon Patton was playing just his 29th game of his career when he landed awkwardly.
As AFL.com.au’s senior writer Peter Ryan reported at the time, “A hush descended on the MCG when the No. 1 pick from the 2011 NAB AFL Draft (Jon Patton) fell to the ground and clutched his knee after a marking contest in the second quarter.”
It was a familiar sight for football fans who’d seen the young star suffer another ACL injury in 2013.
Seeing one of their close mates stretched off didn’t rattle the young GIANTS whoever who steadied to kick four goals in the second term and kept the Demons goalless to take a 19-point lead into the main break.
Things went from bad to worse for the GIANTS at half time with both co-captains (Phil Davis and Callan Ward) returning from the rooms with jackets on and heading straight to the bench.
Ward had been ruled out with concussion, while Davis has suffered a calf injury.
This would leave the young GIANTS with just one player on the bench for the second half as they tried to withhold the more experienced Melbourne line-up.
When challenged, the inexperienced GIANTS stood up - a new crop of players ready to prove to the national audience watching on Channel 7 that they were going to be serious players in this competition.
In the third quarter, the Demons were once again held goalless as the GIANTS continued to build a lead despite being outnumbered.
Players such as Devon Smith, Josh Kelly, Dylan Shiel, Toby Greene and Adam Tomlinson stood tall and took the game on.
Every time it looked like their more experienced opponents would run over the top, the GIANTS dug deeper and by 3/4 time, the margin was 46 points.
While the Demons managed to kick their third goal of the day in the last quarter, coach Paul Roos could do nothing but look on in despair as his side went down by 64-points.
The final goal of the game was a glimpse into the future with Kelly intercepting the football across half forward and on the run, nailing his second goal for the day.
His class was on display as a 20-year old, gathering 27 possessions, nine marks and seven tackles, and Kelly has continued to perform for the GIANTS with the now 22-year old this week extending his contract until the end of 2019.
After the match, coach Leon Cameron praised the performance, saying “it was outstanding for the group to confront the (injury) situation.”
“I was really please with our boys to be able to think their way through it from the 15-minute mark of the second quarter onwards.
“And then to go on after half time and play like the way we did made me really proud.”
Many of the GIANTS stars from that day will again be on the MCG this weekend on the Preliminary Final stage.
No doubt coach Leon Cameron will again be proud of his charges on Saturday night if they can record the club’s second ever win at the MCG in front of a hostile crowd of Richmond fans.
The GIANTS play Richmond in a Preliminary Final on Saturday at the MCG at 4.45pm.
