The GIANTS NEAFL side has recorded a thrilling 10 point win in their practice match against Sydney University at the WestConnex Centre on Sunday.

The Students caught the GIANTS napping in the second quarter to lead at half time, but a see-sawing second half saw the GIANTS run out winners 11.10 (76) to 10.6 (66).

Matt Buntine, Shane Mumford, Nick Shipley and Connor Idun were impressive in the win while key defender Nick Haynes was influential on his playing return.

The GIANTS’ NEAFL pre-season wraps up on Saturday, March 30 when they take on the Swans at the WestConnex Centre at 11:00am, before starting their 2019 NEAFL campaign against the Swans at GIANTS Stadium on Saturday, April 6. 

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

Shane Mumford

“A good return from Shane, I was very impressed by his work rate and his aggression which we all know. He really dominated the tap work and played extremely well. Another solid game this week will put him right up there in round three when he’s available.” 

Matt Buntine

“He was a little bit sore from the second JLT game, so he was touch and go this week but he ended up playing three and a half quarters of football. He’s a professional Matty Buntine, always reliable and some of the courageous stuff he does backing into packs really sets and example for the younger players.”

Matt Flynn

“Flynny spent a lot of time up forward with Shane in the ruck for about 70 per cent of the game. It was good to see Matt up front, he got his hands to eight or nine contested marks but just couldn’t clunk them. He’ll work on that during the week and I know last year he started to take those marks and he could do it again and have a big impact on the game.”

Nick Haynes

“He played three quarters in his return game, three quarters of solid footy. He’s silky and we know how good he can be. It was good to see him out there playing footy, that all his focus was, get through a game of footy. We got what we expected from Nick.”

Aiden Bonar

“Another solid game in the midfield for Aiden after playing in the JLT Series. It was good hard at it brand of footy from him chasing the ball. He got plenty of it.”

Isaac Cumming

“He was good, very attacking off the half-back, very clean and skilful in slippery, tricky and hot conditions. He also flew for some really good chop-out marks which helped out down back. It was a really pleasing game for him.”

Jackson Hately

“Jackson was unlucky not to get picked in round one after a great JLT Series. Considering his form in the NEAFL he’s going to be a really good player for us. He’s ready to play against men and the bigger bodies, so it's good to see young players like him coming through.”

Nick Shipley

“He had a huge game, absolutely racked up the touches around the game. He played an inside midfield role for us and his work rate is outstanding, he just stands out every week. He’s running opponents off their legs and getting plenty of the footy. He had great service from Shane in the ruck obviously and he made the most of it.”

Dylan Buckley

“It was a quieter game for Dylan, his first game back after a little hiccup in the pre-season. He had a huge pre-season, one of the best pre-seasons of his career, and it was a first hit out for him. It wasn't the Dylan we’re used to seeing but it was good to see him play four quarters of footy, which he’ll build on this week.”

Jack Buckley

“Jack was sick last week but battled his bum off out there working hard in the hot conditions which weren’t ideal for someone who’s been sick. He battled away and is building into it now and he’ll have a good run out this week I’d imagine.”

Connor Idun

“I’m really impressed with the way that Connor goes about it, he fits into the GIANTS family with the way he plays, he looks after his teammates out there and is very aggressive in the contest. He’s a good, fast half back who is keen to learn and I think we’ll be seeing a fair bit of Connor this year and I might lose him for a couple of games in the seniors if he keeps it up.”

Jake Stein

“It was a great performance by Stein, he put in a great performance in Canberra a fortnight ago. He’s our captain and has a win on the board now, so he’s happy. He was very solid, I don’t think he got beaten once in a contest, his offence side of the game is growing too. For a guy who is only into his third year of footy he’s developing very well.” 

Kieren Briggs

“Briggsy was very good for us up forward, he launched into a lot of packs and crashed a lot of packs. For a young guy it was great to see. He didn’t clunk as many marks as he’d have liked but he’ll start taking those and make a big difference. His work rate was very impressive for a big man, he covered the ground well and kicked a couple of goals as well.

Zach Sproule

“It was a quiet first half for Zach but he still managed to kick a couple of goals. In the second half he worked really hard up the ground and got a fair bit of the ball after being thrown into the midfield. He capped it off with a couple of goals to finish off a good game.”