When Rampage took the honours in the revamped AFLX on Friday night, two GIANTS deserved their share of the credit after being in the thick of the action.
An All-GIANTS Grand Final
GIANTS Phil Davis and Lachie Whitfield played key roles in Rampage’s grand-final winning night of AFLX.
In a thrilling finale – which saw Davis and Whitfield pitted against GIANTS teammates turned Flyers Callan Ward and Stephen Coniglio – it was neck-and-neck throughout the contest.
Flyers held a slender three-point lead late in the match, but a 20-point super goal from Rampage captain Jack Riewoldt – whose score was worth double as his team’s Gatorade Game Changer in the final five minutes of play – secured the victory with just seconds left on the clock.
Setting the tone for the night
Rampage reminded everyone how high-scoring AFLX is early, setting a high-scoring and fast-paced night rolling.
Whitfield was among the early goal-scorers as the Jack Riewoldt-captained Rampage defeated Patrick Dangerfield’s Bolts 72-52 – in a 20-minute game.
Two games later, Coniglio’s and Ward’s Flyers followed suit, defeating Deadly with a brilliant 84-38.
GIANTS have the X-factor
All four GIANTS were big contributors on the night.
Phil Davis was a consistently strong performer, but despite spending some time forward and having a couple of scoring attempts, he wasn’t able to add a rare goal. He did rack up a goal assist, however. But it was his trademark defensive work that really stood out.
Callan Ward – who was a call-up this week for Jeremy Cameron (minor quad injury) – and Lachie Whitfield saw plenty of the footy, while Stephen Coniglio was impressive whenever he touched the footy, whether it was booting it half the length of the AFLX field from a kick-in, or slotting through a goal. He also added a super goal to his haul for the night against Bolts.
GIANTS vs GIANTS
Rampage also took the points when the GIANTS quartet first faced off for the night.
Coniglio opened the Flyers’ account with a regulation goal, and was involved in plenty early. It was a lower-scoring clash than the three that preceded it, with a great contest between the two evenly-poised teams unfolding.
But the Rampage pulled away in the second half, winning 67-36.
All four GIANTS were solid contributors – Coniglio finished with two goals – but it was Whitfield and Davis who took bragging rights in the encounter.
The Final Scorecard
Game 1 Rampage 72 def. Bolts 52
Game 2 Bolts 45 def. Deadly 39
Game 3 Flyers 84 def. Deadly 38
Game 4 Rampage 67 def. Flyers 46
Game 5 Deadly 98 def. Rampage 84
Game 6 Flyers 87 def. Bolts 76
Grand Final Rampage 84 def. Flyers 67
