The GIANTS have kept their bid for a maiden finals berth alive with a 32-point win over Essendon after a surging second half.
While the Bombers had more possessions, took more marks and had the best of the clearances, it was the GIANTS who emerged victorious 14.9 (93)-8.13 (61) in front of 10,093 fans at Spotless Stadium on Sunday afternoon.
The result lifts GWS to a 10-8 win-loss record, half a game behind Adelaide and Geelong in ninth and eighth spot, respectively, with four matches to go.
GWS coach Leon Cameron said it was pleasing the side was able to secure the four premiership points despite not playing at their best level.
"That was a pleasing thing, the side's found a way to win when they weren't going as well as they should have been," Cameron told reporters after the match.
"We are still in the hunt.
"If you're good enough you make it, if you're not you don't."
However, the win may have come at a cost with Tom Scully substituted in the third term with what looked like a shoulder injury.
And late in the match Stephen Coniglio was felled from a centre-square incident involving Essendon's Adam Cooney, who was reported for the clash. While Coniglio was able to walk off the ground, he was in the hands of trainers and looked somewhat distressed on the bench.
A 20-minute burst in the third term broke the game open and paved the way for the GIANTS to post their first win in club history over Essendon.
Josh Kelly (22 possessions and two goals) and Toby Greene (31 touches) were among the best for the GIANTS. Meanwhile, Jeremy Cameron, substitute Cam McCarthy and Devon Smith booted two goals for the victors.
It was Essendon dictating terms in the first half, with the visitors extending a seven-point quarter-time advantage to eight points at the main break
Despite having plenty to play for, it was an uninspiring effort early from the GIANTS as they struggled to find ways through a determined Essendon outfit that was content to have plenty of numbers behind the footy in a bid to restrict opportunities for Cameron and teammate Jonathon Patton
Having said that, the Bombers too lacked cohesion when they ventured forward, resulting in a lot of the play taking place between the two 50m arcs for large portions of the match.
The match went goalless for almost half an hour from Smith's free kick at the 13-minute mark of the second term to teammate Kelly's set shot after almost 13 minutes of play in the third quarter.
Kelly's third-quarter effort sparked the GIANTS into action, with the home side piling on three more goals before three-quarter time, to lead by 16-points at the last change.
The AFL's newest club then kicked away in the final term to keep its September hopes alive, with matches against Port Adelaide, cross-town rivals Sydney Swans, Carlton and Melbourne to conclude the home-and-away rounds.
Essendon coach James Hird lamented the poor ball movement and wasteful shots at goal in the second term.
"We didn't capitalise when we had the game sort of on our terms in the second quarter," Hird told reporters after the match.
"When you don't kick straight or you don't use the ball well in that last kick then it really hurts you."
Patton, who was making his comeback to the AFL after his second knee reconstruction, almost had the perfect start when he marked in front of James Gwilt inside the first 30 seconds. Unfortunately for the 2011 number one draft selection, his set shot missed for a behind.
The 22-year-old ended a quiet day with nine touches and no goals, while Gwilt did very well to run off Patton to gather 20 possessions and offer the Bombers some run out of the backline before hurting his groin in the third term.
Essendon, which falls to 5-13 after the loss, hosts Adelaide next weekend.
GREATER WESTERN SYDNEY 2.4 3.5 8.7 14.9 (93)
ESSENDON 3.5 4.7 5.9 8.13 (61)
GOALS
Greater Western Sydney: McCarthy 2, Smith 2, Kelly 2, Cameron 2, Haynes, Whitfield, Greene, Hoskin-Elliott, Palmer, Coniglio
Essendon: Howlett 2, Daniher 2, Hooker 2, Edwards, Giles
BEST
Greater Western Sydney: Coniglio, Shaw, Greene, Kelly, Whitfield, Haynes
Essendon: Baguley, Hibberd, Goddard, Giles, Cooney, Stanton
INJURIES
Greater Western Sydney: Scully (shoulder)
Essendon: Gwilt (leg)
SUBSTITUTES
Greater Western Sydney: Cam McCarthy replaced Tom Scully in the third quarter
Essendon: Kyle Langford replaced James Gwilt at three quarter time
Reports: Adam Cooney (Ess) for rough conduct on Stephen Coniglio (GWS) in the final quarter
Umpires: Farmer, Harris, Wallace
Official crowd: 10,093 at Spotless Stadium
