Lachie Whitfield made his long awaited return to football in the UWS GIANTS’ 49-point win over Ainslie at StarTrack Oval, Canberra.
Whitfield has been missing since injuring his foot against St Kilda in Round 2 and came through unscathed to put himself in contention for a recall to the senior side against the West Coast Eagles in Perth this Sunday.
“Lachie fumbled the ball a bit early but he got cleaner as the game went on,” NEAFL Coach Brett Hand said.
“He played most of the game and kicked a nice goal which was good to see.”
NSW zone selection player Jake Barrett again impressed, amassing 40 possessions despite the cold and slippery conditions.
There was a good spread of goal kickers for the GIANTS with Liam Sumner, Rory Lobb and James Stewart kicking three each.
The match was evenly poised at the main break but the GIANTS kicked away in the second half.
Hand said he was pleased with the result but his side’s skills could have been better.
“It was good to get a win but we probably could have gone on with it a bit more,” he said.
“Our ball use was a bit average at times but it was pleasing to have 28 scoring shots which shows the boys were creating plenty of opportunities.
“Jakey Barrett was dominant all day and had 40-odd touches while Jacob Townsend was also good in the slippery conditions.”
Co-captain Phil Davis spent the day coaching the reserves' defence as he recovers from a kidney injury.
The UWS GIANTS play the Swans reserves at ANZ Stadium this Friday. The match starts at 4.10pm.
UWS GIANTS 16.12 (108)
Ainslie 9.5 (59)
Best Players: J. Barrett, R. Lobb, D. Addison, L. Plowman, J. Townsend, L. Sumner
Goal Kickers: L. Sumner 3, R. Lobb 3, J. Stewart 3, D. Addison 2, J. Townsend , S. Reid , T. Boyd , L. Whitfield , Z. Johns
