GREATER Western Sydney has continued its mid-season revival, but Sunday's win over Gold Coast has come at the expense of a hamstring injury to superstar Toby Greene.
SUNS v GIANTS Full match coverage and stats
Greene left the field late in the first quarter, pulling up short following a chase at half-forward, and did not return.
Midfielder Matt de Boer also came off in the dying second of the match with a suspected hamstring injury.
The GIANTS were far too good for a terribly flat Suns outfit, winning 9.7 (61) to 4.11 (35) to temporarily move into the top eight.
But Greene's injury in particular sours the victory. Following the match Greene said "hopefully it's only minor".
GWS’s second straight win was built on the back of a dominant midfield, led by returning speedster Zac Williams (26 disposals) and inside bulls Jacob Hopper (26), Tim Taranto (21 and a goal) and skipper Stephen Coniglio (20 and one goal).
Lachie Whitfield (29) and Josh Kelly (29) were able to flourish with more space in the second half.
The GIANTS led by 13 points at quarter and half-time, 18 at the final change and kicked four goals in the last term to round out a victory in which they were rarely troubled.
It was a professional performance to back up a last-start win over premier Richmond.
Gold Coast was listless in front of its home crowd.
A team that prides itself on pressure was well down, affecting just 13 tackles in the first half and 38 for the day and losing the contested possession count by 20.
Fullback Sam Collins fought a lone hand in defence, while co-captain Jarrod Witts battled hard all day.