GWS v Sydney
First Qualifying Final
September 10, 2016
THE LEAD-UP
The GIANTS’ first finals appearance came at the end of the club’s fifth season in the AFL, and started from fourth spot on the ladder. The club finished one win behind the top placed Sydney with 17 wins for the year, after an 11-win season in 2015 and an exciting run home that included nine wins from the last 11 rounds. The GIANTS had never beaten the Swans at ANZ Stadium before, and had won just two times against them before: in the opening round of 2014 and in round 12 of the 2016 season, just a couple of months before this match. For just the fifth time in GIANTS history the GIANTS headed into the game with the same line-up for the third time in a row, but 16 GIANTS had never before played in a final and coach Leon Cameron knew it would be a tough, tight and gruelling match. "It's going to be one of those games where we've just got to stay in the moment because finals footy is, it's just not always going to work out for you,” he said. "You're not going to get on a roll, you're not going to be able to kick four or five goals in a row, you've just got to keep hanging in there.”
THE TEAM
B: Heath Shaw, Phil Davis, Nick Haynes
HB: Joel Patfull, Adam Tomlinson, Zac Williams
C: Tom Scully, Callan Ward, Josh Kelly
HF: Toby Greene, Rory Lobb, Jeremy Cameron
F: Steve Johnson, Jonathon Patton, Devon Smith
R: Shane Mumford, Ryan Griffen, Stephen Coniglio
I/C: Jacob Hopper, Dylan Shiel, Lachie Whitfield, Nathan Wilson
Milestone: Shane Mumford, 150 AFL games
THE MATCH
After a tough start with both sides having their share of inside-50s and missing some chances to score, the Swans kicked the first two goals of the game via Tom Papley, adding a third through Kieren Jack after goals to Jeremy Cameron (his 50th for the year, from tight in the pocket) and Devon Smith (on the run) levelled the scores up. Both Heath Shaw and Nick Haynes were strong down back, with Steve Johnson missing a couple of opportunities to take the lead before Toby Greene grabbed the lead after playing on front from 45 out.
Quarter time: GIANTS 3.4 (22), Swans 3.3 (21)
A second Greene goal stretched the GIANTS’ lead to seven points, but the Swans levelled things up midway through, before both sides again missed chances to create a bit of a break. Lachie Whitfield scrambled a goal in the goal square, pushing the GIANTS back out to a six-point lead, but this was an intense game, the Swans weren’t going away and Josh Kennedy nailed a long set shot late to keep them within two points at the long break.
Half-time: GIANTS 5.9 (39), Swans 5.7 (37)
It took more than half the quarter for either team to kick a goal but when the game broke open it went the GIANTS’ way. With Whitfield, Zac Williams and others providing constant run off the backline and the midfield battling away against strong and seasoned opposition the ball eventually ended up in the arms of Jeremy Cameron, who kicked three goals in a row to stretch the lead out to 21 points. Two were long set shots; the other came after he intercepted a Sydney switch kick, took a bounce and zoomed in towards goal. The Swans got one back with three minutes to go, via a Ben McGlynn set shot, but Tom Scully scored on the run in response and the GIANTS headed into the final quarter with a four-goal break.
Three quarter-time: GIANTS 9.13 (67), Swans 6.10 (46)
It was another tense start, but the GIANTS’ midfield again refused to relent and once again it was GWS who found a way to break the deadlock. Steve Johnson found Stephen Coniglio with a clever sideways pass, and his set shot stretched the lead to 29 points nine minutes into the quarter. Scully kicked his second running goal, Callan Ward added another and while the Swans snuck a late goal this was the GIANTS’ day, and the biggest in the club’s existence.
Final score: GIANTS 12.19 (91), Swans 7.13 (55)
THE NUMBERS
4: Jeremy Cameron goals
27: Lachie Whitfield possessions
0: Buddy Franklin goals (on Phil Davis)
8: Heath Shaw rebound 50s
7: Stephen Coniglio clearances
THE MOMENTS
1: The Haynes mark
The Swans had the first two goals on the board, and Jarrad McVeigh had just sent a long kick inside 50 when Haynes ran back with the flight of the ball, eyes fixed up high as two players came charging towards him. He held onto a gutsy mark, got the GIANTS moving out of the backline and was just as brave a few minutes later, backing back to spoil as a pack headed by Sydney ruckman Sam Naismith crashed into him.
2: The Greene goal
He put the GIANTS in front late in the first quarter, then stretched the lead with a bit of class early in the second. Greene – new to a full-time forward role in 2016 with a handy on-field coach in Steve Johnson – snaffled a loose handball from Zac Williams and sold some candy to Isaac Heeney, stepping around the Swan, straightening up and kicked his second goal from 45, to push the GIANTS seven points clear.
3: The Mumford tackle
Like he had done before and would do many times again, Mumford helped set the tone for his young teammates in the biggest game of their lives. With the scores level and the Swans heading inside 50 late in the second quarter the ruckman wrenched Kurt Tippett to ground in a massive tackle, before heading into the goal square to get the ball to ground and help kill another shot on goal.
4: Whitfield’s courage
He showed his courage with his relentless run, and he showed it with his attack on the ball. Neither team had kicked a goal midway through the third term when Whitfield found himself at the feet of a Phil Davis/Lance Franklin 1 v 1 in the Swans’ forward 50. He dived bravely for the ball as it headed for ground, getting jammed between Franklin and Dan Hannebery then getting right back up again.
5: The Cameron chase-down
He kicked three goals in a row to break the game open, but Jeremy Cameron wasn’t done there. After Sydney scored late in the third quarter to drag the margin from 21 points to 15, Gary Rohan found himself with the ball in the centre square. As he crossed the centre circle, about to kick inside 50, Cameron charged at him from behind, dragging him to the ground, winning a free kick and denying Sydney the chance to build some momentum heading into the final term.
THE WASH-UP
The win took the GIANTS straight into a preliminary final, where they sat and waited for their opponent. That turned out to be the Western Bulldogs, who worked their way there having finished the regular season in seventh spot on the ladder. It was the Bulldogs who got home by six points in a heartbreaker at GIANTS Stadium, making the Grand Final for the first time since 1961 then going on to beat the Swans on Grand Final day and break a 62-year premiership drought.
