JEREMY Cameron has booted seven goals to inspire the GIANTS to a 10-point upset of reigning premier Hawthorn at Spotless Stadium.
In front of 13,556 fans, the second-largest crowd ever seen at the ground, the GIANTS pulled off the best win in their history, thanks to a stirring second half.
Cameron was the match-winner for the GIANTS up forward and again drew praise from coach Leon Cameron for his ferocious attack on the footy.
"He's had a pretty good year, he continues to batter his body, in terms of throwing himself at everything, which we love about him," Cameron said post-match.
"His energy to keep on keeping on, and make really good decisions and kick really crunch goals when they had to be kicked is a sign of his maturity, and to have a key forward kick those sorts of goals was a great return."
Co-captain Callan Ward, Ryan Griffen and 50-gamer Stephen Coniglio led the midfield charge.
Devon Smith also kicked three goals for the GIANTS, with Adam Treloar, Dylan Shiel and Tom Scully also sharing plenty of the footy.
Heath Shaw and Joel Patfull provided plenty of run from the back half, but more importantly, some composure late in the game.
Defenders Sam Mitchell, Grant Birchall and Josh Gibson were brilliant for the Hawks, while Shaun Burgoyne and the hard-running Isaac Smith were influential all night.
Hawthorn coach Alastair Clarkson said the absence of Jordan Lewis and Luke Hodge was no excuse and credited the GIANTS for being the better side on the night.
"We have had plenty of times over the course of the past two or three years where we've missed key personnel and we've been able to cope really well," Clarkson said after the match.
"We were beaten by a hungrier side tonight.
"GWS played some really good footy. We had our chances to win the game."
Smith kicked the opening two goals of the game for Hawthorn, before his namesake matched that effort for GWS. Two late goals in the quarter were enough for the Hawks to take a handy 15-point lead at quarter-time.
Experienced trio Mitchell, Birchall and Gibson were controlling the tempo from half back for the visitors, amassing 34 possessions between them in the opening term.
The Hawks jumped out to a 27-point lead early in the second, but the GIANTS' tackling pressure lifted, led by big man Shane Mumford, and changed the momentum of the match.
GWS kicked five straight goals to finish the half, including a pair for star forward Cameron and, with a boisterous home crowd in full voice, the GIANTS went to the long break with an unlikely four-point buffer.
The teams traded three-goal bursts to open the third quarter, and when Cameron kicked his fifth, Hawthorn coach Alastair Clarkson was forced to shift Gibson onto the 2013 All Australian, with Ryan Schoenmakers well beaten.
Hawthorn turned for home 10 points up and Billy Hartung's second gave them a three-goal lead early in the last, before GWS responded again.
Cameron's sixth, a clever soccered goal off the deck, inspired the home side and Ryan Griffen levelled the scores from deep in the left forward pocket with 10 minutes to play before the GIANTS lost their radar, kicking four straight behinds.
A seventh for Cameron finally broke the run of misses for GWS and when Devon Smith added his third minutes later, the GIANTS had kicked five in a row and were 18 points up with less than seven minutes on the clock.
Hawthorn challenged again, thanks to a Taylor Duryea major, but the home side held on in the tense final minutes to record a monumental upset.
GREATER WESTERN SYDNEY 2.2 7.4 11.5 16.12 (108)
HAWTHORN 4.5 6.6 12.9 14.14 (98)
GOALS
Greater Western Sydney: Cameron 7, D. Smith 3, McCarthy, Scully, Greene, Treloar, Stewart, Griffen
Hawthorn: Roughead, I. Smith, Gunston, Hartung 2, Shiels, Puopolo, Mitchell, Burgoyne, Breust, Duryea
BEST
Greater Western Sydney: Ward, Cameron, Shaw, Scully, Treloar, Shiel
Hawthorn: Burgoyne, Mitchell, Birchall, I. Smith, Suckling, Hill
INJURIES
Greater Western Sydney: TBC
Hawthorn: TBC
SUBSTITUTES
Greater Western Sydney: Zac Williams replaced Will Hoskin-Elliott at three-quarter time
Hawthorn: Brendan Whitecross replaced in Ben McEvoy in the third quarter
Reports: Nil
Umpires: Nicholls, Hay, Jeffery
Official crowd: 13,556 at Spotless Stadium
