Australian Football

Match Report

The Greater Western Sydney Giants have made it 'two from two' to start the 2015 season, coming from a long way behind at half time to defeat a disappointing Melbourne at Manuka Oval in Canberra on Saturday. The Giants trailed by 27 points at half time but piled on nine goals to one in the third term before going on to win the game convincingly by 45 points.

Melbourne, an unexpected victor over the Gold Coast Suns in round one, started magnificently against the Giants, with a goal to Tom McDonald at the 10-minute mark, kicking off a run of four majors that saw the Demons leading 4.2 to 0.2 at quarter time. The other three goals were kicked by Dean Kent, Mark Jamar and Jesse Hogan.

The Demons continued to dominate in the early stages of the second term, another goal to Hogan giving them an even five-goal lead before Dylan Shiel finally put the Giants on the board with a major at the six-minute mark. Jeff Garlett kicked the Demons' sixth at the 10-minute mark and, after a series of GWS behinds, Ben Newton took Melbourne's lead to a game-high 33 points with a goal at the 27-minute mark. Cam McCarthy closed out the half with a goal just before the siren but it was the Demons who looked like winners at the long break.

When the second half commenced, the game underwent a complete transformation, with the Giants assuming sudden and complete control. Adam Treloar kicked off proceedings with a major at the three-minute mark, and when Nathan Wilson and McCarthy added further goals in the next minutes, the Giants appeared to be on a roll. That roll turned into an avalanche in the second half of the third term as GWS added a further six goals to make it nine for the quarter with the Demons' only scoreboard impact being three behinds. By the time the three-quarter-time siren sounded, the Giants had turned a 27-point half-time deficit into a 26-point lead.

Any chance the Demons had to get back into the match was snuffed out in the first three minutes of the final quarter. A miss by Jesse Hogan was answered by a major to Giant Dylan Shiel and GWS was out to the 31-point lead. The Giants then added three further goals to Melbourne's one - the Demons' only goal of the entire second half going to Newton at the 13-minute mark - to canter to a 45-point win and claim a share of top place on the ladder.

Best for the Giants included Stephen Coniglio (26 disposals, eight goals), Shiel (26 possession, three goals) and Josh Kelly (27 touches and seven marks), while Melbourne was well-served by Jack Viney (11 tackles, 19 possessions), Christian Salem (22 touches and six marks) and Tom McDonald (16 disposals and a goal).

The Giants will try to make it three in a row when they take on Sydney at the SCG next Saturday, while Melbourne will look to bounce back against the Crows at Adelaide Oval on the same day.

GOALS
GWS: McCarthy, Shiel 3; Coniglio, Smith 2; Treloar, Wilson, Cameron, Scully, Mumford
Melbourne: Hogan, Newton 2; McDonald, Kent, Jamar, Garlett

BEST - AFL.COM.AU
GWS: Coniglio, Kelly, Haynes, Greene, Shaw, Shiel
Melbourne: McDonald, Viney, Salem, Cross, Tyson, Lumumba

INJURIES
GWS: Tomlinson (ankle)
Melbourne: Nil

SUBSTITUTES
GWS: Wilson replaced Tomlinson in the second quarter
Melbourne: Brayshaw replaced Vince in the fourth quarter

UMPIRES: Stevic, Hat, Pannell

TELEVISION BROADCAST: Fox Footy

COMMENTATORS: Anthony Hudson, Jason Dunstall, Tony Shaw, Cameron Mooney