Australian Football

Match Report

In only its fifth year in existence was an AFL club, GWS has marched into its first preliminary final, recording a convincing and unexpected win over Sydney in front of more than 60,000 fans at Stadium Australia on Saturday afternoon. An intense but scrappy first half saw the sides separated by one point at quarter time and two points at the long break but the Giants, rather than the Swans as expected, broke the game open in the third term, and then went on with the job in the final quarter to record a six-goal win, the best effort by any club in its first final since the VFL expanded from 12 teams in 1987.

Sydney made the early running but could not  translate that into scoreboard pressure, with Kieran Jack, Dan Hannebery and Xavier Richards all missing shots within the first four minutes. Fortunately for the Swans, GWS replied with inaccurate shots from Devon Smith and Toby Greene and after 10 minutes, with neither side having scored a goal, Sydney led 3-2. The goal drought was finally broken after 12 minutes when Tom Papley marked and kicked his first, and when he repeated that exercise a minute later, the Swans were ahead 2.3 to 0.2.

The Giants finally got going midway through the term, with Jeremy Cameron claiming the honour of kicking the first-ever GWS goal in a final after a mark at the 17-minute mark. Three minutes later Devon Smith kicked the Giants' second and scores were level. Kieran Jack looked to settle the Swans with a goal from 40 metres out at the 21-minute mark but, after a behind to Steve Johnson, Greene kicked his first after being taken high, and the Giants led by the narrowest of margins at quarter time. 

As they had in the first, goals proved hard to come by early in the second quarter. Cameron kicked a behind for GWS after two minutes, and Lance Franklin did the same for the Swans two minutes later. Toby Greene finally delivered the first major of the second term when he gathered a loose ball and kicked truly from an angle at the nine-minute mark, giving the Giants a seven-point advantage. Another scoreless six minutes ended when George Hewat marked and converted, and when he followed up with a behind two minutes later to level the scores. 

By this stage the game had been riddled with errors, perhaps as a result of the huge pressure being applied by both sides. Not much changed in the last 12 minutes of the second quarter. with both sides missing targets around the ground and shots at goal. In amongst all that, Lachie Whitfield ran into an open goal to kick the Giants' third, while Josh Kennedy, who had left the field in the first quarter after a crude knock from the Giants' Johnson, kicked a long goal for Sydney, and the margin was just two points in favour of GWS at the half. 

Most expected Sydney to come to the fore in the 'premiership' third quarter but for the first 15 minutes, the Giants would not give an inch. Neither would the Swans, for that matter, and neither side had scored a goal by that stage, GWS still ahead by two points.

When the dam finally burst, it the rush went towards the Giants' end, and Jeremy Cameron specifically benefited from the rush, kicking majors at the 17, 19 and 23-minute marks as GWS suddenly jumped out to a 21-point lead. A mark and goal to Swan Ben McGlynn briefly stemmed the flow at the 24-minutre mark but three minutes later a crucial error which saw Sydney's Isaac Heeney slip just as he was about to mark the ball saw Tom Scully swoop on the ball and kick truly to make it four in a row for GWS, and it was the Giants who won the quarter convincingly, taking a 21-point advantage into the final end-change. 

Despite a deficit of more than three goals, there was still an air of expectancy about Sydney when play got underway in the final term. But for the first 15 minutes of the final term, the Swans simply could not penetrate the Giants' rock-solid defence. GWS missed a couple of early chances, Ryan Griffen and Johnson both kicking inaccurately, and nine minutes passed without a major being scored, just as had happened in the first three quarters.

Giant Stephen Coniglio kicked the first of the term, extending GWS's lead to 29 points and six minutes later the margin was out to 36 points and the Swans were down for the count. The final nail in the coffin came at the 21-minute mark, when Ward set sail with a long kick from just inside 50. The kick was accurate, the margin was 42 points and the Giants had the game won. Sydney got a consolation goal on time on via Jack but as the two sides traded behinds over the last seven minutes, GWS coasted to a six-goal win to earn a week off and a place in their first-ever preliminary final. 

Coniglio was outstanding for the victors, laying nine tackles and having 26 possessions, while Jeremy Cameron's 13 disposals and four goals played a big part in the Giants' win. For Sydney Dan Hannebery was a four-quarter performer, collecting 31 touches and laying seven tackles, while Franklin, while not kicking a goal, was still one of the Swans' better players taking eight makes and having 20 possessions. 

GWS will have a week off before playing the winner of the Hawthorn-Bulldogs semi final, but the news wasn't all good for the Giants, with Steve Johnson receiving a one-week suspension for his bump on Kennedy, meaning he will miss the Preliminary Final. The Swans, having now lost four consecutive finals (including the 2014 Grand Final and both matches last year), will return to the SCG next Saturday to host Adelaide, which looked very threatening in its win over North Melbourne on Saturday night. 

GOALS
Sydney: Papley 2, Jack 2, Hewett, Kennedy, McGlynn
GWS: Cameron 4, Greene 2, Scully 2, Smith, Whitfield, Coniglio, Ward

BEST - AFL.COM.AU
Sydney: Hannebery, Kennedy, Aliir, Grundy, Franklin
GWS: Coniglio, Scully, Greene, Whitfield, Cameron, Tomlinson, Kelly

BEST - THE SYDNEY MORNING HERALD
Sydney: Franklin, Smith, Aliir, Kennedy, Hannebery
GWS: Cameron, Whitfield, Coniglio, Kelly, Shaw, Scully, Shiel

INJURIES
Sydney: Mills (hamstring), Kennedy (head), Tippett (head)
GWS: Ward (shoulder)

UMPIRES: Nicholls, Chamberlain, Ryan

TELEVISION BROADCAST: Seven Network

COMMENTATORS: Hamish McLachlan, Basil Zempilas, Tim Watson, Jude Bolton