Australian Football

Match Report

A classic 'Stevie J' moment has seen the GWS Giants snatch victory against Collingwood in a thriller at the Sydney Showground on Saturday afternoon. The Giants were behind for most of the time-on period in the last quarter and looked like suffering a narrow loss when a long kick to their goal square was roved beautifully by Steve Johnson, who ran into an open goal to put GWS ahead by three points. Collingwood tried desperately to scramble the ball forward in the final seconds of the game, but couldn't break free, the Giants holding on for a nail-biting win.

Each side began the match with two early shots at goal but the Giants made the most of theirs, with majors to Jeremy Cameron and Josh Kelly while Darcy Moore and Daniel Wells both missed for Collingwood. But from the 10-minute marl the Magpies hit their straps and their targets, with six goals in a row to Elliott, Jarryd Blair twice, Brodie Grundy, Will Hoskin-Elliott and Steele Sidebottom to jump to a surprise 26-point lead at the first change of ends.

The Giants mounted their comeback challenge almost as soon as the second quarter began, and Cameron's second and third goals had them back within 13 points after just four minutes. Sidebottom halted the run with his second goal, but a strong mark saw Cameron kick his fourth at the 10-minute mark to reduce the GWS deficit back to 13. Rory Lobb followed up with his first goal and, after a couple of Magpie misses, Steve Johnson marked and goaled to bring the Giants within three. Sidebottom again relieved the pressure on Collingwood with a long, accurate kick but Lobb closed out the half with his second goal, the Giants within a point at the long break.

A juggling mark and goal to Jonathon Patton saw the Giants hit the front five minutes into the third quarter but the lead changed back with a goal to Collingwood's Jack Crisp two minutes later. This sequence repeated itself twice more, with a goal to Daniel Lloyd of GWS answered by Magpie Jordan de Goey and Cameron's fifth goal responded to by Elliott. The Giants then added three behinds in a row to lead by a point, before Shane Mumford kicked a goal to extend the margin to seven after 22 minutes. Again Collingwood responded, through Elliott once more, and it was GWS by just one point at three-quarter time.

It took less than a minute into the final term for the lead to change again, with Braydon Maynard running onto a loose ball and kicking truly to put the Magpies ahead by five. A kick off the ground two minutes later gave Cameron his sixth goal and the lead back to GWS but a mark and long goal to Ben Reid had Collingwood back in front by five points after 11 minutes. Six minutes later GWS was back in front went Patton marked and goaled but Maynard's second had the Pies back in front by four points as the quarter entered time on. They held on grimly for the next 10 minutes before a behind to Cameron and Johnson's last-gasp goal put GWS back in front and the Giants sneaked home by three points.

GWS owed much of its win to Josh Kelly, who was outstanding with 36 possessions and 11 tackles, while the Magpies' Taylor Adams - himself a former Giant - was Collingwood's best, picking up 30 touches and laying eight tackles.

The win kept the Giants in second place on the ladder, and they will host seventh-placed Richmond at the same venue next Saturday, while Collingwood (17th, 2-6) will take on Hawthorn (14th, 3-5) at the MCG later that night.

GOALS
GWS: Cameron 6; Patton, Lobb, Johnson 2; Kelly, Lloyd, Mumford
Collingwood: Elliott, Sidebottom 3; Maynard, Blair 2; Grundy, Hoskin-Elliott, Crisp, De Goey, Reid

BEST - AFL.COM.AU
GWS: Kelly, Cameron, Whitfield, Shiel, Johnson, Wilson, Scully
Collingwood: Adams, Grundy, Sidebottom, Howe, Pendlebury, Wells

BEST - THE SYDNEY MORNING HERALD
GWS: Kelly, Cameron, Williams, Lobb, Williams, Shiel, Scully
Collingwood: Adams, Howe, Pendlebury, Elliott, Sidebottom, Grundy

INJURIES
GWS: Corr (concussion), Reid (concussion), Coniglio (ankle)
Collingwood: Nil

UMPIRES: Donlon, Chamberlain, Williamson

TELEVISION BROADCAST: Fox Footy

COMMENTATORS: Dwayne Russell, Paul Roos, Gerard Healy, David King