By defeating the West Coast Eagles in Perth yesterday, not only did the GWS Giants tick off on beating the only side they had yet to beat, but also created some history of their own in the process.
With nearly half of their best side out due to injury (including Tom Scully being a late withdrawal due to a knee injury), and facing an Eagles side expected to hit back hard in front of their fans following their embarrassing loss to Essendon the previous week, not many gave the Giants a chance of toppling them at Domain Stadium on the weekend.
Throw into that the fact the Eagles had won their previous five clashes by an average of 76 points, and the well-known fact that they love to torment teams at home, the potential was there for an ugly result.
However, unlike past Giants sides which found the going tough in Perth in their infant years, the half-strength side that ran out on Sunday showed exactly how far they have come in five-and-a-half seasons.
Commentators had expected a close match between the second-placed Giants and fourth-placed Eagles (who have now dropped to sixth following the defeat), and neither side disappointed on that front.
The Eagles led by 14 points at quarter-time and then by seven at half-time, after the Giants had failed to take their opportunities in the first half.
After being held goalless in the opening half, Josh Kennedy would kick two goals as the Eagles took a fifteen-point lead halfway through the third quarter. However, in typical GWS fashion, they would not give in and by the final change they’d taken a three-point lead.
Kennedy, a long-time tormentor of the Giants (he kicked a career-best eleven goals against them in round 8, 2014), then kicked his third goal to take the lead in the Coleman Medal race but would go down with a potentially serious lower leg injury just minutes later.
(AAP Image/Ben Macmahon)
If anything, it proved to be the turning point in the match, as the two teams then went goal for goal until Toby Greene kicked two late majors to give his side a lead of more than two goals.
But just as the clock was about to spell doom for the Eagles, Lewis Jetta then pounced on a turnover deep in attack to draw his side to within eight points, however, it would turn out to be the final score of the match.
In the end, the Giants held on to win by eight points, and when you take into consideration the lengthy injury toll and the enormity of taking on the AFL’s toughest road trip, it will go down as yet another courageous win in the club’s history.
It also means they have completed the Grand Slam of beating each of the other 17 clubs in the AFL.
It started with their maiden win in Round 7, 2012 against the Gold Coast Suns in Canberra, and ended with their maiden win over the West Coast Eagles in Perth in Round 10, 2017.
It took the club nearly five-and-a-half seasons, or, to be precise, 122 matches, to do it.
In addition to beating the Eagles for the first time, they also ticked off on the other club they had yet to beat – Collingwood – entering the current season.
They beat the Pies by three points in Round 8, with Steve Johnson (who missed the win over the Eagles due to a knee injury) kicking the match-winning goal with 45 seconds remaining.
Below is a list of the Giants’ first win against each of the other 17 clubs they have defeated, starting in chronological order:
Game 7: Round 7, 2012: defeated the Gold Coast Suns by 27 points#*
Game 18: Round 19, 2012: defeated Port Adelaide by 34 points*
Game 40: Round 19, 2013: defeated Melbourne by 37 points
Game 45: Round 1, 2014: defeated Sydney Swans by 32 points
Game 56: Round 13, 2014: defeated Brisbane Lions by 45 points^
Game 57: Round 14, 2014: defeated Carlton by eight points
Game 66: Round 23, 2014: defeated Western Bulldogs by six points^
Game 67: Round 1, 2015: defeated St Kilda by nine points^
Game 72: Round 6, 2015: defeated Hawthorn by 10 points
Game 74: Round 8, 2015: defeated Adelaide Crows by 24 points
Game 84: Round 19, 2015: defeated Essendon by 32 points
Game 90: Round 2, 2016: defeated Geelong Cats by 13 points
Game 95: Round 7, 2016: defeated Fremantle by 18 points^
Game 106: Round 19, 2016: defeated Richmond by 88 points
Game 110: Round 23, 2016: defeated North Melbourne by 37 points^
Game 120: Round 8, 2017: defeated Collingwood by three points
Game 122: Round 10, 2017: defeated West Coast Eagles by eight points^
# denotes that it was the club’s first win in the AFL.
* denotes that it was achieved in their first meeting against that club.
^ denotes that it was achieved in an away match.
Their netball side, which also competes under the Giants’ branding in the revamped Suncorp Super Netball, have also completed the Grand Slam of beating each of the other seven clubs in the league, most impressively doing it in their inaugural season en route to a third-place finish.
The women’s AFL team, on the other hand, only recorded one win and a draw in the inaugural AFL Women’s season, but that one victory proved to be a very significant one.
Their five-point win over Melbourne in Round 5 prevented the Dees from claiming second place on the ladder, which for them would’ve meant a berth against the Brisbane Lions in the AFLW grand final.
Had they won that match against the Giants, the outcome of the season would have been totally different, and the Adelaide Crows wouldn’t be the premiership side they would eventually become.
(AAP Image/David Moir)
So in effect, the Crows have the Giants to thank for that significant Round 5 result.
By contrast, the other expansion side, the Gold Coast Suns, has played 141 matches since its entry into the AFL in 2011, and are yet to beat three clubs: the Adelaide Crows, Sydney Swans and West Coast Eagles (though the Suns and Eagles did contest a draw in Round 18, 2015).
The Suns have already had their shot at the Crows, losing by 67 points at home in Round 5. They face the Eagles at home this Saturday afternoon, and travel to face the Swans at the SCG five weeks later.
Given the well-documented travel woes of Adam Simpson’s men this season, this weekend shapes as the perfect chance for the Suns to not only break their duck against the Eagles, but also bounce back at home following their 35-point loss to Melbourne in Alice Springs on the weekend.
Below is a list of the Suns’ first wins against the 14 clubs they have defeated to date:
Game 4: Round 5, 2011: defeated Port Adelaide by two points#*
Game 6: Round 7, 2011: defeated the Brisbane Lions by eight points^*
Game 15: Round 17, 2011: defeated Richmond by 15 points^*
Game 41: Round 20, 2012: defeated the GWS Giants by 30 points
Game 43: Round 22, 2012: defeated Carlton by 12 points
Game 45: Round 1, 2013: defeated St Kilda by 13 points
Game 51: Round 7, 2013: defeated Melbourne by 60 points^
Game 52: Round 8, 2013: defeated the Western Bulldogs by 32 points
Game 55: Round 11, 2013: defeated North Melbourne by 15 points
Game 60: Round 17, 2013: defeated Collingwood by seven points
Game 79: Round 14, 2014: defeated the Geelong Cats by 40 points
Game 108: Round 21, 2015: defeated Essendon by two points
Game 112: Round 2, 2016: defeated Fremantle by 26 points^
Game 135: Round 3, 2017: defeated Hawthorn by 86 points
Game 142: Round 11, 2017 versus West Coast Eagles:?
Game 147: Round 16, 2017 versus Sydney Swans:?
Game?: Round?, 2018 versus Adelaide Crows:?
# denotes that it was the club’s first win in the AFL.
* denotes that it was achieved in their first meeting against that club.
^ denotes that it was achieved in an away match.
Back on topic to finish off, and the Giants now have their best record after ten rounds of any season, currently with eight wins and two losses and sitting only below the Adelaide Crows on the ladder on percentage.
They have their best chance to continue building their season when they face Essendon, Carlton and the Brisbane Lions over the next month, with their bye coming in between the away matches against the Blues and Lions.
Thus, it is possible that they could (and should) be 11-2 by the time they face their next serious test, the Geelong Cats, at home in Round 15.
And with several of their best players, including Jacob Hopper, Devon Smith, Stephen Coniglio, Brett Deledio and Ryan Griffen, among others, set to return towards the end of the year, things could be set to get very scary as far as the balance of the AFL season is concerned.
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