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The GWS Giants have joined Geelong as semi-final winners in what should be proclaimed as the redemption weekend, savaging a brave but largely outmatched West Coast side by 67 points, and locking in their second consecutive preliminary finals appearance.
The first quarter of this finals match began with seven intense, scrappy and scoreless minutes of footy.
It was only a matter of time before one of the teams would fight through and break the deadlock, and that team was the Giants.
They slammed on four scores in quick succession – unfortunately, three of those were behinds.
As the Giants began ruing their early inaccuracy, tge defiant Eagles booted two goals of their own, but the Giants – perhaps predictably – came back, and soon clawed their way on top.
Four more goals, with the Eagles getting one against the grain to Mark Lecras, finished off the quarter for the Giants, and they took a 16-point lead into the first break.
The second quarter is when the Giants shock off all their doubts, and took proper control of the match.
They got out to a 31-point lead midway through the quarter, and, thanks to a midfield who were picking up disposals with ease, and Toby Greene who was thriving on the spotless grounds of Spotless Stadium, GWS looked like the fearsome team most had lofty expectations for at the dawn of the season.
West Coast, to their credit, did stage a fightback towards the end of the quarter, and, while they’d be disappointed they missed a few crucial shots, they wouldn’t have been super dismayed heading into half time.
They would have been dismayed, however, after 10 minutes of that third quarter. It was almost as if the Giants moved to a whole new level, and the Eagles simply couldn’t keep up.
A goal to Jonathon Patton set the ominous tone, before the veterans (Steve Johnson and Brett Deledio) booted a trio of goals which would’ve broken Eagles heart.
The margin was 60 before the ten-minute mark, and Johnson’s third goal of the quarter meant the margin shot out to 68 points. The Eagles were broken. And then Johnson added a fourth. Come three-quarter time, the game was all but over.
The final quarter was what you’d expect: the Eagles adding a tinge of respectability to the score, and the Giants continuing to refine their game as they geared up for their preliminary final next weekend.
The Eagles – through Mark LeCras, Jack Darling and Drew Petrie – added a trio of goals early in the quarter, and perhaps they produced some of their better footy of the night, but it was unfortunately much too late.
The Giants contributed the last few goals of the match, Johnson continuing his brilliant night with goal six heading through the middle, and Stephen Conglio and Patton sending through majors of their own.
The last notable act of the game? A goal to Sam Mitchell, the absolute legend. In the end, it was the Giants by 67 points.
The Giants were well served by their brilliant midfield: six of their best men in the middle had the ball in their hands in excess of twenty times – Coniglio (35), Josh Kelly (33), Lachie Whitfield (28), Callan Ward (28), Dylan Shiel (25) and Tom Scully (20).
Steve J’s game was one of his finest in a long while (his six goals broke the game open, in my opinion), whilst Lobb was sensational in the ruck. It’s a little hard to individualise the praise, given the Giants’ dominance.
The Eagles, as one would expect, were very well served by two of their retirees. Matt Priddis and Mitchell, for the final times in their storied careers, were brilliant.
Both collected the ball 29 times (Mitchell also booted two goals), while Jack Redden, Andrew Gaff and Luke Shuey all had good nights.
Josh J Kennedy had a poor night, booting 1.1, while LeCras had a decent night in attack and booted two goals – the only Eagles player to boot more than one.
GWS travels to the home of football for what shapes as a huge preliminary final against Richmond, whilst West Coast head home for a pre-season: their pre-season where they won’t have Priddis, Mitchell or Petrie pulling on club jerseys and training.
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