Forget their historic Round 1 victory over the Sydney Swans, the GWS Giants’ 64-point thrashing of Melbourne has got to rate as the club’s most important victory.
AFLThe Giants arrived at the MCG having not won at the ground in six previous attempts, and if they were to break through against fellow wooden spoon candidates Melbourne, they would have to defy a horror injury toll which included the likes of Jeremy Cameron, Tom Scully and Lachie Whitfield.
Those two factors made Melbourne the favourites in what shaped as the last chance for either team to avoid the wooden spoon. However, the Giants already had the advantage of having defeated the Dees by 32 points back in Round 3.
The Giants’ injury toll grew worse when both their co-captains, Phil Davis and Callan Ward, as well as 2011 number one draft pick Jonathon Patton, went down with concussion, a calf and knee injury, respectively, all in the first half.
Sadly, it has been confirmed that Patton has ruptured the ACL in his right knee, which will mean another full knee reconstruction. It is the same knee which he injured against St Kilda in Round 3 last year.
Ward, on the other hand, won’t be risked again this season, while Davis will be tested ahead of the Giants’ showdown against Collingwood on Saturday afternoon.
The win was their second win over the Dees from as many meetings this season.
But while the match will be remembered for the Giants’ victory under great adversity, for the Dees it was their worst performance for the season and all the improvement they had shown under Paul Roos went out the window in a three-hour horror show played out in front of just 17,218 people.
History repeated itself as Melbourne became the first team to lose to the Giants in Melbourne, after also becoming the first team to lose to the Gold Coast Suns in the Victorian capital in Round 7 last year.
Comparing the two defeats, the loss to the Giants rates worse on the basis of the final margin and the inept performance overall. It could also prove a telling factor if James Frawley, as expected, leaves the club at season’s end.
There was also ugly scenes at the end of the match with Melbourne fans booing their team off the ground. These are scenes they have been accustomed to on a regular basis since the club’s most recent finals appearance in 2006.
With a season-best five victories under their belt for 2014, the Giants will now fancy themselves against another injury-hit side in Collingwood this Saturday afternoon in what is the club’s final game at Spotless Stadium for the year.
A victory is likely, but the players and fans should not get ahead of themselves too much, especially with Collingwood desperate to stay alive in the finals race.
The Dees must travel to Perth to face the West Coast Eagles this Saturday night, after which is followed by a trip west to Etihad Stadium to face the finals-bound North Melbourne.
On current form, it appears unlikely that Paul Roos’ men will win any of their two remainders, which would put the club at risk of its first wooden spoon since 2009.
They will be keen to see how St Kilda, who remain rooted to the foot of the ladder after its 71-point thrashing at the hands of the Sydney Swans, fare against Richmond and the Adelaide Crows in the final fortnight of the regular season.
Enough about Melbourne’s woes, but what a win it was for the Giants going forward as they progress towards playing to the AFL standard on a regular basis.
Cameron Ling said in Channel Seven’s telecast that the club could be playing finals as soon as 2016. If the Giants can continue their impressive progress in the next twelve months, then anything is possible.
It would also silence the critics who have repeatedly stated that the AFL’s foray into western Sydney would fail. All things in life must take time, and eventually the AFL’s investment in an area dominated by soccer and rugby league will be vindicated.
jasonk
Guest
A better word than "maybe" would be "likely", because that is what is likely to happen when kids get involved in a sport at a young age. Also, the post just says "supporter base" and not specifically Giants supporters. They could find themselves fans of any club as they get older and watch more AFL. This would mean the general fan base would become more multicultural should initiatives such as this one work and operate on some sort of large scale. It's something everyone will have to deal with.
jasonk
Guest
Etihad Stadium is west of Perth?
clipper
Guest
Isn't this the team that was mostly Muslim women? Good to see more Muslim women getting involved in sport, as it can be difficult sometimes.
Ian Whitchurch
Guest
Money through the gate pays for all the off-cap expenses, like coaches, training facilities and so on. It's the club's to spend. TV money goes to the league as a whole, and is then shared out by the league.
TW
Guest
I put the maybe in deliberately because at this stage of the GWS story everything is speculative. We just dont know how things will turn out because Sydney itself is a different beast to the rest of the country anyhow and I have lived there for 7 years. However the Auburn Giants are a fact and were created from nothing and have progressed steadily in a non AFL area. Your comment seized on the word maybe as proof it will not happen which means you either can read into the future or you are worried that it may occur and good luck reading into the future by the way.
Axle an the guru
Guest
Money,and the NRL worry about them too,beleive me. Without attendances there is no competition.
Carcass
Guest
Why are attendances so important to AFL clubs when they mean stuff all to NRL?
Carcass
Guest
Why are attendances so important to AFL clubs when they mean stuff all to NRL?
Carcass
Guest
The Swans win was far, far greater an effort. Beating Melbourne, is like a team of full time professionals beating a team of semi pros. The only reason Melbourne remains an AFL club is because of the MCC's influence. Lord knows why any person would barrack for that club. They lower the standards of the AFL in every department and should be disbanded. Don't get carried away with yourselves Giants.
AR
Guest
Stand corrected then conchie, thought he had moved on from Sports portfolio. Cheers
Josh
Guest
It's not creating a supporter base, the fact you put the word maybe into that sentence is proof.
Pope Paul VII
Guest
Also indicates fresh legs and rotations is inexact. As discussed here, half the time players get dragged without cause often after kicking goals.
Jack Smith
Roar Guru
Swans were clearly warming up and have started slow for years. Meanwhile outrunning a side with only one interchange by over 60 points? I rate that one higher - for the reflection of the players.
TW
Guest
Off topic but related to GWS. Now for something completely different for Aussie Rules footy. The Giants have a multicultural Womens team just starting to find some success. They started life as the Auburn Tigers and now have been absorbed into the Giants. This is a great idea considering the area they are in. Their off field activities are growing - last year their social events were drawing about 200 young multicultural people. Not all playing footy of course but it is creating maybe a supporter base down the track. The clubs management are very determined to build a great entity in a non AFL region. They have also collected and despatched footy gear to the footy teams in Indonesia who are (The Indonesians) now competing in the International Cup currently being held in Melbourne. http://www.gwsgiants.com.au/news/2014-08-14/giant-step
clipper
Guest
Have to agree with your points, Nick. The last sentence in this article just wouldn't have been written a few years ago (in an area dominated by soccer and rugby league), such has been the growth in Soccer, that a league heartland is now shared by it. I still don't think the critics will be silenced in the short term - a long wait for that, but at least GWS hasn't had the worst crowd of the year in Sydney (that was 5,297 this Saturday at LO) and they should pull 11 - 12k against Collingwood, but I doubt they will get many more.
conchie
Roar Rookie
@AR, AFAIK, he is still current ACT sports minister, if you are talking about Andrew Barr.
AR
Guest
For the Giants, it's not 1 in 3 seats that's needed for 8k. It's much less than that. At Showgrounds Stadium there's 8 function rooms, 12 corporate boxes, other open air boxes, the Sky Deck, lounges, other general areas. There's 3 things to remember on attendance reporting: 1 - there's always a huge chunk of patrons that are hidden from camera. 2 - it's the stadium, not the AFL, that releases the figures. 3 - there's simply no reliable evidence that ShowGround Stadium has released untrue figures. Until there is, it's really a non-issue. As for the NRL, it's a tad different. The Titans were blatantly caught (by counting tickets they gave away for free, rather than those who actually turned up) and the Raiders/Brumbies had been doing it for years, according to the former ACT Sports Minister.
bryan
Guest
I would rate a victory against The Swans,albeit early in the year, above one against Melbourne. In the Demons' current parlous condition,I would tip the Methodist Ladies' College to beat them by 6 Goals! :)
Nick
Guest
Yeah good points AR. Im a bit of a crowd nerd lol. For GWS to be pulling about 8,000 this means one in three seats are filled. If you look at the games at the stadium, every bay is (give or take) about 500 seats. If you imagine the crowd condensed and all sitting next to each to each other You will come up with maybe about 8 full bays which puts the crowd at around 4,000 (a couple of games . If you live in Sydney you will know that media has a bit of a laugh at rubbery GWS crowd figures from time to time. But in saying all this I have no doubt if GWS get their act together they will be a success. I grew up with Rugby League and to be honest its not hard to see (for me) that AFL is a more skill full, better run game with a better atmosphere. But again, its not just GWS. Canterbury Bulldogs were actually caught inflating their crowd figures by the Daily Telegrapah. Ps – the game at the G yesterday – I estimated about 15 – 16,000. I wasn’t that far off for a massive stadium.
AR
Guest
Nick, I think you're mixing 2 separate issues. The first, is a broader discussion about exactly where GWS fits into the W.Sydney landscape. It's a baby club with serious teething issues, a horrendous on-field record and, arguably, a lack of "connection" between the club and its constituents. It's a longer discussion, and possibly not the place for it here. The second, is simply about how many might turn up against Collingwood. Projections aside, you make the blanket assertion that all Giants attendance figures are fudged. Without any evidence at all, it's a pretty cynical assertion. When watching the Melb v GWS game on TV yesterday, it looked like there were <10k at the ground. The MCG released the official attendance as being 17,218. Certainly didn't look like it. But people forget that there are hundreds of corporate boxes, dining rooms, bars, general concourse areas etc...so not every person at the game is in full view of the TV camera. Again, I'd be expecting about 12k.