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Toby Greene in trouble for multiple incidents in the Sydney Derby

Toby Greene is in trouble again. This time the star Giant has claimed one of his opponents is ‘overweight’, while a crude forearm that collected Isaac Heeney high will also be looked at.

GWS skipper Toby Greene sent an “overweight” jibe towards Tom Papley at the main break of the Sydney Derby on Friday night.

Greene and Papley embraced their roles as the chief antagonists in the opening two quarters, regularly finding themselves in the middle of skirmishes. Greene, in particular, could face an anxious wait tomorrow after unnecessary head high contact on Isaac Heeney.

However, he didn’t lose his cheeky side as the Giants went into the rooms 28 points down at half time.

Asked about Papley and his influence early in the game, Greene focused on Papley’s lack of match fitness, suggesting he wouldn’t be able to carry out that tempo for the rest of the match in his return from a hamstring injury.

“He’s looking overweight,” Greene said on Fox Footy. “We’ll see how he goes second half.”

Tom Papley and Toby Greene were at their antagonistic best. Picture: Getty Images
Tom Papley and Toby Greene were at their antagonistic best. Picture: Getty Images

MRO TROUBLE FOR TOBY?

Greene always lifts for the Sydney Derby, but the Giants skipper is also in a bit of MRO hot water after a first quarter where he let his aggression get the best of him.

Two of Greene’s actions saw GWS free kicks reversed in a dagger blow for his side, as they had another slow start to a game.

The first is the one that is set to come under the most scrutiny after an unnecessary forearm collected Sydney superstar, and Greene’s business partner, Isaac Heeney, high.

Toby Greene's high whack on Isaac Heeney

Heeney was on the ground after being tackled when Greene came into the contest and made contact with Heeney’s head using his forearm. It was an ugly-looking incident with the umpires immediately penalising the GWS skipper.

Not long after, Greene then infringed again after he collected Aaron Francis off the ball with a swinging arm. Francis immediately fell to the ground, with the act gifting Sydney a shot on goal.

Greene clearly had a head of steam up throughout the match and was keen to throw his weight around. Before a ball had been bounced, he had engaged in a tussle with his long-time foe, former Sydney captain Dane Rampe.

Similar incidents have been frowned upon by the MRO this season without resulting in many long suspensions. However, the fact that Greene made high contact with Heeney could mean he faces his first suspension of the season, with an important game to come next Thursday night against the Western Bulldogs.

SWANS SEASON IN A NUTSHELL

- Sean Teuma

It was the loss that summed up Sydney’s season in a nutshell.

There were glimmers of hope against the Giants, but ultimately their recent dominance over their cross-town rivals came to an end, as did their hopes of qualifying for the finals.

They finished the game without Hayden McLean (concussion) and Joel Hamling (hamstring) as their season from hell on the injury front reared its ugly head once again.

But coach Dean Cox isn’t using that as an excuse for their second-half fadeout as their attention turns to finishing this year on a high.

“We still had a really good footy team,” he said.

“We played the footy we did in the first half with the same team. The disappointing part was the second half and the way we played.

Sydney's horror injury run this season continued with Hayden Mclean’s concussion. Picture: Brett Costello
Sydney's horror injury run this season continued with Hayden Mclean’s concussion. Picture: Brett Costello

“We need to make sure we fight this year out as well as we possibly can. That’s what we’re going to do.

“We understand that it’s probably mathematically impossible to make the finals, but we’re going to have a throw at the stumps as long as we possibly can.”

The composition of their team over the final month remains to be seen, with the door open for young players to gain valuable experience.

“One thing we need to do is to make sure we can build as much as we can towards the back end for pre-season next year,” he said.

“Every time you represent this football club in that jumper you have to fight as hard as you possibly can to win games of footy.

“Injuries will give opportunities to some other players that can come back into the team whether they’re experienced or some young players. We’ll talk through that at the start of the week.”

At times both Errol Gulden and Tom Papley looked to be under an injury cloud, but Cox said they will be right for next week, while the initial diagnosis isn’t as good for Hamling.

“They’re fine. Paps is a little bit sore and Errol copped a whack on the knee,” he said.

“He went back out on the ground which is really good.

“We’ll find out the extent of Joel and how bad his hamstring is. But it doesn’t look good to start with.”

Originally published as Toby Greene in trouble for multiple incidents in the Sydney Derby

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