AFL elimination final: Stay up to date with the latest news from Sydney and GWS
Eagles champion Glen Jakovich says the AFL must make a strong statement about protecting umpires and hand Toby Greene a severe penalty after his incident with Matt Stevic.
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AFL champion legend Glen Jakovich wants Toby Greene to receive one of the most severe penalties in recent history for walking into umpire Matt Stevic on Saturday.
Jakovich, one of the greatest players in West Coast’s history, said Greene deserved a three-month ban which would not only sideline him for the finals series but also wipe out a big chunk of next season.
While debate has raged about whether Greene made any contact with Stevic in the incident, Jakovich said the AFL was duty-bound to make a strong statement about protecting umpires to community and grassroots footy.
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“The AFL have a very easy decision to make with Toby Greene for the integrity of our GR8 game and protection of all umpires at all levels to send a very clear message,” Jakovich said.
“12 week suspension and during that suspension Toby goes and umpires at junior level. Over to you Gil.”
If the AFL deem contact was made Greene will be sent to the tribunal for making “disrespectful” and intentional contact.
However, the force of the contact has been hotly-debated and could provide an opportunity for Greene to strongly challenge ahead of this weekend’s semi-final against Geelong.
The only man who can save Greene from finals disaster
Giants genius Toby Greene turned on his bad boy best to inspire GWS to a one-point elimination final thriller over Sydney in Launceston and extend their post-season stranglehold over the Swans.
It was the third time they had met in the finals and the Giants’ tight defence, speed through the middle and options up forward sank the unlucky Swans.
Greene was electric, playing an influential game for the Giants, kicking 3.1 and earning a free kicking in the dying seconds that ensured the Swans did not get another scoring shot.
Greene is likely to answer to an incident in which he appeared to make contact with field umpire Matt Stevic as he walked to the three quarter-time huddle.
It was the only blemish on a game where his X-factor was worth more than possessions for the AFL’s most controversial player.
Greene brushed off the incident post-match and said he would not deliberately have touched an umpire.
“I don’t know what it was. It was just in the moment. I certainly would never touch him. I was just talking to him about something,” he said.
Incoming Toby tax…. Neale got fine didn’t he? Shouldn’t touch the umpires but that contact wasn’t more agressive than Neales for mine #justmyview
— Scott Pendlebury (@SP_10) August 28, 2021
Toby Greene's last 6 finals
— Swamp (@sirswampthing) August 28, 2021
2018 EF - $2,500 in fines
2018 SF - $2,500 in fines
2019 EF - $7,500 in fines
2019 SF - 1 week suspension
2019 GF
2021 EF - ???
#AFLSwansGiants@AFL
The 27-year-old’s lengthy rap sheet includes a $1950 fine eight years ago for reckless umpire contact, and it was only a fortnight ago the Giants twice challenged a Greene striking ban.
Greene kicked three first-half goals to be a major factor in why GWS opened a 29-point lead early in the third term, but also gave away two free kicks in the same quarter.
Brisbane’s Brownlow medallist Lachie Neale received a $1500 fine for making unnecessary contact with an umpire in a clash with Carlton in April.
Rules about umpire contact state: “Contact with an umpire that is aggressive, forceful, demonstrative or disrespectful will be deemed intentional and the player will be directly referred to the tribunal.”
Fox Footy expert Nick Riewoldt believes there is a genuine chance Greene will avoid a ban, but said Stevic’s perspective on the incident could be the deciding factor.
“Is it a shoulder bump? Is it a hand brush? It’s hard to hang him on that piece of vision, (but) I know it looks bad,” Riewoldt said.
“I think they’ll need another angle, and I think Matt Stevic will play a massive role in this.
“If you actually follow it through and see the context of the conversation and how it unfolds; they’re having a pretty amicable chat. Matt Stevic doesn’t look to be too disturbed afterwards.”
Fellow commentator Jonathan Brown agreed on Stevic’s role in the verdict and said he expected the worst-case scenario for Greene would be one week if they wanted to “send a message”.
David King said he thought Greene was in “a lot of trouble”.
“I don’t think there is any way of talking around this. The umpires are a no-go zone and when you decide to walk into their path … I think he made a calculated decision, he’s made a big error,” King said.
“Unfortunately, I think he’ll miss several weeks – that’s just how it sits for me. I’m not sure how you argue your way around that one.
“He knows he’s there, he walks into him, you just can’t do that. We all love him and we all want him to play, but whenever these things happen, more often than not, it’s got Toby involved.
“I feel for the Giants. Coming down from the euphoria of this win will be the reality that Toby’s made a blue.”
Champion Richmond forward Jack Riewoldt said he was “disappointed” the latest Greene controversy would likely dominate the lead-up to next week’s clash with Geelong.
“He’s really got no one else to blame bar himself,” Riewoldt said.
“He’s an emotional player and we love that about him, because it actually makes him the star he is, and why he stars in games, but this is going to be scrutinised within an inch of its life and it doesn’t look great early on.
“It’s something that’s ingrained in children, in not only the AFL, but all sports across the world, that umpires are sacrosanct.”
GWS officials and Greene face a nervous wait to find out on Sunday whether the All-Australian forward will escape a suspension and be available for next week’s semi-final against Geelong in Perth.
Coach Leon Cameron watched the incident before fronting the media post-match and was reluctant to comment.
“I just had a quick look on the way in here. It’s very hard for me to comment on it,” Cameron said.
“Clearly, it’s a talking point, but all I know is it wouldn’t have been intentional.
“I just love the way he goes about things. I know he’s a talked-about player, but I’d like to really hone in on the positive stuff.
“I thought his first three quarters were unbelievable, in terms of the footy he played.”
The Swans were as devastated as the Giants were jubilant after the siren.
“They were coming and we were holding on for dear life,” said GWS skipper Stephen Coniglio.
“We had to find a way and I’m just so proud of the boys.”
Let the week of Toby Greene begin. Hard to see him playing next week.
— Kane Pitman (@KanePitman) August 28, 2021
Toby Greene is bloody good, best player in the league good.
— Scott Pendlebury (@SP_10) August 28, 2021
Absolute brainfade from Toby 🤦
— Fox Footy (@FOXFOOTY) August 28, 2021
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"My initial thoughts are he's in a lot of trouble"@tommorris32 & @davidking34 discuss the likely fallout of Greene's brush with the umpire. pic.twitter.com/zqplfdkyuo
— Fox Footy (@FOXFOOTY) August 28, 2021
It was a confidence-boost for the team that started the season 0-3, has been on the road for 10 weeks, which included their next opponent Geelong three weeks ago.
The Swans got what they wanted, jumping out of the blocks kicking three of the first five goals but a Tim Taranto goal after the siren made it 20-20 at the first break.
Despite the “Buddy” road show ramping up at the other end with Lance Franklin kicking three straight, GWS broke the game open in the second.
They kicked five of the next six goals, two to Harry Himmelberg, and three of them from forward stoppages making GWS the fourth-best in the AFL this season, to lead by 23 at the long break.
A John Longmire rocket got the desired response in the third when skipper Luke Parker inspired a resurgences that got the Swans back to within two goals until Giant Jesse Hogan marked and kicked his second after the three quart-timer siren to put GWS ahead by 19 entering the last.
Isaac Heeney kicked the only two goals of the last quarter but the Swans hit the post twice and could not quite close the gap.
In the first half Greene only touched it six times but the result was his 3.1 and near-panic for the Swans’ defence.
Taranto, Harry Perryman and Josh Kelly were the driving force in a devastating running game, and key forward Zac Sproule kicked two majors.
Sam Reid had his hands full of Buddy Franklin, who ended with four goals and need another four to hut the magic 1000 milestone next year.
Giants had a scare when Jesse Hogan rolled his ankle in a marking contest. He stood up holding the ankle but played out the game with 2.2 from 10 disposals and eight marks.
FINALS DEBUT FOR MANY SWANS
After winning only five games last season, Sydney got to expose half of its team to post-season action for the first time.
While half of the Giants had grand final experience from 2017, 11 Swans made their finals debut, and nine of them were aged 22-or-under.
Skipper Luke Parker was the only man remaining from Sydney’s 2012 premiership.
GIANTS HISTORY OF CLOSE TASSIE FINISHES
Giants have played four draws in their 10 seasons, and two of them have been in Tasmania, the most recent coming this year against North Melbourne in Hobart.
They played historic back-to-back draws in 2017 _ the first against Geelong at Geelong in round 15, followed by another a week later against the Hawks in Launceston.
Lucky for Giants fans, they came out on the right side of the ledge in Launceston.
EXTRA TASSIE TIME FOR GIANTS
After becoming the first teams to play AFL finals in Tasmania, GWS and the winner of Bulldogs-Essendon will have an extended stay on the Apple Isle.
They will be accommodated at the local country club’s villa complex until the AFL announced the finals schedule and venues for next week.
HOGAN MAKES UP FOR LOST TIME
It took three clubs and nine seasons but journeyman Jesse Hogan finally got a taste of finals.
Hogan’s first final included a goal-assist to Toby Greeneand, a “poster” in the third, and two majors.
He may come “under scrutiny” for making front-on contact with boundary rider Luke Hodge.
BEST
GWS – Perryman, Greene, Kelly, Taranto, Stein, Hopper
Sydney – Heeney, Parker, Rampe, Lloyd, Hewett, Papley.
INJURIES – GWS: Hogan (ankle), Sydney: Cumming (ankle), Green (arm).
CROWD – 10,000 (Covid limited)’
HOW THE SWANS REBUILT TO BE A FINALS CONTENDER
Sydney Swans list boss Kinnear Beatson long ago figured out the importance of understanding the person behind the footballer.
That’s why Beatson sought Ollie Florent’s mum Rachael’s approval before they drafted him with their first pick, No. 11 overall, five years ago.
Her husband, former professional tennis player Andrew, lost his cancer battle only three months earlier — and now the Swans wanted to know how she would feel if they whisked her son interstate.
It was the week before the draft, and Beatson, coach John Longmire and then-player welfare manager Dennis Carroll were at the Florent household.
“We were lucky, because of her husband’s background in tennis, that he had a really good network of friends in Sydney,” Beatson told The Daily Telegraph.
“Rachael was so supportive of it, but if we got the indication it was going to break her heart, we wouldn’t have made that call. Footy is important, but there are bigger issues at times.”
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Florent was part of what the Swans wanted to become. The chance had arrived after a sustained period of success for a refresh — but definitely not a rebuild.
You can’t risk completely rebuilding in a Sydney market that can lose interest quickly, according to Beatson.
Beatson, Longmire and co. foresaw the club’s finals reign ending before it happened, even if there was never any acceptance it had to happen.
The bubble eventually burst two years ago, after nine-straight September runs that included the 2012 premiership, two other grand finals and a preliminary final.
Back-to-back bottom-four finishes followed as reality sunk in. They’ve had 20 debutants in the past four seasons.
Ryan O’Keefe, Lewis Roberts-Thomson (2014), Adam Goodes, Rhyce Shaw, Mike Pyke (2015), Ted Richards, Ben McGlynn (2016), Kurt Tippett (2018), Heath Grundy, Kieren Jack, Jarrad McVeigh and Nick Smith (2019) all retired.
Smith was Beatson’s first of many diamond-in-the-rough selections as part of Sydney’s recruiting team in the 2006 rookie draft.
Players such as Tom Mitchell, Gary Rohan, Dan Hannebery, Nic Newman, Toby Nankervis, Zak Jones and Tim Membrey also departed for various reasons.
Hawthorn’s golden era made every other club look inwards at their own operation, even Sydney.
“There was certainly a point in time when we realised we needed to become a better kicking team than what we were,” Beatson said.
“That probably came around the same time as the Hawthorn cluster-type thing, when it was becoming harder to penetrate defences.”
The process began in the 2015 draft, long before Don Pyke joined forces with Longmire to help transform the club’s ball movement into one of the AFL’s best.
The Swans matched Melbourne’s bid on Academy product Callum Mills at No. 3, but also snaffled Tyrone Leonardis and Jordan Dawson — both noted for their kicking — with picks in the 50s.
Florent (2016), Matt Ling (2017), Nick Blakey, Justin McInerney (2018), Dylan Stephens (2019), Braeden Campbell and Errol Gulden (2020) also fit the bill.
Leonardis didn’t work out and injuries have ravaged Ling’s career to date, but the strike rate has otherwise been good, both high and low in the draft.
But there’s always more than one recruiting priority.
Beatson was at Deakin University’s Waurn Ponds campus one wet, wild, “bloody terrible” weekend day in 2017 to watch the Geelong Falcons.
Falcons prospect Tom McCartin, brother of then-Saint Paddy, was on Sydney’s radar after identifying the need to bring in some taller talents.
The conditions were hardly conducive to a breakout game for a key forward, but McCartin was magnificent on this afternoon, albeit the rain curbed his marking impact.
“I remember sitting there thinking, ‘I’m glad it’s a crappy day’, because a lot of blokes had gone home,” Beatson said. “He wasn’t clunking them, but on a dry day he would have.”
The lasting memory of Joel Amartey’s TAC Cup (now NAB League) career is him missing a sitter from the top of the goalsquare after the siren that would have won Sandringham Dragons the grand final.
At least for most people. Beatson recalls something different: the moment 197cm Amartey cleanly, and athletically, gathered the ball on the bounce and screwed a kick over his shoulder for a goal.
If the Swans’ recruiting guru was drinking at the time, he would have spat it out. Players of Amartey’s size aren’t supposed to be able to do that.
Amartey had already caught Beatson’s attention playing for his school side Mentone Grammar in the months earlier.
“I remember one specific game at Mentone — they might’ve been playing Ivanhoe Grammar — and it was like the coach had instructed Joel to just go for his marks,” he said.
“This raw colt suddenly had an explosion of confidence.”
Beatson has countless stories like this, after more than 30 years in and around the AFL system, at Carlton, Western Jets, Brisbane and Adelaide before joining the red and white.
Tom Papley’s eye-catching 2015 finals series for Gippsland Power. Chad Warner’s insatiable appetite for the contest, including the cheeky grin that defies his ferocious on-field manner.
How underlying injuries had, perhaps, impacted other recruiters’ assessments of Dawson and Robbie Fox, allowing them to be Sydney bargains.
Or how no one else was interested in Academy product Sam Wicks, largely because, Beatson believes, he might have been played out of position as a junior.
“He was played on-ball, but I always thought if he would make it, it would be as a small forward, because he’s tenacious and a good tackler,” he said.
Then, of course, there’s Beatson’s Nat Fyfe story.
Fremantle’s dual Brownlow medallist had an underwhelming national under-18 championships, but a brilliant WAFL grand final display for Claremont made everyone take notice.
What was a ho-hum interview between the Swans and Fyfe turned with one question from club recruiter Rick Barham: “Have you been in any fights at school, Nat?”
It was a Hail Mary question with no previous context or information. “I’ve been in a few fights at school,” Fyfe responded. Barham: “So, who won?”
Beatson remembers Fyfe’s reaction like it was yesterday.
“Nat had been pretty reserved up until this point, but it was like a light bulb moment,” Beatson said.
“He jerks back, looks at us and says, ‘Who do you think?’. That was it — it was a little insight into the mentality of this guy and his competitiveness.”
But it’s not always skill and perceptiveness in the list management space. Beatson is big enough to admit that.
He pointed to Warner and ruck recruit Tom Hickey as perfect examples. Hickey’s playing career-best football for Sydney, his fourth club.
Not Beatson or anyone would have predicted his 2021 performances despite noting how well he played two years ago, when Nic Naitanui was sidelined at West Coast.
Warner is enjoying a breakout season in his second year in the AFL.
“We hadn’t seen in Chad’s draft year the pace and power he’s got — at least not to the degree we’re seeing now,” Beatson said.
“Sometimes, you have a bit of luck in recruiting. That’s part of it, because we’re picking them so young and their bodies are still developing.
“Seeing them develop into significantly good players is one of the most rewarding things in recruiting — and I think we’re seeing that at the minute with Justin McInerney.”
The Swans Academy, overseen by Chris Smith and Jared Crouch, is another obvious key plank in the club’s ongoing success.
Most of the external focus is on the top-end crop — Mills, Isaac Heeney, Blakey, Campbell and Gulden — but there have also been lower-profile success stories, such as Wicks and James Bell.
Beatson has long advocated for the Academy against its critics, pointing to the need to increase the sport’s profile and fanbase in NSW, as much as produce players.
He’s also quick to highlight that Gold Coast co-captain Jarrod Witts and Adelaide’s Ben Davis are the only two Sydney metropolitan products at clubs other than the Swans or Giants.
“There’s no doubt the Academy has helped us, but we don’t get them cheaply,” Beatson said.
“We’ve got to match bids for them and that’s fair enough, that’s the system.
“One thing I would say is if you did an analysis of other clubs’ list, in particular some big Melbourne-based clubs and West Coast, look at their ability to lure players home.
“Not only the number of them, but where those players were taken in a draft. They’re usually first-round picks or priority picks. We don’t have that benefit.”
All and sundry at the Swans have received praise for their transformation this year from ugly ducklings, but Beatson is already looking further ahead.
National recruiting manager Simon Dalrymple, senior recruiting analyst Chris Keane, future recruiting co-ordinator Ross Monaghan and their “weekend warriors” will be right there with him.
Only time will tell whether Sydney’s finals assault will end on Saturday or add another trophy to the cabinet.
“I genuinely feel I’m representing, in my role, the Swans community and members and supporters, so there’s pressure to get it right for them more so than for your own reputation,” Beatson said.
“It’s a great tick that we made finals this year, but we’ve got to make sure we’re back there next year. The campaign starts again.”
THE SWANS’ LIS T EVOLUTION
Season, Age, Rank, Experience, Rank
2021: 25.0, 11th, 95.7, 9th
2020: 24.4, 17th, 76.1, 17th
2019: 24.4, 17th, 84.7, 12th
2018: 25.4, 9th, 107.5, 4th
Will Buddy be the difference in cross-town fight?
Crashing through the 1000 barrier wasn’t a source of pride for NSW on Thursday.
The figure in this instance related to a new high in daily Covid-19 cases, as the state continues to grapple with the virus’ Delta strain.
But a different 1000 will be front of mind when Sydney’s two AFL clubs, the Swans and Giants, lock horns in an elimination final in Launceston on Saturday.
Only five players in VFL/AFL history, including ex-Swan Tony Lockett, have reached that mighty milestone for goals, but Sydney superstar Lance Franklin is only eight away from joining them.
Franklin’s re-emergence this year as a potent force is one of the best football stories in 2021, after he was out for the entirety of last season and all bar 10 games of the one before that.
Repeated soft-tissue setbacks had many critics eulogising the 34-year-old’s career and turning their attention to if he could even play out his mega-contract, which expires next season.
The pontificating resumed about whether the Swans’ extraordinary recruiting heist for Franklin eight years ago had been a failure.
Franklin’s response this season was playing 17 games and kicking 48 goals – the equal-fourth-most in the competition – and he was even short-listed for the All-Australian squad.
That hasn’t stopped the doubters swooping at every chance, including when the former Hawk was held scoreless for just the second time in 12 years against top side Melbourne in May.
Never mind that he was playing his first game back off knee bone bruising against the AFL’s stingiest backline.
A fortnight later, Franklin lashed Fremantle with six goals. The narrative changed again: he could kick goals only against lowly teams.
“It’s interesting,” coach John Longmire said at the time.
“Two weeks ago, there probably was commentary that he was looking like he was struggling a bit.
“It’s very much week-to-week, isn’t it? It’s how you went at the weekend – that’s what the outside commentary is generally about.”
Longmire, a famed goalkicker in his own right, has barely entertained questions throughout the season regarding Franklin’s 1000-goal pursuit.
The media-shy Franklin also proclaimed in a sanitised midweek interview with the club’s website that the goalkicking milestone was “absolutely not” on his mind.
“There’s a lot of talk about it, but for me, it’s about winning,” Franklin said.
Understanding Franklin’s impact is often then left to others to articulate, such as young Giants defender Sam Taylor, who’s played on him twice this year and likely will again on Saturday.
Taylor has rapidly become one of the game’s most promising backmen and admits only one forward still causes his nerves to rattle – Franklin.
He not only grew up a Hawthorn fan but also in Western Australia, where Franklin hails from, too.
“It’s funny how after years of watching him play, then I’m playing on him – just some kid from Bullsbrook and playing on Lance Franklin is crazy,” Taylor said.
“I bet next time I play on him I’ll be a lot more comfortable, but I’ve had my two warm-ups this year.
“There was one instance in the last quarter where he pushed me over and was like, ‘Do you want a tip?’ and I was like, ‘Yep, of course’.
“He was like, ‘Just make sure you get your body, your hips, closer to mine, which stops me from using my arms to push you’.”
Franklin last kicked eight goals in a match in the opening round of the 2018 season, so it would be a spectacular effort to replicate that this weekend and bring up 1000.
But he’s already helped himself to nine goals across his two meetings with GWS this season.
At this point, doubting Franklin’s ability to do anything on a football field is a dangerous game.
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