Gold Coast v GWS: Giants lose Toby Greene and Matt De Boer to hamstring injuries

GWS will be without star forward Toby Greene for some time after the extent of his hamstring injury was worse than first predicted. And he’s not the only Giant set for a stint on the sidelines.

Ben Horne and Simeon Thomas-Wilson

7 min read

August 3, 2020 - 6:44PM

GWS was comfortable victors over Gold Coast on Sunday. Picture: Ryan Pierse/Getty Images

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Toby Greene will miss the Sydney derby in Perth after being ruled out for up to three matches with a hamstring injury.

The GWS Giants superstar could be back in two weeks, but won’t have the time to get himself right for the Battle of the Bridge against the Swans on August 13.

Fellow Giants star Matt de Boer will also miss two-three matches with a hamstring injury, as GWS counted a heavy cost to their comprehensive win over Gold Coast.

Both players were scanned on Monday in Brisbane, but the good news is that they shouldn’t miss a large chunk of the season.

Greene could return for the Giants’ western matches against West Coast and Fremantle.

GWS must go to battle against Essendon without the two influential figures on Friday but are confident they can survive without their most crucial game-breaker.

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Toby Greene ices his hamstring after injuring it against Gold Coast. Picture: Michael Klein

“There won’t be too much change to how we play. Maybe a bit of an adjustment in terms of Toby’s position,” said midfield star Josh Kelly.

“I don’t think you’re going to have someone come in and equal Toby’s output.

“What they can do is play a very similar role for the team. Bring the pressure, Toby has been really outstanding in that area this year.

“We’ve got blokes ready to step up and fill Toby’s role.

“He’s optimistic it isn’t too bad.

“The whole club has to be on its toes, ready to go. Because you don’t know when you’ll get called on.”

Jackson Hately and Bobby Hill are potential replacements for Greene up forward, while Callan Ward and Adam Kennedy will also put their hands up to return to the Giants squad after returning from injury.

Speculation has already started up over Kelly being vulnerable again to advances from Victorian clubs.

Kelly is still contracted for 2021 and said he is a committed Giant and is “annoyed” by the continued speculation that he wants out.

“It’s also a bit of fun every time it pops up. The boys have a bit of fun,” he said.

“I’m not sure where the discussions keep coming from, but I’m a happy Giant.”

GREENE INJURY SOURS GIANTS’ WIN

— Simeon Thomas-Wilson

GWS star Toby Greene will miss the Giants’ Friday night clash against Essendon, and coach Leon Cameron is unsure how many more games he will be absent for but is expecting him to miss a “chunk of footy”.

Greene looked like he would continue his red-hot form of late against the Gold Coast Suns at Metricon Stadium but in the first quarter of the Giants’ comfortable win he pulled up with a hamstring injury when chasing a loose ball.

After the 26-point win, Greene himself said he hoped it was a “minor” injury.

“I just sprinted and felt a little pinch,” he said on Fox Footy.

Cameron said with the Giants crammed schedule, despite having a bye in Round 11, Greene would likely miss games.

“He won’t play on Friday against the Bombers,” he said.

“We will have to assess whether it is a one or two or three week injury ... which we will find out in the coming days.

“It was disappointing because clearly he’s in great form... he will (probably) miss a couple (of games).”

Giant Toby Greene grabs at his hamstring during the clash with the Giants on Sunday. Picture: Ryan Pierse/Getty Images

Tagger Matt de Boer also felt his hamstring towards the end of the game, but Cameron said he was more likely to play than Greene.

Cameron also said Zac Williams could be managed for the Bombers’ clash, with the club mindful of the important running defender’s body – despite a stellar game against the Suns – after the Giants’ injury woes in recent years.

“In the last couple of years it probably hasn’t been the greatest on the injury front, but I think we have learnt a lot on erring on the side of caution and we have probably done that this year, it is disappointing because we want our best team out each week,” he said.

“He (Greene) is a really important to our team we want him to play every week but he is going to miss a chunk of footy.

“I think people look at Zac as a distributor in the back half, but he equally he wins big one on ones, reads the play well and uses his strength on the ground really well.

“Everyone wants two or three running backs that can make good decisions under pressure, if you have good players who can make good decisions under pressure you can turn defence into attack really quickly.

“We’ve just got to keep him (Williams) out on the park ... again we look at him and decide whether he is right for a Friday night game.

“Hopefully he is ... he just adds that class.”

Leon Cameron watching on as his Giants took on the Suns. Picture: Ryan Pierse/Getty Images

LOSS WILL PROMPT CHANGES: DEW

Gold Coast coach Stuart Dew says his Suns charges this season “are a far, far greater side than last year”, but will make changes after their winning form has dried up.

After restarting the season with three straight wins, the Suns have now lost four from their last five – a run which began with No. 1 draft pick Matt Rowell dislocating his shoulder.

The Suns started 2019 brightly before going on a big winless run to claim the wooden spoon, but after their 26-point loss to GWS at Metricon Stadium, Dew said he was confident a similar rot wouldn’t happen this year.

“I think we have been in all games right to the end,” he said.

“So we think we can win every game and even though we were really poor we had one less shot against GWS who played in a grand final.

“I think our numbers suggest that we are a far, far greater side than last year and we are really confident.

“We just have to compete better than we did, that has been a feature of our game but we were really poor and credit to GWS.”

Gold Coast coach Stuart Dew addresses his players during Sunday’s contest against GWS. Picture: Chris Hyde/AFL Photos/via Getty Images

Dew has made minimal changes to his Suns side in recent weeks, but following the poor performance against the Giants, and with a fixture cram coming up, he said he would make numerous adjustments to the starting 22.

“There will be changes,” Dew said.

“We were hoping to bring Sean Lemmens in but the birth of his daughter was too close to the game, he was going to come in this week.

“But given there will be a four-day break (for their next clash against St Kilda) and a poor performance, we will make a couple of changes.”

Sam Collins, Connor Budarick – who spent time on Toby Greene before the GWS star suffered a hamstring injury – Jack Lukosius and Will Powell were singled out by Dew as players he was pleased with in the poor lose.

“They were lacking a few mates (out there),” he said.

“We need to be a collective if we are to challenge these teams.”

GIANTS SMASH SUNS AT HOME

The GWS Giants Ferrari is well and truly back on the finals road and it barely needed to get out of second gear against a disappointing Gold Coast Suns outfit in the clash of the AFL’s expansion teams.

But just what finals road the Giants will travel – another tilt at a flag or battling to make up the numbers – will largely depend on the extent of a hamstring injury suffered by star Toby Greene in the first quarter of their 26-point win at Metricon Stadium.

The loss of their star, and arguably most important player, didn’t put the brakes on the Giants against an insipid Suns outfit as GWS moved level on points with its top-eight rivals.

The Giants led throughout, and were rarely threatened in a game where the main point of interest was the injury to one of GWS’ most important cogs.

Harry Himmelberg celebrates a goal against Gold Coast. Picture: Ryan Pierse/Getty Images

A GIANT BLOW

Greene had come into the clash of the two expansion clubs in supreme form after booting five goals against the reigning premiers Richmond last time out for the Giants.

Stuart Dew gave youngster Connor Budarick one mighty task by putting him on the Giants superstar, and while the Suns rookie gave a good account of himself at times Greene started the clash strongly.

He missed a chance to kick the first goal of the day, but one minute later set up Tim Taranto, and while he had two behinds he had amassed six disposals in the first quarter.

But as he and Budarick raced after a ball on the wing Greene pulled up with his hamstring injury, and while he quickly ran off to the bench the Giants ruled him out of the rest of the game at quarter time.

SUNS DON’T RISE

Both sides in the finals race, a perfect day for footy at Metricon – the bosses at the AFL would have probably had some wry smiles on their faces about the league’s often maligned expansion into the two growth markets.

But the Suns showed there is still a lot of work to be done by Dew’s young team.

They only kicked two goals in three quarters, and too many of their key players such as Lachie Weller, David Swallow, Hugh Greenwood, Sam Day, Touk Miller and exciting youngsters Izak Rankine and Ben King were too quiet.

After a great start post shutdown the Suns have now only won one game since Matt Rowell dislocated his shoulder.

Hugh Greenwood didn’t have a huge impact against the Giants. Picture: Michael Klein

RUN FROM A RETURNING GUN

Who knows if he stays at the Giants following this season, but Zac Williams showed just how important he is for GWS as he returned from a hamstring injury.

Providing the Giants with plenty of run from half-back, Williams finished with 26 disposals and and six marks.

He also gained 436 metres with his elite speed in an impressive return.

The Giants have many star players, Williams showed he is one of their key ones.

SCOREBOARD

GOLD COAST 0.3 2.4 2.7 4.11 (35)

GWS 2.4 4.5 5.7 9.7 (61)

GOALS

Suns: King, Ainsworth, Swallow, Weller

Giants: Cameron, Himmelberg 2, Hopper, Finlayson, Coniglio, Taranto, Kelly

BEST

Suns: Collins, Witts, Bowes, Ainsworth

Giants: Whitfield, Williams, Taranto, Hopper, Haynes, Kelly, Corr