‘Pretty special’: GWS Giants’ surprise midfield dominance defies recent history in win over Melbourne

The orange tsunami had a major weakness in 2024 despite their relentless pressure. However, the Giants’ win over Melbourne showed the fix which might make them the complete package.

Giants coach Adam Kingsley labelled his side’s midfield performance “pretty special” after they overcame Melbourne’s superstar trio of Max Gawn, Christian Petracca and Clayton Oliver to come away from the MCG with an unlikely victory on Sunday.

The Dees boast one of, if not the best, midfield in the competition. Gawn continues to dominate in the ruck, while he’s got Oliver, Petracca and even Jack Viney around him to mop up the ball at stoppage.

But despite Melbourne’s early dominance against the Giants in that area, it was the team from Western Sydney that finished well on top.

GWS won the clearances 48-36, finishing level on the centre-bounce clearances 12-12. It was an immense effort for a team not only missing their No.1 ruckman in Kieren Briggs, but also struggled enormously in that area last season.

Green was enormous in his return with a game-high nine clearances. Picture: Quinn Rooney/Getty Images

The Giants ranked 17th in the competition for clearance differential in 2024. In the last third of the year, they were also the third-worst team in the AFL for their defensive 50 to inside 50 transition. It was telling that on the back of getting the upper hand in the final quarter against the Dees, they scored two important goals out of their own half.

“We haven’t won stoppages like that for a very long time,” Kingsley said post-game. “We certainly didn’t last year.

“For us, to be able to add that to our repertoire is very important to our guys … That’s pretty special for our midfield group.”

The returning Tom Green was enormous throughout the match, finishing with a game-high nine clearances. His presence in the midfield sparked a lot of the Giants’ best attacking movements and provided his teammates with the space to get the ball forward.

The Giants finished with six of the top eight players on the ground for metres gained, and their ability to find territory was an important reason for their last-gasp win.

Despite Gawn’s dominance at ruck contests, the Giants were far superior at ground level and turning the ball forward. Picture: Michael Klein

“(The Melbourne midfield) are superstars of the comp, they have been for a long time,” Green said. “It’s always going to be tough going up against them.

“But I thought our midfield brigade was really good. To finish up positively in the clearances is a massive tip for us.

“The boys had a big win last weekend (against Collingwood). When you see stuff like that, it’s about coming in and contributing any way you can and playing your role.

“It was nice to be able to come in after missing last week and do what I needed to do for it.”

Melbourne had all the momentum during the third quarter and, at one stage opened up a 17-point lead after kicking five of the first six goals of the term. The Giants looked shell-shocked early in the second half when the Dees kicked two goals in a minute to grab the lead.

But it’s a credit to Kingsley and the Giants that they never strayed from their pressure game. They finished the game with 11 more tackles and eventually ran over the top of Melbourne in the final term.

Giants captain Toby Greene was inspirational in the final quarter and spent more time on-ball to help his team over the line. Picture: Quinn Rooney/Getty Images

While Green had a big say in that with four clearances in the last quarter alone, it was GWS skipper Toby Greene who willed his team over the line. Moved on-ball, he had four clearances, 12 disposals and a goal as the Giants held onto the lead following Lachie Keeffe’s matchwinner.

“He has big moments,” Green said of his skipper. “Toby’s a big game player and a big moment player, and he has been for a long time.

“When you see your captain doing that, it inspires you and everyone tries to emulate that. He had big moments, and at key points, and when you see him doing that, you want to do it yourself.”

Kingsley’s side clearly has some way to go until they become the finished product. Across their opening two matches of the season, the Giants are -37 for first possessions, their second-worst two-week stretch ever. The Dees also kicked 45 points from clearances, despite being comprehensively beaten in that area.

But with Briggs set to return after this week’s bye, and another potential midfield X-Factor in Jake Stringer closing in on a club debut, Sunday’s midfield showing is a platform for them to build on across the rest of the season.

“The conditions were hard, but it’s about being tougher for longer,” Green said. “We didn’t play the way that we’d like to play that well, but we were able to stick with it.

“It’s nice to be able to win when you’re not at your best. But we also need to make sure that we’re playing the Giants’ way for bigger parts of the game that we did today.”