Ex-AFL star Heath Shaw leads Geelong West Giants to 104-point win over Lara, as Lachie Horniblow kicks 10
Ex-AFL defender Heath Shaw gave a young Geelong West side a boost in a resounding round 4 win for the GFNL club, but it was a young forward who opened - and finished - the game with a bang.
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Ex-AFL player Heath Shaw may have been the star attraction in Geelong West Giants’ 104-point win over Lara, but it was young forward Lachie Horniblow who lit up West Oval with a career-high 10 goals.
Shaw donned the orange and charcoal for the Giants’ round 5 GFNL fixture on Saturday as part of a wider initiative between Geelong West and GWS, ahead of the AFL team’s clash against Geelong Cats on Sunday.
Playing behind the ball in the first half, the 325 AFL — gamer switched into the forward line in the second half, where he took a brilliant contested mark in the third quarter and showed off his pinpoint kicking to routinely hit up teammates.
He was also seen to direct a lot of the play on-field as the Giants extended their margin past 100 for the first time 20 minutes into the third term.
The Cats showed some fight late in the third with three consecutive goals to bring it back to 84 at three-quarter time, where in the huddle, Giants coach Greg Mellor encouraged his players to find Shaw a last-quarter goal to cap off the day.
The crowdpleaser eventually came when Horniblow, who had nine to his name at the time, found Shaw in space in the left pocket midway through the fourth.
Despite a bit of an angle and 40m out, Shaw had no issues with the shot off his right boot, kicking it sweetly as it cut straight through the middle of the big sticks – the 39-year-old then turning with his arms outstretched in a salute to the crowd before he was swamped by the entire Giants squad.
“I was a bit nervous, and I had to kick it right in front of the opposition bench as well,” Shaw said.
“I was trying to get one but I didn’t want to force it but popped up and it worked out alright.”
Horniblow, in just his 16th senior game, would go on to kick his 10th major at the 25- minute mark of a 34-minute final quarter, to finish the round atop the league’s goalkicking leaderboard with 16.
Bradley Wood would then kick the game’s final goal – his fourth in what was also a career-high haul for the Giants – to push the margin back past 100 before the final siren.
Shaw praised the young Horniblow, adding he would only get better with more games under his belt.
“Mate, he’s a full forward, I could tell straight away that first quarter, he doesn’t pass it, he doesn’t handball,” he said with a chuckle.
“I was very happy he passed it to me, I looked up and was waiting and he saw me and he kicked it.
“He obviously knows how to use his body as a forward, good, strong leader, and it’s good to have those guys down there because you know they’re going to be so reliable.”
Horniblow was pleased with his 10-goal performance, which included six first quarter goals, but said it wouldn’t have happened without the aid of his teammates.
“It was good to have a good win (with a) team effort, certainly all the boys played pretty well, first quarter started off with a bang,” he said.
As for playing alongside Shaw, the 20-year-old forward said the experience was a significant boost for a young Giants’ playing list.
“Since we’re such a young team, couldn’t have asked for anything more – I think we’ve got 11 players under 20 so they’re all still really young so it was great to get some AFL experience from him.”
Shaw said he loved the experience of playing for the Geelong-based Giants, with his sister and parents, who all live in the region, in attendance, while he believed the young side had plenty of upside moving forward.
“It’s great when you go back and watch younger players and they just take the game on, and they’re just so free and they don’t think about (it),” Shaw said.
“These guys just go out wanting to play footy … and that’s why I love playing local footy.
“A young group like that, if they stick together, you never know what can happen over the next couple years and that’s sort of, I think, what they’re trying to build: a good young group.”
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