GWS Giants defeat Geelong by 13 points at Manuka Oval in Round 2

STEVE Johnson has inspired the GWS Giants to a slender victory over his former side Geelong at Manuka Oval on Sunday.

CANBERRA, AUSTRALIAN CAPITAL TERRITORY - APRIL 03: Steve Johnson of the Giants celebrates kicking a goal during the round two AFL match between the Greater Western Sydney Giants and the Geelong Cats at Star Track Oval on April 3, 2016 in Canberra, Australia. (Photo by Brett Hemmings/AFL Media/Getty Images)

STEVE Johnson missed his chance to seal the match in the dying minutes but it didn’t matter as Ryan Griffen shouldered the responsibility to give the Giants a memorable 13 point win over the joint premiership favourites Geelong.

Griffen was colossal winning 31 possessions including 15 contested and kicking two goals. Johnson made a significant contribution against his former team as well kicking two goals and picking up 23 touches.

Johnson also made a physical impression on the team he played 253 games for. After a quiet opening the match Johnson injected himself into the game with a bone jarring tackle on Corey Gregson which left the young Cat winded. He then added another hit when he hit Josh Caddy with a solid bump in the third quarter.

The GWS players celebrate victory.

The heaviest hits came from another former Cat in Shane Mumford who collected Mitch Duncan in one of the biggest hits seen in a long while. He also cleaned up Jordan Murdoch in an equally hard hit in a marking contest.

After an injury interrupted pre-season Mumford is clearly showing the benefits of matches under the belt.

He lived up to his nickname (Mummy) when his head was heavily bandaged after taking a knock to the head in the first quarter and terrorised as many of his opponents as he could. He also dominated Zac Smith in the ruck contest winning 30 hit outs and helping the Giants win the clearance count 38-25.

But it was far from plane sailing for GWS who did their best to make it two losses in a row after blowing a 37 point lead midway through the third quarter.

The Cats kicked five goals in a row to close to within a goal when Rhys Stanley kicked his second before Griffen converted from a set shot to win the match.

Shane Mumford was fantastic for the Giants.

The competition is looking the closest in a long time after the Giants became the fourth first round loser to turn the tables after Collingwood, Adelaide and Essendon all rebounded.

There was no encore performance from Patrick Dangerfield after his 43 disposals against Hawthorn last week. But he looked on track early when he gathered 12 disposals in the opening quarter. GWS sent Steve Coniglio to the champ but not with a tight tag. He finished with 22 disposals and no goals and was also pinged for running too far with the ball in the dying minutes which ultimately led to Griffen’s match sealing goal.

GWS GIANTS 13.11 (89)

GEELONG 11.10 (76)

GOALS

GWS Giants: D Smith 2 R Griffen 2 S Johnson 2 D Shiel N Wilson R Lobb S Coniglio S Mumford T Scully W Hoskin-Elliott.

Geelong: T Hawkins 3 M Blicavs 2 R Stanley 2 C Gregson D Lang J Caddy L McCarthy.

Umpires: Matt Stevic, Andrew Mitchell, Craig Fleer.

Official Crowd: 13,656 at Manuka Oval.

Originally published as GWS Giants defeat Geelong by 13 points at Manuka Oval in Round 2