AFL Geelong v GWS 2021: All the latest news and fallout from the Giants’ upset win over the Cats
The Toby Greene two-week suspension slug for his high fend off on Geelong’s Patrick Dangerfield has been questioned by a former premiership player.
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Greater Western Sydney will have until Tuesday to mount a case to have acting captain Toby Greene cleared by the AFL Tribunal after the Giants rejected an offer of a two-week suspension for his high fend off on Geelong’s Patrick Dangerfield.
The AFL said on Sunday that Greene’s tribunal hearing was likely to be held on Tuesday evening, just three days before the Giants are expected to face off with Richmond in a blockbuster battle for eighth spot on Friday night.
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GWS immediately announced their plans to challenge the two-match ban handed to Greene by AFL match review officer Michael Christian on Saturday night, declaring Greene’s high fend off which landed Dangerfield in hospital was a “football action and doesn’t warrant a suspension”.
Former Port Adelaide premiership player Kane Cornes said the two-week ban offered was a case of “the Toby Greene tax” being applied and it would be thrown out by the tribunal.
“The initial contact is low, Dangerfield slips into it and the contact goes high,” Cornes said on Channel 9.
“That cannot be two weeks for that reason and a number of other reasons, including the precedents that have been set repeatedly.”
Melbourne’s Bailey Fritsch was offered a one-week ban for a similar fend off on North Melbourne’s Tom Powell in Round 7, which was overturned by the tribunal which found Fritsch had not breached his duty of care.
Sydney’s Lance Franklin also had a one-week ban overturned on appeal after collecting Fremantle’s Luke Ryan in the head with a swinging elbow in Round 19.
Greene slapped with two-match suspension
Greater Western Sydney acting captain Toby Greene has been slapped with a two-match suspension by the AFL match review officer for a high fend off which landed Geelong star Patrick Dangerfield in hospital.
The first-quarter incident which saw Greene raise his right forearm as Dangerfield laid a tackle was assessed by Michael Christian as careless contact, high impact and high contact.
Greene can accept a two-game suspension with an early guilty plea or take his case to the AFL tribunal during the week.
A two-week ban would sideline Greene — GWS’s most important player — until the first week of finals if the Giants were to finish in the top-eight.
GWS coach Leon Cameron said on Friday night that he believed the fend off was a “football incident”, a term echoed by Greene in a radio interview on Saturday.
“I saw Danger coming … I was just trying to fend him off and (I) got him in the throat region or whatever it was,” Greene told 3AW.
“To be honest, I didn’t really think about it at the time. I thought it was just a football incident and something I couldn’t do much else about.
“When you have got the ball, you are trying to keep the player away from you. I probably didn’t have enough time to straighten my arm, that’s why it was a forearm.”
However, AFL legend Leigh Matthews said the game didn’t “want blokes elbowing others in the head to fend off” and added that suspensions were the “only thing that changes behaviour”.
Melbourne forward Bayley Fritsch was offered a one-week suspension in Round 7 for a similar incident, which was later overturned by the AFL Tribunal.
Fritsch collected North Melbourne’s Tom Powell in the side of the head with that fend off, with Powell needing to be helped from the ground before later returning to play out the game.
The AFL Tribunal determined that Fritsch had not breached his duty of care on that occasion.
Greene has not served a suspension since 2019 but has a lengthy rap sheet over the years, having been suspended for a total of 12 matches since 2012 as well as facing a number of fines.
The Giants face a big clash with Richmond in Round 22 next weekend as they search for a finals berth this year.
Geelong captain Joel Selwood has been offered a $3000 fine for his bump on Giants defender Sam Taylor during the third quarter of Friday night’s match.
That incident was assessed as carless contact, low impact and high contact after Taylor got up to take his kick and played out the game.
How Rance-like Giant nearly lost ability to walk
On his first day at Greater Western Sydney after being drafted in 2017, Sam Taylor told teammates he played like Richmond’s Alex Rance.
It was a statement that raised a few eyebrows.
Rance had just played in a premiership for the Tigers that year and was a four-time All-Australian backman at the time.
But four years on, Taylor — who hails from WAFL club Swan Districts just like Rance — is beginning to back up his self-belief.
On Friday night the 22-year-old produced the best performance of his 49-game career as he blanketed Geelong forward Tom Hawkins in a showing that Rance would surely tip his hat to.
Taylor rose to prominence in 2019 and played in the Giants’ Grand Final that year but has had a wretched run with injury and illness since.
This year, an ankle injury sidelined Taylor for five weeks during the middle part of the season.
Last year it was a “bizarre and strange” septic arthritis infection that spread across his wrist, ankle, hip and lower back and meant he was unsighted after Round 4.
Taylor lost 10kg, spent two weeks in hospital and became briefly paralysed in his hips and lower back, leading him to have fears he might not walk again.
“I think it was from a blister and then somehow it turns into a massive illness,” Taylor told Fox Footy on Friday night.
“There were a few setbacks but I stayed positive and I’m happy where I am right now.”
Geelong defender Tom Stewart has been much heralded this season — and rightly so.
Stewart, who is on track for his third All-Australian honours in four years this season, is averaging 8.9 marks a game including 3.1 intercept marks and 7.8 intercept possessions.
But on Friday night, Taylor outshone Stewart — and arguably every other player on the ground – as he put on a masterclass in defending.
Champion Data statistics show that Taylor spent 104 minutes opposed to Hawkins.
Hawkins had 10 disposals — his fewest touches since Round 7 — and kicked only one goal.
Taylor, on the other hand, finished the night with 21 disposals, 10 rebound 50s, eight intercept marks and 17 intercept possessions.
All that made for 140 KFC SuperCoach points, seeing him be the game’s top-ranked player.
Taylor was nothing short of Rance-like as he beat Hawkins’ one-on-one, dropped off and intercepted when the opportunity presented and got the ball going the other way for his team.
He was a big reason why the Giants were able to score 38 points of their 84 points from their defensive half.
“We clearly missed him when he was out for those (five) weeks with his ankle,” GWS coach Leon Cameron said.
“But he’s been unbelievably awesome. If he wasn’t injured through the middle part of the year he’d probably be in line for his first All-Australian.
“He reads the ball so well, he wants to take on the big forwards. Clearly there’s not much bigger than Hawkins. He’s a wonderful player.
“But Sam’s significant last quarter was just first-class and he likes those big moments and he seems to keep doing it week-in, week-out. Our boys just grow so much confidence when he’s out there.”
Taylor ranks elite for intercepts this season and above average for disposals, intercept marks and spoils.
Rance earnt his first All-Australian jacket at age 24.
If his body holds up and his development continues, Taylor is well on track to earn his first honours at 23 next year.
Dangerfield cleared of major damage
Geelong star Patrick Dangerfield is recovering at home after being cleared of any major damage to his throat and subsequently being released from hospital.
Dangerfield spent Friday night in a Geelong hospital for assessment and observation after reporting difficulty breathing following a high fend off from Greater Western Sydney’s Toby Greene in the opening quarter of their clash at GMHBA Stadium.
However, the Cats confirmed on Saturday that their star is on the mend.
“Scans this morning showed bruising of his laryngeal but no fracture to the area,” Geelong said in a statement.
“He has been discharged from hospital and is resting at home.
“Dangerfield’s availability for next weekend’s game will be assessed later in the week.”
The Cats are set to take on St Kilda in Round 22 next weekend.
Forward Gary Rohan (hip/hamstring) and defender Zac Tuohy (hamstring) were also casualties for the Cats on a dirty night which brought about a 19-point loss to the Giants.
Greene will learn his fate for his fend off on Dangerfield when AFL match review officer Michael Christian hands down his findings on Saturday afternoon.
Greene faces a one-week suspension if the incident is graded as careless contact, medium impact and high contact.
A grading of careless contact, high impact and high contact would result in a two-week ban.
Geelong will also be sweating on the MRO findings after captain Joel Selwood collected Giants defender Sam Taylor high with a bump in the third quarter.
However, Taylor took his free kick and played out the game, which may save Selwood from a serious sanction.
Giants leap to Greene defence after hit sends star to hospital
Greater Western Sydney coach Leon Cameron says he believes Toby Greene’s high fend off which sent Patrick Dangerfield to hospital was a “football incident” as his star forward faces a potential date with the AFL tribunal next week.
Dangerfield was set for an overnight stay in a Geelong hospital on Friday after having trouble breathing following a forearm to the throat when he attempted to lay a tackle on Greene in the opening quarter of their match at GMHBA Stadium.
Dangerfield left the field and clutched at his throat as he was assessed by the Geelong doctor on the bench before being subbed out of the game and taken to hospital as a precaution.
“He got that contact to the throat region and was having trouble breathing,” Geelong coach Chris Scott said.
“He’s going to stay in overnight but he’s feeling fine. It will probably be a good 24 hours before we know the full extent of it but I think there’s a reasonable level of confidence that it’s not a serious injury.”
The fend off is certain to come under scrutiny from AFL match review officer Michael Christian, who offered Melbourne forward Bayley Fritsch a one-week suspension in Round 7 for a similar incident.
Fritsch collected North Melbourne’s Tom Powell high with that fend off, with Powell needing to be helped from the ground before later returning to play out the game.
The incident was assessed by Christian as careless contact, medium impact and high contract before the one-week suspension was later overturned by the AFL Tribunal which determined Fritsch had not breached his duty of care.
Cameron said he had not watched replays of the incident but his initial thought was it was a fair accident.
“I haven’t seen the replay but it looked like a football incident from close range where I was on the bench,” Cameron said.
“I understand he (Dangerfield) has gone to hospital so our thoughts are with him and hopefully he’s okay. But first thoughts was it just looked like a simple football incident.”
Greene has not served a suspension since 2019 but has a lengthy rap sheet over the years, having been suspended for a total of 12 matches since 2012 as well as facing a number of fines.
The 27-year-old was again instrumental in the Giants’ upset 19-point win over the Cats, kicking four goals from 16 disposals.
Greene sat 10th on the Coleman Medal leaderboard entering Round 21 and now has 41 goals to his name from 16 games this season.
The Giants climbed back into the top-eight on the back of the win but face a massive game against Richmond in Round 22 as they continue their push for a finals berth.
Dangerfield was not the only injury blow for the Cats, with Gary Rohan and Zac Tuohy also finishing the game on the bench with hamstring injuries.
Scott said medical staff were “pretty confident” Tuohy had suffered the first hamstring injury of his career which would keep him out for “a couple of weeks at least”.
Rohan clutched at his left hamstring multiple times and hobbled off midway through the second quarter.
He returned to the field but was limited in his movement and put on ice in the final quarter.
“It was more a hip issue that we don’t think was very serious,” Scott said.
“We certainly would have taken him out of the game earlier if we thought there was a risk of injury, but he just didn’t get better.”
Forward Brent Daniels also suffered a hamstring injury for the Giants, continuing his wretched injury run this year.
MATCH REPORT: GIANTS PRODUCE WIN FOR AGES TO PRESS FINALS CLAIMS
- Mark Hayes
They’ve won bigger games, but in their first decade, rarely have the Giants won against such towering odds.
Opposing red-hot Geelong, packing a no-name squad forced by injuries aplenty on a never-ending road trip and then, unexpectedly, minus their midfield supremo minutes before the bounce … it didn’t look good.
But someone forgot to tell Leon Cameron’s charges, who threw a huge spanner in finals predictors with a plucky 19-point win over the Cats that the coach described as “one of the bravest” with which he’d been involved.
The Giants had barely touched the ball in the first five minutes and their season looked particularly wobbly, missing more than 930 games of experience from last week’s team after Josh Kelly became their eighth forced absence.
But twice using streaks of five unanswered goals, GWS was effective in attack while also blunting the Cats’ vaunted forward line in moving back into the top eight against all odds.
Tom Hawkins was held to just one goal by defensive revelation Sam Taylor, who was arguably the best afield with eight intercept marks.
Remarkably, the combination of Esava Ratugolea, Gary Rohan and Luke Dahlhaus combined for only 20 disposals in the Cats’ forward 50.
Yet, with a suddenly dominant midfield in the final term, Geelong somehow pulled within two goals late in the final term before Harry Himmelberg made amends for some howlers to boot the sealer for the Giants.
Geelong had been touted as a possible minor premiership contender, but with a couple of key injuries throw in, the Cats suddenly have larger concerns.
WARMING TO THE TASK
The Cats have been doing their share of celebrating recently, but there was some extra spice on their first of the night.
In his 127th game, stay-at-home Geelong defender Jake Kolodjashnij drew an instant crowd when he drifted forward in the first minute and slammed home his first career goal to set his team away and even get coach Chris Scott up and about in the box.
We don’t want to say it was totally unexpected, but only a few betting agencies even listed him as a first goalscorer alternative. Kolodjashnij is now sixth on the career list of most game played before a maiden major, but still a light-year behind the leader in that category, legendary Sydney fullback and cult figure Rod “Tilt” Carter, who waited 215 for his first.
126 AFL games without a goal and now he's finally done it!
— AFL (@AFL) August 6, 2021
Get all the way around Jake Kolodjashnij!#FootyOhWhatAFeeling | #AFLCatsGiantspic.twitter.com/7UDg1tHET3
COOL IN THE CLINCHES
Geelong had won the contested possession count in each of its past 15 games, 13 of which have been victories.
But tonight, against a makeshift GWS midfield, the Cats went cold at coalface, trounced by 18 in a stat that is a great barometer of their fortunes.
SCOREBOARD
GEELONG 1.3 3.8 5.10 8.17 (65)
GREATER WESTERN SYDNEY 4.3 7.4 11.5 13.6 (84)
GOALS
Geelong: Henry 2, Ratugolea 2, Hawkins, Tuohy, Blicavs, Kolodjashnij.
GWS: Greene 4, Brown 2, Taranto 2, Himmelberg 2, Sproule, Buntine, Bruhn.
BEST
Geelong: Bews, Selwood, C.Guthrie, Stewart.
GWS: Taylor, Taranto, Greene, Cummings, Brown, Whitfield, Ward.
INJURIES
Geelong: Dangerfield (throat), Tuohy (hamstring), Rohan (leg).
GWS: Daniels (hamstring).
REPORTS: nil.
CROWD: 0 at GMHBA Stadium, Geelong
MARK HAYES’S VOTES
3: Sam Taylor (GWS)
2: Tim Taranto (GWS)
1: Toby Greene (GWS)
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