Sydney v GWS: Josh Kelly goal in dying seconds wins game for Giants as Lance Franklin stars
This is a new breed of Giants, still with some serious cream on top, and it’s time that’s recognised. Beating the Swans should also belatedly shatter the lazy notion of them being a plastic club.
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Critics started writing eulogies for the Giants’ season a fortnight ago.
They had just lost to Melbourne – one of three unbeaten sides at that stage, alongside the Western Bulldogs and Swans – and were anchored in the bottom two without a win through three rounds.
The kicker was captain Stephen Coniglio, Phil Davis and Matt de Boer suffered injuries that will sideline them for extended periods, on top of Lachie Whitfield and others being out.
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Coupled with last year’s on-field disappointment, there was every reason to doubt Leon Cameron’s men ahead of a trip to Melbourne to face a Collingwood side that barely lost to Brisbane.
Not to mention that Jeremy Cameron, Zac Williams, Aidan Corr, Jye Caldwell, Zac Langdon and Jackson Hately all left for opposition teams in the off-season.
That sort of exodus would test any club’s depth.
What’s happened since should belatedly shatter the lazy notion of them being a plastic club without the same want or care as their established rivals.
Greater Western Sydney fielded its least-experienced team since 2015 against the Magpies, yet came away with a five-goal triumph in the wet.
The AFL community was cautiously impressed, but Nathan Buckley and Collingwood bashing took centre stage instead of praise for the Giants.
They were underdogs again in Sydney Derby XX on Saturday against the flavour-of-the-month Swans, whose surge from the bottom four to four straight victories this year was heartily celebrated.
Both clubs are out of the Melbourne footy bubble, so they tend to cop the extremes of coverage – positive and negative – or are ignored, often even in their own state.
Their biannual ‘Battle of the Bridge’ clash ensured they were more present than usual and they turned on a fitting contest that was still up for grabs when the final siren sounded.
Tom McCartin’s failed torpedo attempt from 60m-plus out rubber-stamped those written-off Giants’ second win in a row, by only two points.
It was just the second single-digit result between the rivals in 20 clashes across a decade, and they’ve both come in the past three.
Two lightning rods for headlines kicked GWS to victory, after a series of fluffed shots at goal seemed costly.
Stand-in skipper Toby Greene marked a skied kick inside 50, played on and snapped a goal – after seven misses before that one – then Josh Kelly became the hero.
GWS dominated the final term, particularly the last 10 minutes of it, but still trailed by four points when the ball was thrown up at the top of its goal square inside the last 90 seconds.
Sydney’s Sam Reid, rucking in injured teammate Tom Hickey’s place, made the ill-fated decision to tap the Sherrin into space, only for Kelly to swoop and snap truly to give the Giants the lead for good.
The noise around Kelly’s contract status will only get louder as the season goes on, but this was a special moment that will take pride of place in the derby annals.
Notable was the number of charcoal and orange men among the leading contested possession winners.
Behind Swan Josh Kennedy’s match-leading tally of 13 were seven GWS footballers between 12 and 11 (Reid also had 11). The Giants won the category comfortably, as they did a week earlier.
They’ll probably need to do so again to give themselves a chance next week against their other great rival, the Bulldogs.
Just like John Longmire at the Swans, Cameron is getting a heap from his kids.
None of Connor Idun, Lachie Ash, Bobby Hill, Xavier O’Halloran, Jake Riccardi, Isaac Cumming, Conor Stone and Jack Buckley has played 20 games and several not even 10.
Sam Taylor is a relative veteran with 39 to his name at age 21, and was entrusted for much of the night with manning Lance Franklin in Davis’ absence.
Franklin booted five goals but Taylor is a competitive bugger who amassed 13 intercept possessions and 11 contested possessions.
This is a new breed of Giants, still with some serious cream on top, and it’s time that’s recognised.
It’s not an excuse, it’s a reality – but just like the previous edition, this version of GWS is proving it has plenty of ticker.
Sydney’s record finally blemished
The Swans went within 66 seconds of remaining undefeated through five rounds and were far from disgraced in defeat.
Injured duo Dane Rampe and Isaac Heeney would’ve come in handy on Saturday, as well as ruckman Tom Hickey, who sat out most of the last quarter with a knee injury.
Callum Sinclair might be in line for an unexpected call-up, given Sam Naismith isn’t quite ready yet.
Sydney hasn’t replicated its dynamite Round 3 performance against Richmond in the past two weeks, but still gave itself a chance each time and ended up splitting those contests.
The Giants were well on top in general play by the finish and fumbled many shots in front of goal, but the Swans still enjoyed some excellent stretches of play.
A trip north to take on struggling Gold Coast next week comes at a good time.
Bright spots in attack
Lance Franklin’s football return continues to gather steam and his five goals swelled his season tally to 11 in three matches.
The 34-year-old champion has a full week to recover for the Suns and could venture outside the Harbour City for the first time this season.
Boom prospect Logan McDonald has kicked a total of one behind across the past fortnight, so Franklin remains incredibly important to a functioning Sydney forward line.
Isaac Heeney will miss at least one more game, but his unavailability opened the door for Will Hayward to show he still has something to offer.
Hayward kicked 50 goals in his first two seasons, but was reimagined as a defender in 2020 and overlooked for the first month this year.
The 22-year-old medium forward bobbed up to kick two majors before quarter-time on Saturday and finished with three, among eight score involvements, 18 disposals and six marks.
He last managed that many goals in a game in Round 8, 2018 and will hope to hold his spot even once Heeney gets back.
Buddy bag not enough as Kelly sinks Swans in thriller
Josh Kelly found his left boot when his club needed it the most.
The All Australian and club champion looked nothing like his old self for most of the night against Sydney and butchered the ball by foot all over the SCG on Saturday.
That was until the dying minutes of the final quarter, when he snapped truly from deep in the left forward pocket to put the Giants in front.
In a dramatic last couple of minutes, the Giants held on to win a thriller by two points, outlasting the Swans 9.17 (71) to 10.9 (69), in front of 33,541 fans.
The class finishing of superstar forward Lance Franklin – who kicked five goals despite the efforts of exciting Giants defender Sam Taylor – and a rejuvenated Will Hayward (three) looked like being the difference between the harbour city sides, as the inaccurate visitors couldn’t find their radar in front of goal.
The Giants however, refused to give in.
Jacob Hopper, Callan Ward and Tom Green had an enthralling midfield battle with Sydney’s 250-gamer Josh Kennedy, Luke Parker and Callum Mills, while rebounding defenders Lachie Ash and Isaac Cumming, and Jake Lloyd and Jordan Dawson, were prolific for their team.
Franklin’s fifth after a strong contested mark inside 50 mid-way through the quarter looked to have given his side enough momentum to hold on, before Toby Greene finally kicked one to drag GWS to withing four points late, and Kelly became the match-winner.
Young bull, old bull
250-gamer Josh Kennedy would have enjoyed it when young Giant Tom Green saddled up to him at the opening bounce. It was a match-up of one of the game’s greatest inside ball-winners, against a 20-year-old many are tipping for an outstanding career. It was a tough night for Kennedy, who also had to deal with hard nuts Callan ward and Jacob Hopper around stoppages.
INJURY STRIKES AS FRANKLIN ESCAPES
Franklin escaped a potential knee injury, but both the Swans and Giants activated their medical substitutes.
Franklin had not long kicked his fourth goal of the match to thwart another GWS fightback when he locked knees with Connor Idun, who was coming from the opposite direction.
The 34-year-old Swan was limping when he got to his feet, but he played on and booted his fifth major in the final term.
The news wasn’t so good for Tom Hickey, who went to the bench after hurting his left knee in a centre-bounce ruck contest with Shane Mumford.
Hickey started the final quarter on the ground but left the field again soon after for further assessment, leaving Sam Reid to ruck for Sydney.
The in-form big man emerged from the rooms with ice on his left knee and was substituted for second-year dasher Dylan Stephens.
The Giants’ Sam Reid, who was back after sitting the previous two matches out with suspension, exited the game in the third term with a left hamstring injury.
Matt Buntine entered the contest as the medical sub once Reid, who was suspended for the past two matches, was ruled out for the day
TOBY OFF-TARGET
Giants fans were hoping for a third consecutive five-goal haul from Toby Greene at the SCG, but the gun forward couldn’t turn it on.
The acting skipper didn’t have a problem getting the footy against the hard tag of Swan George Hewett, he just couldn’t find the goals.
Greene had 0.4 at half-time and ended up finishing the night with 1.7.
Harry Himmelberg and Bobby Hill were also off-target.
HAYWARD TAKES HIS LONG-AWAITED CHANCE
A fixture of Sydney’s forward set-up since he debuted in 2017, Will Hayward had been the forgotten man this year, watching on as draftees Errol Gulden and Logan McDonald have grabbed all the headlines.
The 23-year-old got his first start for the season against the Giants and played like a man who knew it was a massive opportunity.
Hayward kicked two opening term goals, booted a stunning third out of mid-air in the third, and reminded the competition of his talents.
MUMFORD EARNS HIS REST
After his second game in a row, the Giants were always planning to give Shane Mumford a rest next week, and he went out with his usual aggressive effort. Mumford had an entertaining duel with Tom Hickey – until the Swans was forced out of the game in the second half with a knee injury. He might not have the same amount of juice in the tank these days, but Mumford is still a force whenever he steps onto the field.
SCOREBOARD
SWANS 3.3 6.4. 8.8. 10.9 (69)
GIANTS 1.4. 3.7. 5.11. 9.17 (71)
CURLEY’S BEST
Swans: Franklin, Dawson, Hayward, Lloyd, Hickey, Mills
Giants: Hopper, Ward, Green, Taranto, Daniels
GOALS
Swans: Franklin 5, Hayward 3, Papley 2
Giants: Himmelberg 2, Finlayson 2, Daniels, O’Halloran, Riccardi
INJURIES: Swans: Tom Hickey (knee) Giants: Sam Reid (hamstring)
UMPIRES: Williamson, Stephens, Brown
VENUE: SCG, Sydney
PLAYER OF THE YEAR
CURLEY’S BEST
3: Franklin (Swans)
2: Dawson (Swans)
1: Hopper (Giants)
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Originally published as Sydney v GWS: Josh Kelly goal in dying seconds wins game for Giants as Lance Franklin stars
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