Giants surge past hot-and-cold Blues

The GWS Giants have staved off a Carlton fightback to re-enter the winners circle and climb into ninth spot on the AFL ladder.

The Giants surged late to stave of Carlton’s comeback. (Photo by Mark Kolbe/Getty Images)

In their first game since announcing a wide-ranging independent review of the club’s football department, the Blues gave the review panel plenty to contemplate in their 36-point loss to GWS at Giants Stadium.

Carlton are to be commended for finding a way back into the game to trail by 12 points early in the last quarter, but coach David Teague will be left wondering where that effort was in a diabolical first half.

It was another Jekyll-and-Hyde performance for the ‘Baggers, who let their opponents cruise to an early three-goal lead. While Teague’s side demonstrated its potential on the ball, flashes of brilliance were often puncutated by sluggishness and reluctance off it.

There was a lot to like for the Giants, who had plenty of contributors as they boosted their finals chances, with Jacob Hopper, Isaac Cumming, Lachie Whitfield and Tim Taranto all prominent on the ball with Jeremy Finlayson booting five goals.

Matt de Boer was sent to young star Sam Walsh for the first three quarters and the master tagger took the honours before the hard tag was released late.

Matthew Kennedy and Patrick Cripps led the Carlton midfield, while Harry McKay kicked three goals.

The good and bad sides of Toby Greene were on display for the home side — he kicked four goals, including two late majors, to help secure Saturday night’s 16.6 (102) to 9.12 (66) win.

But bad Toby got reported.

Greene went into the umpire’s book for striking Nic Newman in the third quarter, but the star forward would be unlucky to miss next week’s clash against Hawthorn given the force of the blow to his opponent’s midriff.

McKay booted three but his inaccuracy in the final term cruelled the Blues. (Photo by Jason McCawley/AFL Photos/via Getty Images)

Greene goes long

Greene was mobbed by jubilant teammates after he sent his side into the first break with a 20-point lead in spectacular fashion. The star forward marked 55m out then went back to take a set shot as the siren sounded. He let loose a stunning torpedo punt from inside the centre square that split the middle and hit the boundary fence on the full.

Hello Harry

Coleman Medal leader McKay was one of several Blues to start slowly. He didn’t register a stat in the first quarter, but took his season tally to 39 goals with his first kick of the match.

However, it would be his side’s only major in a term where things went from bad to worse for the under-pressure Blues, with McKay’s bounce streaming into goal going out of bounds at right angles and an ill-disciplined 50m penalty given away by Patrick Cripps just a couple of examples of the sort of night the visitors were having.

On the flip side, the Giants ended the quarter on a high once again, with Cumming and his teammates celebrating his first AFL goal that gave them a 30-point lead.

Tackling the Blues

Carlton was on the wrong side of a lopsided 45-20 tackle count at half-time. “That’s just an effort thing … the Giants are just a bit hungrier to win the ball and lay tackles,” Richmond great Matthew Richardson told the Seven Network broadcast.

Harry heats up

The Giants led by as much as 39 points after kicking five goals in a row, but McKay kicked back-to-back majors as the Blues summoned an unlikely four-goal blitz. The margin was 18 points as the final term got underway and Marc Pittonet gave the visitors a sniff with the first goal.

But Greene’s third and fourth goals, either side of Finalyson’s fifth, secured the Giants’ sixth win of the season.