GWS Giants rookie Tom Green gets Round 4 Rising Star gong
He’s the boy in a man’s body and Tom Green’s GWS teammates have taken notice, endowing him with a unique nickname befitting of the Round 4 Rising Star nominee.
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Some teammates at Greater Western Sydney have come up with a new nickname for Tom Green.
“I get a little bit of ‘Tractor’, because of the way I get around the ground,” Green said.
“I don’t get up to too high a speed.”
But what Green might lack in pace, he more than makes up for in ball-winning ability and composure.
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The Week 4 NAB AFL Rising Star nominee, Green was instrumental in helping the Giants get across the line by two points over Collingwood last Friday night.
He finished with 18 disposals, seven clearances and one goal – with six of those touches coming in the all-important final 10 minutes of the match.
The nerves of steel Green displayed in the dying stages led AFL legend Dermott Brereton to label him a 19-year-old with a “30-year-old footballer’s brain”.
Green is not sure about that assessment, but is sure of his love of fighting out a close match.
“That’s where the excitement is,” Green said.
“Everyone loves watching close games and playing in them is even better. It’s really exciting and when there’s a lot on the line like that, it’s a lot of fun. I really relish those moments.”
Giants’ coach Leon Cameron said Green had been “stiff” to be dropped from the club’s Round 1 side, but Green did not take it to heart.
Spending Rounds 2 and 3 watching on as other players from last year’s draft shone brightly – including Gold Coast’s Matthew Rowell – only made Green hungrier to earn another AFL opportunity.
“It’s nice to see them do well, but it also did make me think I know I can perform at this level as well,” Green said.
“I just wanted to get that opportunity to do the same. It did motivate me to want to get back out there because I know exactly what I can do as well and I like to be able to put that on display.”
The grandson of four-time Richmond premiership player Michael Green, the long-time GWS Academy member said it has been a swift transition to the Giants since being selected at pick 10 in last year’s draft.
The help of fellow midfielder Matt de Boer, who has taken Green under his wing, has only made things easier.
“He’s been really good at helping myself as a young midfielder pick up tips and tricks of the trade,” Green said.
“He’s really encouraging and really helpful about teaching and helping us get better.”
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Giants ruckman Shane Mumford has compared the kid to his former teammate, star Cat Joel Selwood.
“Tom Green was fantastic at just being able to get hold of the ball and keep it in. Everyone had their moments throughout the game, but he certainly stood up in that last quarter for me,” Mumford said.
The veteran said he hadn’t witnessed such talent and composure in a young player since Selwood debuted for Geelong in 2007.
Selwood took out the AFL Rising Star Award and AFLPA Best First Year Player Award in his first season and is now a triple premiership winner and six-time All-Australian.
“Joel Selwood would have been one in my early days,” Mumford said.
“That’s something special, to be able to go out and have that composure around the stoppage. He knew when to flick it out, knew when to hold it in, it’d be a nice thing to have up your sleeve at that age.”
MATCH REPORT: GIANTS INFLICT HEARTBREAKING LOSS ON PIES
GWS inflicted yet more heartbreak on Collingwood to reinvigorate their season in a Friday night thriller at Giants Stadium.
The Magpies were left sweating on a potentially devastating knee injury for superstar Jeremy Howe that could be season-defining for their premiership hopes, as the Giants brought the ghosts of last year’s preliminary final bubbling to the surface again for Nathan Buckley with a stunning two-point upset.
Giants’ juggernaut Jeremy Cameron booted home a booming clutch goal from 50 metres to ultimately seal the contest 66-64, but not before Collingwood big man Mason Cox got one back to once again bring the two fearsome foes fighting tooth and nail down to the wire in another epic.
For Cameron it was a huge turnaround, after he played a role in muffing a golden opportunity late in the third quarter to put the Magpies to the sword when he called for a ball from a set shot Toby Greene should have nailed, only to miss badly with his snap attempt.
Greene kicked three superb goals to once again cement his name as one of the game’s true matchwinners.
The Giants lost defensive stars Phil Davis and Zac Williams to hamstring injuries, but the orange army was back on its feet, finally producing the kind of energy they are renowned for following two dismal performances against North Melbourne and Western Bulldogs that had put last year’s grand finalists top four hopes in jeopardy.
The injury news threatened to be a whole lot worse for Collingwood, after a sickening incident involving Howe in the last quarter where he landed awkwardly on his knee in a collision with Jacob Hopper.
Collingwood’s defence has been impenetrable all season so far, but just like they did in last year’s prelim, the Giants had the antidote.
Josh Kelly’s early fourth quarter goal was the first Collingwood have conceded in the final period of a match this year, and the Giants’ 66 points was the highest score conceded by the Magpies in 2020.
The Giants had looked nervous and were playing too safe in recent weeks, but Toby Greene’s three-goal powerhouse performance has breathed new life into their season.
At one point in the third, GWS were up by 19 points and flying, before Collingwood stormed back into the contest.
With the ice man of Australian cricket Steve Waugh watching in the stands, GWS kept their composure despite losing Davis and Williams at the back and in turn gave themselves a major confidence booster.
COLLINGWOOD FIRE BUT FIND THEIR MATCH
Pies’ star Jaidyn Stephenson gave opposite number Aidan Corr a bath in the first quarter, with AFL legend Carey calling for GWS coach Leon Cameron to make a change immediately on Channel 7 commentary.
Stephenson took four marks that were way too easy and was combining beautifully with Jordan De Goey up forward.
On the other end of the spectrum, Brody Mihocek was having a shocker for Collingwood as the clear worst on ground, until midway through the third quarter when he suddenly kicked two goals in quick succession to keep the Magpies alive.
The second goal an absolute beauty, soccered through the posts from about 30 metres out.
Before his devastating injury, Howe at halfback was picking off everything that came his way and his ball use was once again amazing as he emerged as a Brownlow smokey.
GREENE MACHINE
GWS pantomime villain Toby Greene might have missed last year’s famous preliminary final triumph over Collingwood, but the match-breaking star was making up for lost time.
One of the AFL’s ultimate big-game players stepped up to be counted after he was a late scratching from last week’s disappointing loss to the Western Bulldogs.
Greene kicked three superb goals, and the only cross against his name was it should have been a fourth – if not for a brain fade where he handballed to Jeremy Cameron instead of taking the set shot himself at a critical time in the third quarter.
Cameron butchered the shot and Collingwood took full advantage to head into the last break only one point behind.
Greene’s body positioning was so good up forward that opposite number Brayden Maynard actually stood and clapped one outstanding mark.
Maynard hasn’t been beaten in a match-up for the best part of two years, and was far from disappointing last night, but Greene had his measure at Giants Stadium.
The best of Greene’s goals was a superb snap from about 30 metres out, with the posts completely unsighted at the time he made contact with the ball.
GWS REDISCOVER THEIR MOJO
The Giants’ night started in worryingly timid fashion when players defending the Collingwood goal line refused to rush the ball through and instead fumbled around with it – with AFL legend Wayne Carey sensing it was a sign of nerves from GWS.
But on the back of two uncharacteristically poor losses to North Melbourne and the Western Bulldogs, the Giants eventually warmed into the contest and showed signs the orange tsunami hasn’t been shut down just yet.
GWS improved their clearance game and work at the contest and slowly but surely the mechanics of their attacking game kicked into gear.
The second quarter was the first quarter this season the Magpies had conceded more than three goals, and GWS could take confidence from the fact they were able to penetrate a defence that other teams have struggled to get a look against this year.
However, for all the inroads made, the Giants inside 50 entries were poor and allowed Collingwood’s defenders to pick off the high ball too easily too often.
GREATER WESTERN SYDNEY 1.3 4.4 8.6 10.6 (66)
COLLINGWOOD 2.2 4.4 8.5 9.10 (64)
GOALS
Greater Western Sydney: Greene 3, Cameron 2, Finlayson, Green, Perryman, Ward, Kelly
Collingwood: Stephenson 2, Mihocek 2, Phillips 2, Daicos, Crisp, Cox
BEST
Greater Western Sydney: Greene, Whitfield, Green, Haynes, Kelly, de Boer
Collingwood: Moore, Pendlebury, Howe, Maynard, Crisp, Wills
INJURIES
Greater Western Sydney: Davis (right hamstring), Williams (left hamstring)
Collingwood: Howe (right knee)
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