AFL 2021: GWS Giants’ Leon Cameron addresses Toby Greene’s ‘ump bump’ for first time since tribunal hearing

GWS Giants coach Leon Cameron has spoken publicly for the first time since Toby Greene was suspended for his controversial umpire bump.

Leon Cameron admitted the club was disappointed with Greene's bump. Picture: Getty Images / Fox Footy

Greater Western Sydney Giants coach Leon Cameron admits the club was “disappointed” with Toby Greene’s “ump bump”, but says his side cannot afford to become bogged down in the fallout from the saga.

Greene caused a stir during and after the Giants’ elimination final win over Sydney when he bumped into umpire Matt Stevic during a stoppage in play.

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Match review officer Michael Christian referred Greene directly to the tribunal, where he was handed a season-ending three-match suspension on Tuesday.

Speaking for the first time since Greene’s hearing, Cameron said while the incident was “disappointing”, the club would wait until the off-season to take any further action.

“It’s disappointing. We all know what’s happened. We’re disappointed in Toby putting himself in those positions and the consequences, which we’ve already seen,” he said.

“Toby is a much-loved player of our footy club. He’s done the wrong thing, we all know he’s done the wrong thing. He’s put his hand up.

“We’ll deal with that when our season finishes and hopefully we’ve got another three weeks to play out in that. But we’ll talk about that in the off-season.”

On Wednesday, the AFL announced it would appeal the tribunal’s decision to suspend Greene for three matches in a statement that termed the penalty “manifestly inadequate”.

Cameron said he was “not concerned about the actual sanction” and also rejected suggestions the bump was evidence Greene needed to rein in his on-field aggression.

Since making his AFL debut in 2012, Greene has been charged 22 times by match reviewers for striking, serious misconduct and reckless contact, among other offences.

“In terms of addressing issues, I think this is a different one, compared to the footy stuff,” Cameron said.

“We’ll deal with that when our season finishes.”

Greene was the only Giant selected in this year’s All-Australian team. Picture: Michael Willson / AFL Photos via Getty Images

The Giants were no certainties to qualify for the finals as recently as two weeks ago but now find themselves preparing for a semi-final with Geelong.

The winner of that match, to be played in Perth on Friday, will meet the Demons in a preliminary final.

Cameron said his side needed to shift its attention from Greene’s suspension to the task at hand.

“Our focus has really been on the Cats tomorrow night because if you stray too far to the right, worrying about things you can’t control, clearly you take your eye off the ball,” Cameron said.

“We’ve got a massive challenge on Friday night.”

The Giants’ challenge is to overcome a Geelong outfit that will be eager to bounce back from a lacklustre showing in the first week of the finals.

The Port Adelaide Power handed Geelong its sixth loss from eight qualifying finals under Chris Scott, holding the Cats’ vaunted forward line to only five goals in a 43-point shellacking.

GWS would have been eager for Greene to replicate his starring performance from the Giants’ last start against the Cats – he booted four goals during round 21’s 19-point win.

Cameron said it would be impossible to find a like-for-like replacement for Greene, instead insisting a handful of his players would need to step up to cover the livewire forward’s absence.

“You just can’t replace one for one, here,” Cameron said.

“We know what he does, not only hitting the scoreboard but he also has a lot of score involvements. He’s probably one of the best in the competition for that.

“It’s got to be a combination, it’s not going to be any particular person to say, ‘He’s got to do what Toby Greene does.’”

Cameron said Tim Taranto, Stephen Coniglio and Bobby Hill – playing his first senior game since round 17 – were among the stars who may need to take on extra work against the Cats.

Cameron coached the Giants to their first grand final appearance in 2019. Picture: Steve Bell / AFL Photos via Getty Images

Cameron, who coached the Giants to the 2019 grand final from sixth spot, resisted temptation to compare this year’s premiership push to that of two seasons ago.

“People like to compare from one year to the next (but) they’re just different,” he said.

“2019 was a different squad, different players. This is a whole lot different, this time. We’ve got a lot younger group.

“It’s just a different feel, it’s a different challenge. We’re in Perth now, we play a game on a neutral venue against a side that’s a very, very good team.

“The thing I’ve really admired about the group is they’ve been courageous, their character has been tested and it’ll get tested again tomorrow night. We really want to make sure we take it up to the Cats.”

The match will also be the Giants’ first against Jeremy Cameron, who left Greater Western Sydney to join the Cats this season.

Leon Cameron said he was confident the Giants would “put their best foot forward” in containing the 2019 Coleman Medallist.

“I hope he kicks the ball the wrong way and kicks it our way for a goal; he might be a bit confused. It is the first time,” joked coach Cameron.

“He’s a wonderful player, he’s a super player, we all know that.

“No doubt there’ll be some emotions from him and also our group as well. It’s going to be interesting to see how it plays out.

“I’m confident in our back seven, that these guys are going to put their best foot forward to deal with (Tom) Hawkins, to deal with Jeremy, to deal with (Gary) Rohan.

“We’re going to make it as hard as we possibly can.”

Originally published as AFL 2021: GWS Giants’ Leon Cameron addresses Toby Greene’s ‘ump bump’ for first time since tribunal hearing