Tom Green’s hit on Harley Reid to come under scrutiny as GWS defeat West Coast by 59 points
The Giants cruised to victory against the lowly Eagles, but one of their biggest stars is set to face some MRO trouble for a whack on Harley Reid. Watch the incident here.
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West Coast’s one step forward, two step back season has continued with the Eagles dealt a hefty 59-point loss by Greater Western Sydney on Friday night.
After an honourable loss against ladder leaders Collingwood last week, the Eagles suffered their second big loss to the Giants this season after previously falling by 81-points in round four.
Seeking a spot in the top eight, GWS was relentless at Optus Stadium, slamming home five goals in the first quarter.
It’s not the first time this year the Eagles have been out of the contest at the first break and it’s a far cry from West Coast’s spirited 29-point loss to the Magpies in round 16.
Childhood Eagles fan Darcy Jones kicked the first goal of the game within the first 15 seconds and GWS’s margin only built from there.
GWS was spurred by a career night from star midfielder Finn Callaghan, who finished with 37 disposals, 851 metres gained, six clearances and a goal.
He was well supported by Josh Kelly (27 disposals, 2.1) and captain Toby Greene (18 disposals, 3.4).
West Coast wunderkind Harley Reid (24 disposals) had a frustrating night and came to blows with several Giants, including Tom Green.
Green could find himself in some MRO trouble after a swinging arm collected Reid in the third term.
"You throw 'em, you've gotta accept them."
— Fox Footy (@FOXFOOTY) July 4, 2025
There's a fair bit going on between Tom Green and Harley Reid 👀
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The only concern for the Giants is key defender Jack Buckley who was subbed out with an ankle injury. A serious injury would leave GWS without key pillar Buckley and Sam Taylor for next week’s crunch clash with Geelong.
BUMP IT UP
Is the bump dead?
It will probably go under the radar given the Friday night double-header but Leek Aleer can afford to feel miffed after he was penalised for a hip and shoulder in the second term.
Aleer elected to bump Eagle Jack Hutchinson as he attempted to swoop on a loose footy. The umpire paid a free kick against and Hutchinson capitalised.
A bemused Aleer made his displeasure known to the umpire and the GWS official X account cheekily posted “I need to read the rule book again.”
Giant Leek Aleer opted to bump... and wasn't happy with this call.
— Fox Footy (@FOXFOOTY) July 4, 2025
📺 Watch #AFLEaglesGiants LIVE on ch. 503 or stream on Kayo: https://t.co/tEbIJrg77g
âœï¸ BLOG https://t.co/WsfBAL9exP
🔢 MATCH CENTRE https://t.co/CtFRzmMbzapic.twitter.com/Tb0DrWVON5
HE’S A CHAMPION
If there was one silver lining for West Coast fans, it was seeing NGA graduate Malakai Champion make his debut.
The lively small forward was announced as the Eagles’ eighth debutant earlier this week and he’s fought his way to the big league the hard way.
Two weeks after moving from Kalgoorlie to Perth in late 2021 to chase a career in football, Champion’s dad passed away.
Since then, he’s also lost an uncle, his grandfather and his great-grandfather.
Champion considered quitting. But he persevered and his resilience landed him a spot on the Eagles’ list.
The 19-year-old started as substitute and was injected into the contest at half-time in the place of Jack Williams who had one disposal.
Standing at just 172cm, Champion isn’t afraid to take the game on and in one of his first involvements, he stepped around a Giants player and hit Reid on the chest on the wing.
Playing his first game at Optus Stadium after a productive debut against Collingwood last week, Jobe Shanahan added to his tally with two nice strikes in the second half.
SCOREBOARD
GWS 5.3 8.6 13.9 16.15 (111)
WEST COAST 1.0 3.1 5.2 8.4 (52)
BEST
Giants: Callaghan, Kelly, Green, Greene, Jones, Ash.
Eagles: Duggan, Flynn, Reid, McCarthy
GOALS
Giants: Greene 3, Jones, Kelly, Cadman, O’Halloran 2, Riccardi, Stringer, Brown, Callaghan, Bedford
Eagles: Shanahan 2, Hutchinson, Williams, Graham, Cripps, Baker, Ryan
INJURIES: Giants: Buckley (ankle). Eagles: Nil
38,152 at Optus Stadium.
PLAYER OF THE YEAR: ELIZA REILLY’S VOTES
3 Finn Callaghan (GWS)
2 Josh Kelly (GWS)
1 Tom Green (GWS)
Originally published as Tom Green’s hit on Harley Reid to come under scrutiny as GWS defeat West Coast by 59 points
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