Autopsy Round 11 2024 – Geelong Cats vs GWS Giants, Saturday May 25, 4.35pm AEST, GMHBA Stadium

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Coaches' votes:

Geelong v Greater Western Sydney​

9 Toby Greene (GWS)
5 Max Holmes (GEEL)
5 Kieren Briggs (GWS)
4 Connor Idun (GWS)
3 Jake Riccardi (GWS)
2 Leek Aleer (GWS)
2 Tyson Stengle (GEEL)
 
ESPN picking up the Bedford vibes ...

Stocks down: He played almost 106 minutes of footy in Geelong and Toby Bedford was unable to register a single kick! That's right, just three handballs and two tackles for the entire game. This is the third team this season Bedford has finished a game with one or fewer kicks to his name, that didn't happen once in 2023. Second year blues at his new team?
 

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What they got right and wrong: Each club’s wins and woes from Round 11

The positives and negatives from the weekend.
www.sen.com.au www.sen.com.au

What they got right​

Handled the big tasks well

Adam Kingsley set some of his Giants players some big tasks on Geelong’s stars.

Xavier O’Halloran played a defensive forward role on Tom Stewart and quelled the five-time All-Australian’s influence. While Stewart finished the game with 20 disposals and eight marks, he took just two intercept marks and only had 13 touches and four marks to three-quarter time.

Connor Idun played similarly influential role on Jeremy Cameron, restricting him to just 17 disposals, four inside 50s and a goal. The star Cat had only two touches in the tight final term. Aside from beating his opponent, Idun also had a game-high 13 intercept possessions included in his 19 touches.

They were two big jobs which helped the Giants break a three-game losing streak.

Leek unleashed

Wow! That was some performance from seventh-gamer Leek Aleer. He took two enormous defensive marks in the final quarter for a total of seven marks (including six intercept and four contested). There’s a lot to like about his athleticism and rawness. The Giants just need to harness it.

Inexperienced midfield stepped up

Without Josh Kelly (injured) and Callan Ward (ill), and despite losing Stephen Coniglio to a shoulder injury in the second quarter, the Giants held up in the middle. We all know how good Tom Green is, but the 23-year-old did have help from emerging types such as Finn Callaghan and James Peatling who combined for 43 touches and 12 clearances.

Not as young, but ruckman Kieren Briggs asserted his authority on the contest with 44 hit-outs, 23 disposals, eight clearances and seven tackles.

Toby’s goal

It was a special moment from the skipper. His perfect banana in the final term ended up being the match-winning goal.
Greene’s 24 touches and two majors were enormous in leading his side to a fourth straight win at GMHBA Stadium.

What they got wrong​

Midfield beaten late

We did praise the inexperienced midfield for getting the job done, but that group was comfortably beaten in the final quarter. They lost clearances 8-14 in the fourth term and were belted 5-24 for inside 50s. The Giants could have been overrun but did show plenty of character.

Injuries mounting

The injuries are mounting at the Giants with Coniglio likely to spend time on the sidelines and Harry Perryman hurting his hamstring. They already had double figure numbers on their injury list and it hasn’t exactly eased up. Kingsley’s playing group now gets a week off to freshen up for the second half of the season.

Andrew Slevison
 
‘Biggest moment of the game’: Behind the moment Toby Greene stunned Geelong

By LACHLAN MCKIRDY

NSW AFL REPORTER

NEWS CORP AUSTRALIA SPORTS NEWSROOM

28 MAY 2024

Late in the final quarter of the thrilling Geelong-Giants clash on Saturday, you could hear a pin drop around GMHBA Stadium.

It wasn’t the first time silence reverberated around the ground as the rejuvenated Giants eventually registered their fourth-straight win at the venue. But this was different. It was a hush, followed by the collective sound of nearly 30,000 jaws hitting the floor.

The Cats had all the momentum, finishing the final quarter with 24 inside 50s to the Giants’ five.

But with their lone scoring shot of the term, Giants skipper Toby Greene, who has been prone to produce the remarkable throughout his career, kicked a goal that had to be seen to be believed.

“Of course, Toby is the one that stands up and delivers,” GWS coach Adam Kingsley said.

“It’s not just a goal, but an inside-out, banana kick from 40 metres out. It was incredible, probably the biggest moment of the game.”

To most at the stadium, it was a stunning piece of individual brilliance only a handful of players in the competition could conjure. For Greene, and some of his teammates, it was just Toby being Toby.

“Yeah, I’ll take it,” an admittedly coy Greene said.

“It’s something I practice a lot. As soon as I took the ball, I thought I’d have a ping and it was lucky enough to go in.

“I always try and put myself in a position to help us. I’d rather go down missing that than not be in the position to try it.”

“He does it time and time again, it’s not really a fluke,” Kieren Briggs added.

“He’s a crafty little guy and he steps up when we need him. That’s what leaders do.”

Last year’s All-Australian captain found himself under the pump to start the season. Not only had the Giants gone into the Geelong match with four losses in their past five games, but the 30-year-old’s form was attracting attention.

As many of his teammates said at the time, they had no concerns over their skipper and backed him to deliver when it mattered.

After three goals against the Western Bulldogs and a best-on-ground performance against the Cats, Greene is back at his best, and then some.

“Maybe he hasn’t impacted the scoreboard as well as what he had last year over the start of the season, but his impact in multiple areas is still strong,” Kingsley said.

“That was on display again. And he finished his work a little better than what he has.

“He’s desperate to win, he’s desperate to do whatever it takes to help his teammates win. More often than not, he delivers.”

While he’s always been able to deliver moments of magic, it’s another step in the evolution of Greene’s leadership that he is inspiring his teammates to do the same.

On Saturday, Jake Riccardi kicked four, including one from the centre square, in a dominant key forward performance after just one goal in the past three weeks. Leek Aleer also had his headline moment in his seventh AFL game, producing two stunning intercept marks late to help seal the game for the Giants.

This is no longer a team that requires to be carried on Greene’s back. But he’s in the position where he can chip in and put the cherry on top when required.

“I’m trying to help out where I can and encourage the young boys to play that way, play to our strengths,” Greene said. “That’s what I want to be known for. I want to help build an environment that is high-performing and works on their game.

“I’m really enjoying it and it was great to see some of those boys take their moments.

“We wanted to find a bit of our identity again. Pressure, step in and score from defence and that’s how we scored all game.

“In the last quarter, it was the fundamentals letting them back into it. Sometimes you just gotta win ugly and that’s what happened.

“To be 7-4, it could have been 6-5 and lost four in a row. It is a big win, especially after the last few weeks we wanted to respond. A lot of young boys stood up. That’s why we won the game.”
 

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Autopsy Round 11 2024 – Geelong Cats vs GWS Giants, Saturday May 25, 4.35pm AEST, GMHBA Stadium

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