Giants beat Kangaroos, jump to 2nd in AFL

The GWS Giants have jumped into second spot on the AFL ladder with a 23-point win over North Melbourne in Tasmania.

Toby Greene

Toby Greene has booted three goals in his GWS return in a 23-point AFL win over North Melbourne. (AAP)

Greater Western Sydney coach Leon Cameron says his side still have plenty to learn on the road, despite surging home to beat North Melbourne in Hobart and moving to second place on the AFL ladder.

Star forward Toby Greene bagged three goals on return from a knee injury as the Giants beat North Melbourne on Sunday afternoon by 23 points.

It was locked 45-45 at halftime but the Giants kicked away with seven-straight goals from midway through the third term.

Greene, who was a late withdrawal in the Giants' last-start loss to Adelaide, booted his third early in the final quarter in the 14.7 (91) to 10.8 (68) win.

Josh Kelly topped the possession count for the Giants with 35, while midfielder Stephen Coniglio was equally strong (27 touches and two goals).

"When you get beaten, you always want to respond. I think it was done in a really good manner," Cameron said.

"The Kangaroos are really hard to beat in Hobart and, right now, they're playing a really good brand of footy."

The Giants have the bye next round, before a trip to Melbourne to take on Essendon.

They're 5-1 at home and move to 4-3 on the road this season.

"I thought we got that balance right after halftime. We know we've got to do a fair bit of work to continue to learn to win on the road," Cameron said.

It was North Melbourne's first loss under new coach Rhyce Shaw.

The Kangaroos, who had been on a three-game winning streak including two under Shaw, are two victories outside the top eight.

They might have other headaches, with star forward Ben Brown reported for striking Matt Buntine with a raised elbow.

"Our defence stood up pretty well in that first half. But it's just consistency across the four quarters against a top-quality team," Shaw said.

Northern Tasmanian teenager Tarryn Thomas, who was the No.9 draft pick in 2018, had some eye-catching touches and two goals for the Kangaroos in front of his home crowd.

Kangaroos skipper Jack Ziebell kicked the opener in a first quarter in which the lead changed four times.

Greene gave the Giants a slender 20-18 lead at the first break with a kick that skidded through an empty goal square.

The Giants opened up a 14-point lead with successive goals at the beginning of the second term, when tempers flared in some push and shove.

Scores were deadlocked at halftime before the Giants kicked the final four of the third term to break the back of the Kangaroos.

The Giants' Matt De Boer (shoulder) spent the final quarter on the bench after a heavy collision with 200-gamer Ben Cunnington.


Share
Published 16 June 2019 8:50pm
Source: AAP


Share this with family and friends


Get SBS News daily and direct to your Inbox

Sign up now for the latest news from Australia and around the world direct to your inbox.

By subscribing, you agree to SBS’s terms of service and privacy policy including receiving email updates from SBS.

Download our apps
SBS News
SBS Audio
SBS On Demand

Listen to our podcasts
An overview of the day's top stories from SBS News
Interviews and feature reports from SBS News
Your daily ten minute finance and business news wrap with SBS Finance Editor Ricardo Gonçalves.
A daily five minute news wrap for English learners and people with disability
Get the latest with our News podcasts on your favourite podcast apps.

Watch on SBS
SBS World News

SBS World News

Take a global view with Australia's most comprehensive world news service
Watch the latest news videos from Australia and across the world