GREATER WESTERN SYDNEY 4.3 9.9 16.13 22.17 (149) GOLD COAST 1.0 4.0 7.1 9.4 (58)
Goals: Greater Western Sydney: J Cameron 7, R Lobb 3, R Palmer 3, J Kelly 2, J Patton 2, T Scully 2, J Steele, N Wilson, S Johnson. Gold Coast: B Matera 3, J Grant 3, T Lynch 2, G Ablett.
Best: Greater Western Sydney: Shiel, Hopper, Kelly, Cameron, Scully. Gold Coast: Lonergan, Hall, Prestia, Matera, Ablett.
Injuries: Gold Coast: A Saad (hamstring), G Ablett (concussion), T Nicholls (concussion).
Umpires: Brett Rosebury, Brendan Hosking, Robert O'Gorman.
Official Crowd: 8308 at Spotless Stadium.
There weren't many people there to see it, but the Giants added further weight to an increasingly credible argument that they're finals bound – or better – for the first time, mercilessly obliterating fellow expansion club Gold Coast by 91 points at Spotless Stadium.
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Giants thrash Suns by 91 points
Gold Coast coach Rodney Eade rates Greater Western Sydney a legitimate flag challenger after they smashed his side by 91 points.
Certainly, the Suns were depleted by injuries, down on confidence and willing their struggling superstar Gary Ablett jnr to somehow get back to his incomparable best.
But Ablett's 32nd birthday seemed destined to be crashed by the soaring Giants, whose quality and sparkle in pretty much every aspect of the game has taken a significant leap forward so far this season.
"There's no reason why GWS can't be there at the end," Suns coach Rodney Eade said afterwards. "I'm really impressed with what they do, the way they go about it. They've got the right amount of grunt, but they can really run and they've got a dangerous forward line. People in Melbourne would say they'll make the finals, but I think they'll go further than that. I think they'll really challenge."
GWS dominated from the outset to secure a club-record fifth consecutive win. On the back of 100-plus possession advantage, 34 more contested, 21 more clearances and nearly double the number of forward 50-metre entries, the Giants streaked away with 13 second-half goals to five after having built a half-time lead of 9.9.(63) to 4.0.(24).
Gold Coast's depth is without doubt being pushed to the limit, with the likes of Jaeger O'Meara, Michael Rischitelli and David Swallow sidelined, and key forward Peter Wright a late withdrawal this round.
But the Giants, too, were without the calibre of Phil Davis, Ryan Griffen, Devon Smith and Will Hoskin-Elliott. Not that anyone noticed on Saturday night.
Dylan Shiel, with a game-high 35 touches, took over command of the midfield. Steve Johnson, bandaged after twice spilling blood for the cause, helped fellow forward Jeremy Cameron to an equal career-best seven goals. Rory Lobb's dream season continued with another three majors, while Rhys Palmer kicked three, and Tom Scully, Jon Patton and Josh Kelly grabbed two each.
Young tyro Jacob Hopper had a debut to remember, snaring 31 touches, 17 contested, and looking entirely at home, while Tim Mohr celebrated his return after two years out with injuries by doing an effective job on Suns forward star Tom Lynch.
Stephen Coniglio yet again tagged brilliantly, keeping Ablett to 21 possessions, while Zac Williams, Callan Ward, Heath Shaw and Kelly got their hands on the ball an awful lot.
"We understand there's a big month of footy coming up for us," GWS coach Leon Cameron said of a schedule that features games against the Bulldogs, Adelaide, Geelong and the Swans.
"We're going to find out about our footy club in the next four weeks. We're playing some good footy and we can't deny that, but we're still a fair way away … The next month's probably going to tell how far we probably can go."
The only downside for the Giants was proof that not all Sydneysiders love a winner, with only 8308 turning up to see one of the AFL's hottest sides on a fine night when there was no NRL being played in Sydney.
"I look at it as a long-term project," Cameron said. "Two sides that have come together in the last five or six years, playing for the first time on our home ground … that game in five years' time is probably going to have 15,000 to 18,000 people.
"I think there's a lot of kids that are following our footy club. We all know it's a 10-year build to get that membership over that 20-25,000 mark, but I think the club's doing it in the right way, building really strong foundations. I'm sure that those crowds are just going to build as we go on."
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