GREATER Western Sydney has ended the season of its arch-rival in embarrassing fashion by dismantling Sydney by 49 points in Saturday's elimination final at the SCG.
After a tight first quarter, the Giants dominated for the rest of the game, putting the foot down with eight consecutive goals either side of half-time to run out 10.19 (79) to 4.6 (30) winners.
They will now play the loser of Saturday night's qualifying final between West Coast and Collingwood and take some real belief into the contest.
ORANGE CRUSH Full match coverage and stats
It's the second time in three seasons GWS has beaten the Swans in a final, and this time was even more comprehensive than the 36-point win in 2016.
Sydney did not kick a goal between the seven-minute mark of the second quarter and the 23-minute mark of the last.
Its four goals – two of which came in the dying minutes - was its lowest score as the Sydney Swans in a final.
The win was even more meritorious considering GWS played the final three quarters without midfield prime mover Josh Kelly who suffered a meniscus injury to his right knee just before quarter-time.
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Kelly had the knee strapped and tried running and cycling on the stationary bike to get back on the field but did not return.
It made little difference in the slippery conditions though as the Giants flexed their muscles, overpowering their crosstown rivals in almost every category.
They won the disposals 415-337 and more significantly contested footy 163-125 and the inside 50s 63-39.
Matt De Boer finds space where there shouldn't have been any! #AFLFinals pic.twitter.com/q0BaLPqB3x
— AFL (@AFL) September 8, 2018
They had winners all over the ground, but perhaps none was better than Toby Greene, who showed no ill-effects of his disrupted season with a best-afield performance.
WHO WAS BEST? Every Giant rated out of 10
Coming back from a hamstring injury that cost him the final three weeks of the season, Greene gathered 27 disposals, kicked three goals and was a constant menace forward of centre.
He was at his niggly best and totally outpointed Zak Jones, taking nine marks to add to a stellar performance.
His third-quarter bomb from outside 50 was the first nail in Sydney's coffin.
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Phil Davis easily outpointed goalless Lance Franklin in their much-anticipated duel, with the Swans superstar clearly hampered by his ongoing hip problem.
MASSIVE!
— AFL (@AFL) September 8, 2018
The rove, fend and snap from Toby Greene! #AFLFinals pic.twitter.com/VhbHvizi7y
Franklin was far from the Swans' biggest problem, but GWS coach Leon Cameron was delighted with his co-captain's showing.
"Phil has had a terrific year and he was a bit stiff to not make that 40-man All Australian squad, he's just been fantastic," Cameron said.
"He was great tonight and as one of our co-captains he stood up from the start.
"If was a great effort from Phil and all our backs to keep them to four goals, and it was probably the best collective performance from our back seven for the entire year."
Greene wasn't the only good comeback story as Zac Williams (Achilles), Brett Deledio (calf) and Matt de Boer (hamstring) also justified the faith in them shown by coach Leon Cameron.
Playing his first game for the year Williams was important, particularly early, with his 23 touches, while Deledio also justified his selection with 22 disposals and de Boer with 17.
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Lachie Whitfield (29) shook the problems of his two quiet games against the Swans earlier this season, while Callan Ward (29, 17 contested) and Stephen Coniglio (27, 13 contested) helped control the contest in the trenches.
The co-captain goes bang!
— AFL (@AFL) September 8, 2018
Callan Ward 👊#AFLFinals pic.twitter.com/URneOVX2Qe
It was a dismal exit to the season for the Swans, who remarkably lost their seventh home game for the season and barely fired a shot.
Coach John Longmire was mystified by the showing.
"Nothing went right for us and everything went wrong," Longmire said.
"When you talk about contested ball, tackles, we couldn’t hit a target forward of centre, when we did hit a target we fumbled and we didn't win any contests forward of centre.
"We just didn't get anything right."
WHO WAS WORST? Every Swan rated out of 10
Truthfully, the Giants could have won by more such was their dominance.
Josh Kennedy (27 touches) and Dan Hannebery (24) battled hard, but the Swans simply had no answers.
MEDICAL ROOM
Sydney Swans: No new problems out of the game, but clearly Lance Franklin was still hampered by the hip problem that has troubled him for some time. Coach John Longmire conceded there was some doubt on Franklin playing, but said he was happy to back his star forward because he's "such a competitor".
Greater Western Sydney: The big loss for the Giants was Josh Kelly who suffered a meniscus injury to his right knee in the first quarter. Despite Kelly not reappearing after quarter-time, coach Leon Cameron is hopeful his star midfielder will be available next week. Zac Williams went off for 10 minutes early in the third quarter with a tight back but returned, while Toby Greene suffered cramps in the final quarter that also kept him sidelined for 10 minutes, but he also returned.
NEXT UP
While it's the end of the season for Sydney, GWS advance for at least another week and will travel to play the loser of Saturday night's West Coast-Collingwood match.
SYDNEY 1.4 2.4 2.6 4.6 (30)
GREATER WESTERN SYDNEY 2.3 4.7 7.11 10.19 (79)
GOALS
Sydney: Papley 2, Parker, Ronke
Giants: Greene 3, Cameron 2, Himmelberg 2, Coniglio, de Boer, Ward
BEST
Sydney: Kennedy, Parker, Heeny, Cunningham
Giants: Davis, Whitfield, Greene, Coniglio, Himmelberg, Ward, Haynes
INJURIES
Sydney: Nil
Giants: Josh Kelly (knee)
Reports: Zak Jones (Sydney) reported for engaging in rough conduct on Callan Ward (GWS) in the fourth quarter
Umpires: Margetts, Stevic, Williamson
Official crowd: 40,350 at the SCG
Greater Western Sydney is through to a semi final after a 48point demolition of its cross-town rivals, with 78 more disposals and six more tackles than Sydney. The Swans only managed to kick 30 points, its lowest score in any game in 30 years.
The siren has sounded to end Q4.
BEHINDGiants (Dylan Shiel)
GOALSwans (Tom Papley)
BEHINDGiants (Callan Ward)
Sydney has kicked just its third goal for the game and first since the eighth minute of the second quarter. In that time the Swans entered forward 50 on 27 occasions for just two behinds, while the Giants kicked 8.14 (62) from 39 inside 50s.
GOALSwans (Luke Parker)
BEHINDGiants (Toby Greene)
BEHINDGiants (Lachie Whitfield)
That's the sixth 'poster' for the Giants tonight as they roll all over the Swans. This quarter, Greater Western Sydney has won six more clearances, recorded 30 more disposals yet committed two fewer turnovers, and kicked 3.4 (22) to no score.
BEHINDGiants (Jacob Hopper)
GOALGiants (Jeremy Cameron)
Five of Greater Western Sydney's behinds have hit the post tonight. Sydney has hit the post on one occasion.
BEHINDGiants (Jeremy Cameron)
Since Sydney led by a point in the eight minute of the second quarter, the Giants have generated 17 scores to just three to the Swans. In that time the Giants have averaged 121 metres gained per turnover in comparison to 62 by the Swans.
GOALGiants (Callan Ward)
BEHINDGiants (Harry Himmelberg)
BEHINDGiants (Harry Himmelberg)
In just his eighth game for the season and first since Round 20, Toby Greene has again put his name up in lights. The Giants' star has gamehigh (or equal) numbers in kicks (21), metres gained (557), marks (eight), inside 50s (seven) and goals (three).
GOALGiants (Toby Greene)
Q4 is now underway.
Sydney's score of just 18 points marks its lowest tally to threequarter time since 2002.
The longer this match runs, the better the Giants look. They generated seven scores from 15 forward 50 entries for the term, with Toby Greene making an impact with ten kicks, 277 metres gained, three inside 50s and a goal for the quarter.
The siren has sounded to end Q3.
Jeremy Cameron has kicked his first after a strong contested pack mark inside 50. The Giants have taken six marks inside forward 50, double the tally of the Swans.
GOALGiants (Jeremy Cameron)
BEHINDGiants (Jacob Hopper)
Swans InterchangeDan Hannebery off due to an injury.
BEHINDSwans (Lance Franklin)
BEHINDGiants (Rushed)
BEHINDGiants (Callan Ward)
BEHINDGiants (Jacob Hopper)
Greater Western Sydney have transitioned from defensive 50 directly finishing in a goal from outside 50 for Greene. The Giants have successfully transitioned end to end on 31 per cent of attempts, well up on the Swans' rate of just 13 per cent.
GOALGiants (Toby Greene)
BEHINDSwans (Tom Papley)
Greater Western Sydney has struck first in the second half with a wonderful individual effort from Himmelberg. This is the Giants' fourth goal launched from forward 50 stoppages, and Himmelberg's fifth individual score involvement (also a gamehigh).
GOALGiants (Harry Himmelberg)
Giants InterchangeZac Williams off due to an injury.
Q3 is now underway.
Greater Western Sydney cocaptain Phil Davis has matched Aliir Aliir with four spoils and five intercept marks of his own. Matching up on Lance Franklin, Davis has won a total nine intercepts, the most by any player in a final first half since 2013.
The Giants have edged away from the Swans before half time, with nine of the 11 scores to the Giants launched from inside their forward half. Sydney has been kept to just 16 points, its lowest score to half time since 2015.
The siren has sounded to end Q2.
BEHINDGiants (Rushed)
Rain is now falling making conditions greasy. Himmelberg has broken the deadlock with a classy pickup and goal, following Williams' forward half intercept. The Giants have won 15 such intercepts compared to eight by the Swans.
GOALGiants (Harry Himmelberg)
BEHINDGiants (Toby Greene)
All three of the Giants' goals have been launched from forward 50 clearance wins, with all coming from throw ins. Greater Western Sydney have been able to apply significant pressure in that zone, with eight forward 50 tackles compared to one by Sydney.
GOALGiants (Matt de Boer)
BEHINDGiants (Lachie Whitfield)
BEHINDGiants (Rushed)
Sydney has controlled possession in the early stages of the second term, helped by a kicking efficiency of 71 per cent in comparison to 33 per cent of Greater Western Sydney. The Swans have recorded 24 more uncontested possessions in this time.
GOALSwans (Tom Papley)
Aliir has been a huge thorn in the side for the Giants. He has now taken five intercept marks to go with his three spoils for the Swans.
Q2 is now underway.
An intriguing term sees the Giants record 10 more forward 50 entries than the Swans but only take a slim 5point lead to quarter time. In his first game for the season, Zac Williams has recorded nine disposal and a team-high 240 metres gained.
The siren has sounded to end Q1.
The potential loss of Josh Kelly to a knee injury would be at huge cost to Greater Western Sydney. The Giants have retained possession from 58 per cent of Kellys kicks into the forward 50 this season (ranked fourth of all players).
Giants InterchangeJosh Kelly and is possibly out for the game.
BEHINDGiants (Jeremy Cameron)
In the ten minutes since the last goal, Sydney has been stronger out of the stoppages with three of the four clearances. Greater Western Sydney has used the ball more precisely, with 84 per cent kicking efficiency and 15 more marks than the Swans.
BEHINDSwans (Isaac Heeney)
BEHINDGiants (Jeremy Cameron)
BEHINDSwans (Rushed)
Back to back goals launched from forward 50 stoppages for the Giants as their territory dominance starts to pays dividends. Greater Western Sydney has enjoyed 67 per cent time in forward half this quarter.
GOALGiants (Toby Greene)
The Giants have their first through Coniglio from a forward 50 stoppage. Greater Western Sydney has averaged 17 points pergame from its forward half clearances this season, ranked second of all teams in the league.
GOALGiants (Stephen Coniglio)
The Swans have been more efficient than the Giants, now franked through Ronke with the first goal of the final. Sydney has scored from all three forward 50 entries, while Greater Western Sydney has managed just one behind from eight inside 50s.
GOALSwans (Ben Ronke)
BEHINDSwans (Tom Papley)
The first three intercept marks of the game have all been taken by Aliir Aliir inside defensive 50. The Sydney defender averages 3.5 intercept marks per game, which ranks him fourth in the league in that metric and first at the Swans.
BEHINDGiants (Toby Greene)
BEHINDSwans (Dan Hannebery)
Q1 is now underway.
Neither side has depended on high numbers of forward 50 entries, with the Swans (15th) and Giants (10th) in that metric differential respectively. Greater Western Sydney makes up for that deficit with a score from 47.1 per cent of entries (ranked first).
Both sides are strong at creating scoring opportunities out of stoppages. On average Sydney outscores its opposition by 5.8 points from clearances per game (ranked fourth) while Greater Western Sydney does likewise by 8.3 points per game (ranked first).
Crosstown rivals the Swans and Giants have met in 15 previous matches, with Sydney victorious on 11 occasions including in the last three games. Greater Western Sydney won the only finals match between the two sides by 36 points in 2016.
Don't forget to enter your tips for this match, you have until the bounce to make your selection.
Outs for Giants: J.Finlayson (Omitted), A.Bonar (Omitted), D.Lloyd (Omitted), L.Keeffe (Omitted)
Ins for Giants: M.de Boer, T.Greene, B.Deledio, Z.Williams
Outs for Swans: J.Dawson (Omitted), R.Fox (Omitted)
Ins for Swans: L.Parker, L.Franklin
Welcome to SCG for the Sydney Swans v GWS Giants Round 1 clash.