GREATER Western Sydney has heaped more pain on an undermanned West Coast as Jesse Hogan bagged an equal career-high nine goals in a ruthless 81-point thumping at Engie Stadium.
The Giants took barely two minutes to boot the first goal from Darcy Jones then blew the game open with four majors in five minutes early in the second term on the way to a 20.12 (132) to 7.9 (51) victory on Sunday afternoon.
GIANTS v EAGLES Full match coverage and stats
With the four points all but in the bag by the main break, the Giants forwards were soon lining up to hit the scoreboard with Hogan at the front of the queue.
The Giants spearhead was largely unstoppable in attack as he booted nine goals from as many kicks, only blotting his stats when later chasing a 10th major from a set shot that fell short when outside the 50m arc.
Hogan could have added another earlier in the final term when unselfishly dishing off a handball to set up Aaron Cadman for a major from the goalsquare.
While Hogan helped to ensure the Giants recorded their greatest winning margin over the Eagles, the goal rush was sparked from the early exchanges by the ever-dynamic Jones.
The Giants forward broke the lines and stretched the Eagles with his blistering pace and finished with two goals and 24 disposals in another eye-catching display.
Midfielder Tom Green also booted two goals and gathered a game-high 37 disposals, while Giants captain Toby Greene finished with three majors though will be sweating on a review of a collision with Eagles forward Matt Owies.
Lachie Whitfield (35 disposals) and Lachie Ash (31) set up the 'Orange Tsunami' from defence, while Harry Himmelberg (25) was just as critical to keep the Eagles forwards out of the game.
The Eagles were always likely to face a stiff challenge against the highly rated Giants especially with an undersized defence missing the injured Jeremy McGovern as well as the omitted Harry Edwards.
Debutant Sandy Brock will have learned valuable lessons after being on the receiving end of a key forward masterclass from Hogan, while Harley Reid also spent considerable time in defence.
The former No.1 pick had little impact on the game until moving on the ball late in the game and finishing with 25 disposals boosted by a better final term.
Liam Baker (24) battled hard even as the Giants midfield remained in command but co-captain Oscar Allen had another dark day with only eight disposals after a tough week, during which he apologised for meeting with Hawthorn coach Sam Mitchell.
Toby Greene will be sweating on 'tunnelling' incident
Greater Western Sydney's captain has already paid out more than $40,000 in fines in his 13 seasons and will be sweating on taking another blow to the hip pocket after a collision with Matt Owies. Greene appeared to have eyes for the ball as he raced into a marking contest but arrived as the West Coast forward leapt for the ball. The Giants gun took out Owies' legs as he fell under him while the new Eagle bounced over him and dropped heavily to the turf. Owies took time to get to his feet but might save Greene another payout after he was able to play out the match.
Harley Reid keeps his cool in defence
The former No.1 draft pick has had a rollercoaster ride start to the season as he has been heckled, harassed and harangued after making an immediate impact as a combative onballer in his debut year. West Coast coach Andrew McQualter set out to give Reid a circuit breaker with the 19-year-old again lining up at half-back, this time from the opening bounce, where his rugged approach was at least useful in trying to limit the damage from the Giants' early onslaught. But Reid was unable to offer much going the other way with only seven disposals at the main break until getting more involved in the second half when the heat was largely out of the contest.
Jake Stringer takes time to deliver for the Giants
The Giants' prized recruit couldn't quite have the impact he would have wanted in his club debut when going goalless and finishing with three behinds last week. But the 2016 premiership player took barely two minutes to show his craft and guile against the Eagles with a clever tap-on to set up Darcy Jones for the opening goal of the game. Stringer won't be awarded a disposal for that piece of play but it remained his standout moment in what turned out to be a quiet display even while his new forward partners enjoyed a day out. The 31-year-old finished with only 11 disposals and a pair of behinds but it can’t be long until he explodes with a first big haul for his third club.
GREATER WESTERN SYDNEY 5.6 11.7 14.11 20.12 (132)
WEST COAST 1.1 3.4 6.7 7.9 (51)
GOALS
Greater Western Sydney: Hogan 9, Greene 3, Jones 2, Green 2, Ward, Riccardi, Cadman, Bedford
West Coast: J.Williams 2, Cripps 2, A.Reid, Gross. Dewar
BEST
Greater Western Sydney: Hogan, Jones, Green, Greene, Whitfield, Callaghan, Ash
West Coast: Baker, Maric, Cripps, Duggan, H.Reid
INJURIES
Greater Western Sydney: Nil
West Coast: Nil
LATE CHANGES
Greater Western Sydney: Stephen Coniglio (glute) replaced by Callum Brown
West Coast: Nil
SUBSTITUTES
Greater Western Sydney: Xavier O'Halloran (replaced Brent Daniels in the third quarter)
West Coast: Hamish Davis (replaced Noah Long in the third quarter)
Crowd: 9,231 at Engie Stadium