One of the things I love about our game is that there are times you know you’re getting to witness something special.
On a Saturday afternoon, emanating from Ballarat, I didn’t expect this game to have high ratings. It was a blustery day, but whilst chilly, the rain stayed away, which made things quite pleasant, as the Giants and Dogs headed to Mars Stadium to re-ignite the rivalry that burst to life largely around the actions of one man.
And it was that one man that owned what has become known as the ‘premiership quarter’ in this contest.
Toby Greene – the maligned leader of the Giants – put on an absolute show in the third quarter, slotting four goals to bring his team within striking distance of the Dogs. And with the wind in their sails, if not at their backs, it was GWS making all the play in th last quarter, as they ran the Dogs off their legs and turned an eight-point deficit into a five-point win.
Huge efforts from Sam Taylor, Greene, Toby Bedford, Kieren Briggs, Stephen Coniglio, and Callan Ward paved the way for the Giants to steamroll the Dogs and pick up their seventh-straight win.
Was it the best game Mars Stadium has seen?
It’d be hard to top, as the guts and determination the Giants displayed in this contest was exactly the kind of thing a new coach would have hoped to see from them this season. Adam Kingsley would be a proud man this evening, His team may have dug a hole early in the game, but they were good enough to drag themselves out of it and overcome a team that looked better than them in the early going.
As for the Dogs… well, they ha their chances to extend their lead and make the Giants pay. They will be ruing their wayward first half just as much as their last quarter fade.
Anyway, enough preamble – let’s get into the stuff that matters, with The Mongrel’s Big Questions.
Oh, what the hell? A Mongrel paywall? Yep, I believe my work is worth twenty cents per day. If you don’t, that’s fine. Don’t complain, though. Sometimes, I open these reviews up after 24 hours or so. Sometimes, I don’t. There is no favouritism… I just don’t. Want to join us and access the members’ game reviews, as well as columns like the Wingman of the Year, Recruit of the Year, and other nonsensical stuff HB comes up with each week?
