Dog’s 55 Year Grand Final Drought Ends At Giants Expense

Spotless Stadium / Sydney Showgrounds  Homebush, Sydney Australia

Another dramatic, intense Sydney final, yet this time a disappointing end for the Greater Western Sydney Giants. The Giants were cruelly denied a chance at a debut grand final, losing by only a single goal against the Western Bulldogs. The game itself had everything. It was packed full of pressure, drama and controversy as the Bulldogs, with an army of loyal, fanatic fans roared themselves into utter delirium as they clinched a berth in next week’s AFL Grand Final against the Sydney Swans.

Pre-game it was clear who had the majority of support with the stands at the Sydney Showgrounds packed with a sea of red, white and blue. There was a lot of orange in the outer, but it was the Bulldogs fans who had the numbers. On-field every play saw intense pressure applied by both teams and it seemed throughout the game, the Western Bulldogs were able to adjust, respond just that little bit better to clinch the game.

GWS skipper Phil Davis (left) arcs up his teammates as the enter the field for the Prelim Final. Photo: Jodie Newell

GWS skipper Phil Davis (left) arcs up his teammates as they enter the field for the Prelim Final. Photo: Jodie Newell

In the early stages, it was the Dogs who settled first and they posted the games first two goals via Clay Smith and Tory Dickson. The Giants were being put under enormous pressure by the Western Bulldogs and they found it difficult to get their free-flowing, fast running play underway. Dogs defenders in Easton Wood and Matthew Boyd didn’t allow key forwards in Jeremy Cameron or Jonathon Patton to gain any early positive traction. Wood in particular took an incredible mark in the outer, flinging his body wildly, hard and high and clutched onto the ball like a man possessed. That mark was a clear indication of the Bulldogs will and intent. The Giants were going to have to gather some composure if they wanted to be competitive.

The preliminary final was a dramatic pressure packed affair. Photo: Jodie Newell

The preliminary final was a dramatic pressure packed affair. Photo: Jodie Newell

After settling down, the GWS Giants were able to post their first goal of the game via Devon Smith. Jonathon Patton would soon score another and despite the Bulldogs dominance of the ball and play, the Giants were keeping pace. An intense second quarter ended with the Western Bulldogs leading by 2 points.

Giant forward Toby Greene posted the 2nd quarter’s first goal and it looked to be a promising start for the GWS. Also occurring early in the second quarter was the injury to key Dogs ruckman in Jordan Roughead. He copped a ball to the face and was found to have blood in the eye region. Roughead was forced to spend the rest of the game on the bench and Tom Boyd took over the rucking duties.The GWS positive start was soon tempered by a nasty injury that Callan Ward suffered a few minutes later. An unintentional knee to the head region of Ward by Western Bulldog Zaine Cordy saw Cal fall to the Showgrounds turf. His landing wasn’t helped when teammate Nick Haynes accidentally fell on top of Cal who was face down. Ward was in clear distress as the blow left him gasping for air and was groggy. Unfortunately it would be Ward’s final involvement for the game and for the season, suffering a concussion. Cal was later able to mingle with his teammates during the game on the bench and was in the rooms post-game looking sore and sorry but at least seemed to be OK.

Seconds before the game ended for Callan Ward (centre) who copped a nasty knock in this pack.Photo: Jodie Newell

The game ended for Callan Ward (centre) who copped a nasty knock in this pack. Photo: Jodie Newell

The lull in play as Callan Ward regained composure and was helped from the field did not affect the intensity of the game. The Bulldogs would quickly score a goal via Clay Smith. Then the Giants responded with Toby Greene booting his second goal of the game.Dogs sharpshooter Tory Dickson was proving to be handful for the Giants defense and he kicked another goal after a silly, costly error from Nick Haynes. Last week against Hawthorn, the normally accurate Dickson missed some easily getable goals, tonight he was right on target and cashed in on the error.Clay Smith was having an incredible impact on the game and built on the Dogs lead after the Haynes mistake kicking his third for the game. The Giants needed someone up forward to put their hand up as they were struggling against a determined Bulldog defense. Jonathon Patton did so kicking a much needed goal. The Dogs weren’t done as Clay Smith capped off a superb first half kicking his fourth goal and the Bulldogs went into the sheds at the long break with a nine point lead.

A great illustration of the pressure applied by the Dogs on GWS.Zac Williams tackled by Liam Picken. Photo: Jodie Newell

A great illustration of the pressure applied by the Dogs on GWS.Zac Williams tackled by Liam Picken. Photo: Jodie Newell

The Giants had to lift and show some resolve. They were clearly rattled by the Western Bulldogs resolve and relentless pressure. The third quarter saw coach Leon Cameron move Rory Lobb to full forward as Jeremy Cameron struggled to get into the game. Lobb would kick two goals for the term and Jonathon Patton continued his great work up forward kicking another goal. Yet again when the Giants seemed to have a grip on the game, the Western Bulldogs would answer with goals. Tory Dickson again kicked another goal and Zaine Cordy chimed in. The Dogs seemed to be countering the Giants game with their own style of running into space, creating plenty of loose players to which the GWS defense had no answers. In a controversial decision Tom Scully appeared to have snapped a goal right in front, but under the score review system, Jake Stringer was judged to have touched it. The evidence supplied wasn’t really conclusive or detailed and in end could have made all the difference.

Marcus Bontempelli (with ball) The skillful Bulldog mid-fielder was elusive for most of the game. Photo: Jodie Newell

Marcus Bontempelli (with ball) The skillful Bulldog midfielder was elusive for most of the game. Photo: Jodie Newell

The final quarter was an intense, dramatic affair with a prized grand final berth at stake. Again GWS began the term well with Rory Lobb and Toby Greene kicking goals and the Giants had a 14 point lead. The Dogs refused to yield and clawed their way back into the game. Dickson kicked his fourth and Marcus Bontempelli added a goal and the game was a pulsating thriller. Zaine Cordy added a goal which was replied by the Giants in Jonathon Patton who had four goals for the match. Urged on by rampant Western Bulldogs fans, they sealed the deal and a berth in next weeks grand final when Jack Macrae was found in space in front of goals with a handful of minutes remaining. He slotted the goal to the wild, delirious cheers of the Bulldog faithful who finally had the blissful pleasure of knowing they would be playing in the grand final. The final act of the game saw Tory Dickson mark in front of the posts, the siren rang and amidst the wild celebrations, hit the post for a behind, the Dogs home by a solitary goal. Giants players fell to their knees in bitter disappoint and despair knowing they had been ever so close in gaining a debut grand final berth. For the victors, there were amazing emotional scenes. Players wildly hugged and embraced each other, whilst officials and fans could be seen with tears of joy flowing. The 55 year drought of not winning a preliminary final was well and truly over.

Tears of joy. Emotional Bulldogs fans openly wept at the thrilling win.Photo: Jodie Newell

Tears of joy. Emotional Bulldogs fans openly wept at the thrilling win. Photo: Jodie Newell

GREATER WESTERN SYDNEY         2.1      5.2      9.7     12.11    (83)
WESTERN BULLDOGS                      2.3      6.5      9.6     13.11    (89)

GOALS
Greater Western Sydney: Jonathon Patton 4, Toby Greene 3, Rory Lobb 3, Devon Smith, Heath Shaw
Western Bulldogs: Clay Smith 4, Tory Dickson 4, Zaine Cordy 2, Caleb Daniel, Marcus Bontempelli, Jack Macrae

BEST
Greater Western Sydney: Jonathon Patton, Tom Scully, Rory Lobb
Western Bulldogs: Marcus Bontempelli, Clay Smith,  Easton Wood

INJURIES
Greater Western Sydney: Callan Ward (concussion)
Western Bulldogs: Jordan Roughead (eye)

Reports: –

Official crowd: 21,790 at Spotless Stadium, Sydney Showgrounds, Homebush Sydney Australia.

Umpires: Mathew Nicholls, Justin Schmitt, Simon Meredith

VERDICT: The folks in lime had in our opinion an ordinary night with their decisions favoring the Western Bulldogs. 23-13. Does that tell you anything?. The Dogs tended to get the line ball decisions. One thing adjudication wise that desperately needs fixing is the scoring review system. There has to be “conclusive” evidence available to the powers that be, not vague in-game camera action from the broadcast. There needs to be dedicated high definition cameras that cover all angles of the forward zone and goal lines. This game was decided by a goal. During the match a “goal” for the GWS Giants was disallowed based on what we think was inconclusive, average video evidence. The game as it becomes more professional, needs suitable reviews, the stakes are way too high.

The umpires had an average night in our opinion with the decision count favoring the Dogs. Photo: Jodie Newell

The umpires had an average night in our opinion with the decision count favoring the Dogs. Photo: Jodie Newell

About the Author

Jodie Newell
Love reporting on sports, politics, history and music