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“If it was in Melbourne, it would have been all over the bloody media.”
Papley did not tell anyone at the Swans about the collision – coach John Longmire, he said, “would have been going off” had he known pre-match – but he figures word must have filtered through to the club from passers-by.
“Obviously, someone’s known someone at the club and seen me, and then the player development manager’s come up to me and said, ‘Are you all right?’” Papley said. “Because I didn’t tell anyone. I kept it real quiet.”
It didn’t seem to weigh heavily on Papley, judging by his performance on Saturday afternoon. He was among the Swans’ best players, collecting 16 possessions – 12 of them contested – for two goals and four goal assists, and had a pivotal role in the build-up to Isaac Heeney’s stunning last-quarter goal, which levelled the scores with three minutes to go.
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Papley was the recipient of an aimless bomb out of defence from Chad Warner, who thumped the ball to centre wing to gain territory. Despite being outnumbered by Giants defenders Connor Idun and Sam Taylor, Papley won the ball and handpassed it immediately to Heeney, who was streaming past and then launched a monster kick from inside the centre square that bounced through.
“You just give it to him [Heeney] no matter what, I think,” Papley said.
”You’ll see I kick to him a lot of the time. Just seeing him, and I sort of hit it nice on the handball, and he’s fended off [Lachie Whitfield].
“I think the commentary was perfect: ‘To the Rolls-Royce, Heeney,’ and he just goes bang.
“It was an amazing game from Heens. I don’t know how many games he’s won for us this year. Some of the stuff he does is just incredible. He’s just so tough and skilful. We have built a nice connection over the years. ”
Papley was also involved in a quarter-time scuffle with GWS captain Toby Greene, which evolved into an all-in melee and led to a $20,000 fine for the Giants due to the involvement of their football boss, Jason McCartney, who made physical contact with Papley.
“It’s a big chest,” he said of McCartney. “I don’t think I would want to take him on anytime soon. I was a bit surprised he was there, but anyway, it was all in the spirit of the moment.”
The Swans will take on either Port Adelaide or Hawthorn in next weekend’s home preliminary final.
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