GWS coach Adam Kingsley hailed the fourth-quarter heroics of Toby Greene and Leek Aleer but was left to lament a lengthening injury list following his side’s epic four-point win over Geelong.
The Giants saw their 31-point third-quarter lead eroded as the Cats slotted five unanswered goals and dominated inside-50s 24-5 in the fourth term to pinch the lead.
Toby Greene of the Giants is tackled by Jack Henry of the Cats.Credit: Getty Images
GWS genius Greene capped an emphatic return to form with a brilliant right-foot checkside goal with more than seven minutes remaining - his second - to put the Giants back in front.
That was followed by two stellar goal-saving marks in defence from emerging backman Leek Aleer in the dying stages, which effectively drove the Giants to safety and, implausibly, their fourth win in a row at GMHBA Stadium.
“Of course Toby’s the one who stands up and delivers not just a goal, but an inside-out banana kick from 40m out,” GWS coach Adam Kingsley said.
“It was just incredible.
“I just love when he (Aleer) launches at the ball and goes at it.
“He’s going to make mistakes, but particularly those two in the last quarter were just simply outstanding moments in his very early career.”
The victory snapped a three-game losing skid as the Giants enter the bye back in touch but bemoaning their growing casualty ward.
After Callan Ward pulled out before the match through illness, fellow veteran midfielder Stephen Coniglio substituted out in the second quarter with a shoulder injury.
Then in the dying stages of the frenetic fourth quarter, defender Harry Perryman exited after hurting his left hamstring.
Josh Kelly, Isaac Cumming and Lachie Ash are still sidelined with soft-tissue injuries, while GWS also lost Darcy Jones (hamstring) and Jack Buckley (calf) in last week’s loss to the Western Bulldogs.
“I would say our injury list is a little too long,” Kingsley said.
“We lost a few last week, we lost a couple tonight.
“Obviously he (Coniglio) couldnt persist with it during the game so we had to sub him out.
“He’ll get a scan, probably tomorrow (Sunday) to see the damage.
“Pez (Perryman) came off later with a slight hamstring.
“We’ll scan that - I’m not sure the severity of it.”
The Cats expect forward Gary Rohan to return from injury next Saturday against Richmond but they aren’t ready to yet reactivate superstar Patrick Dangerfield.
“Rohan will be available,” Geelong coach Chris Scott confirmed.
“That was just a minor adductor that was probably a 50/50 call on whether he could play
“Pat’s in full training but we’re going to hold him back.
“When (he returns) exactly is a little uncertain at the moment, but not next week, even though he’s in full training and pretty keen to be out there.”
The Cats aren’t panicking after suffering their fourth successive defeat, just as they weren’t celebrated when they were unbeaten after the first seven rounds.
“For a period there it looked like we were just being so outplayed that it could’ve been a really bad loss,” Scott said.
“The fact that we gave ourselves a chance to win is a positive, but it’s still not enough to make us feel better about the early part of the game.
“We were 7-0 and certainly not (getting) carried away. And now that we’ve lost our last four, we won’t drop our bundle either.”