Round 18
GWS Giants v Geelong
4.10pm, Saturday July 11 2026
Engie Stadium
If anyone needed further proof that football scripts are written by the game’s greatest comedians, they got it at ENGIE Stadium on Saturday night.
The opening act belonged to Geelong and fittingly to Jeremy Cameron. In one of the more intriguing tactical moves of the season the former Giant lined up at half-back on Toby Greene. Was it simply Chris Scott rolling the tactical dice? Or perhaps an early dress rehearsal for Geelong’s internal match simulation next summer should the AFL rumour mill prove prophetic and Greene eventually makes the trip to Sleepy Hollow? The crowd certainly appreciated the theatre.
For three quarters of an hour however there was very little for Giants fans to smile about. Geelong were magnificent.
Shaun Mannagh was everywhere, Ollie Dempsey sliced through the corridor with blistering pace and bobbed up in front of goal while Bailey Smith continued his outstanding season dominating around stoppages and delivering the ball inside 50 with precision. The Cats looked faster, cleaner and more composed opening up the contest with relentless pressure and clinical ball movement.
When the margin stretched to 39 points 20 minutes into the third quarter the contest appeared over. ENGIE Stadium had fallen eerily quiet as Geelong looked every bit a premiership contender. Then the game changed.
First came the cruel blow of injuries. Jack Henry and Ollie Henry were ruled out robbing Geelong of important structure at both ends of the ground. Moments later came the biggest setback of all with Jeremy Cameron leaving the field nursing a nasty shoulder injury after bravely contesting the ball with Clayton Oliver. Suddenly the Cats looked vulnerable.
The Giants sensed it immediately.
It was Toby Greene’s belief, Kieren Briggs’ dominance in the ruck, Oliver’s relentless midfield drive, Sam Taylor’s intercept marking and Harry Himmelberg’s composure behind the football that ignited one of the club’s finest comebacks.
Around them the next generation refused to blink. Riley Hamilton produced an influential performance in only his second game (the boy looks a genuine prospect), Harry Rowston attacked every contest as though the season depended on it and delivered the ball magnificently while Harvey Thomas continued his remarkable emergence with desperate pressure, courageous running and timely ball use that lifted the entire side.
Momentum swung violently. Every clearance belonged to the Giants. Every tackle lifted the volume another notch. Every goal sent the faithful into a frenzy.
The Cats who had controlled the contest for more than two-and-a-half quarters suddenly looked exhausted. Their crisp ball movement disappeared under relentless Giants pressure. Turnovers mounted and the orange tsunami rolled through ENGIE Stadium.
Goal after goal followed. The impossible suddenly looked inevitable. When the Giants finally hit the front the stadium erupted. Geelong had no answers-and no rotations. The Giants had all the belief.
By the final siren the home side had completed an extraordinary comeback charging from 39 points down to claim a stirring 13-point victory.
It was another chapter in what has quietly become one of the AFL’s most fascinating rivalries. Remarkably the Giants have now defeated Geelong eight times in their past ten meetings and have strung together five consecutive victories over the Cats, an astonishing record against one of the competition’s benchmark clubs.
The win showcased everything Adam Kingsley’s side has built its reputation upon; resilience, belief, pressure and an unwavering refusal to surrender. For Geelong, it will be remembered as the one that got away.
For the Giants it may just be the victory that keeps their season alive.
And somewhere deep inside the Cats’ football department that opening image of Jeremy Cameron standing alongside Toby Greene might yet prove to be more than simply an opening bounce curiosity.
GREATER WESTERN SYDNEY
2.2 3.6 5.10 12.14 (86)
GEELONG
5.2 7.7 10.7 11.7 (73)
GOALS
Greater Western Sydney: Brown 3, Hamilton 2, Bedford 2, Stringer, Himmelberg, Callaghan, Cadman, Briggs
Geelong: Mannagh4, Dempsey 3, Wiltshire, Smith, Knevitt, O.Henry
BEST
Greater Western Sydney: Oliver, Taylor, Briggs, Ash, Greene, Brown
Geelong: Smith, Mannagh, Holmes, Dempsey, Cameron
INJURIES
Greater Western Sydney: Gothard (shoulder)
Geelong: J Henry (throat), Bruhn (neck), Cameron (shoulder)
LATE CHANGES
Greater Western Sydney: Nil
Geelong: Mark O’Connor (injured) replaced in the selected side by Mitch Knevitt
Crowd: TBC
Read more round 18 match reports HERE
Read more from Richard Griffiths HERE
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Crowd, TBC ???
I dare not ask about gate figures.
Glen!