Round 2 – GWS v St Kilda: Lightning Does Strike Twice as Saints Hang On

 

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by Richard Griffiths

 

Round 1 of the 2014 AFL Premiership season saw the young emerging GIANTS take on the Sydney Swans at Spotless Stadium in what was to become an historic occasion for the fledgling club. It was also the highly anticipated debut of Lance “Buddy” Franklin for the Swans who had defected from the Hawks during the off season. Buddy was touted as joining the GIANTS. It was one of the greatest hoaxes of all time. Liam Pickering did a magnificent job, stooging not only the GIANTS but the entire football world.

AFL Commission Chairman Mike Fitzpatrick was furious. The game was to become known as one of the most bizarre weather-affected games in AFL history. It was a humid day in western Sydney and a severe thunderstorm rolled over the Blue Mountains and made its way to Sydney Olympic Park during the first quarter with torrential rain, thunder and lightning.

When lightning struck near the ground AFL and match day officials had to act. By quarter time conditions were so dangerous the AFL lightning storm policy (regulation 33) was enacted with players and officials ordered from the ground. Play was delayed by 25 minutes during which damage to stadium infrastructure took place with a light tower being struck and debris spewing out onto the field.

It was the fifth “Battle of the Bridge”, and the GIANTS went on to score a massive upset and historic first up victory defeating the Swans by 32 points.

Fast forward 12 years and the GIANTS coming off an insipid display against the Western Bulldogs the week before returned home to Engie Stadium to take on the off-season glamour boys in the Saints who were yet to register a victory. The GIANTS were warm favorites.

As I sat in my lounge chair in the heart of western Sydney and tuned into the coverage at 12.30pm I was startled by a massive crack of thunder, ferocious bolt of lightning followed by torrential rain. I live 40 minutes from Olympic Park. I knew it was on its way to Engie Stadium. And sure enough it arrived in all its fury. Match delayed for 50 minutes.

I must say Ben Dixon did a good job entertaining the Fox Footy viewers during the delay with random interviews with GIANT players Harry Himelberg, Lachie Whitfield, Toby Greene, Jesse Hogan and Kieran Briggs back in the rooms. It highlighted to me how much the game has changed and how important player accessibility is to the broadcasters. I just can’t imagine the likes of Ron Barrassi, John Kennedy or Allan Jeans would ever contemplate such a thing in the rooms pre-match!

It seemed the pre-match frivolity with “Dicko” had carried over onto the field for the GIANTS who looked totally under prepared – there was no energy, no effort, no desperation and no fight. And the fundamentals had escaped them. They fumbled, they turned the pill over, they made poor decisions in transition. All credit to the Saints – their pressure was superb. They went on to boot five first quarter goals to lead by 25 points at the first break. Again, the GIANTS were getting smashed at the centre ruck stoppages conceding six of the seven clearances.

By half time the lead had extended to 32 points, and it was difficult to see how the GIANTS would work their way back into the game. The third term saw both sides score two goals only – the GIANTS were not completely out of the contest thanks largely to the efforts of the two Lachie’s: Ash and Whitfield.

Goals to Oliver and the young and very promising Phoenix Gothard early in the final term cut the margin back to 15 points and the unlikely looked likely. But when Mason Wood booted a miracle goal from the boundary line the Saints had a handy buffer. Not to be denied the GIANTS came storming (no pun intended) home and booted the final three goals of the match to get within 4 points with 23 seconds left on the clock. Too little too late. The Saints held on to register their first win much to the relief of Ross the Boss – and Gubby and SOS!

It was indeed a game of two halves with the GIANTS dominating the second half with 41 to 19 inside 50’s. But as Ross said post-match, “If you win the first quarter and you win it well, you’re a 90 per cent chance to win it. The oddswere in our favour but it got tighter than we’d like at the end.”

Aint that the truth.

 

GWS GIANTS                               1.3      3.6     5.13      10.14 (74)
ST KILDA                                      5.4     8.8     10.10     11.12 (78)

GOALS
GWS GIANTS: Hogan 2, Gothard 2, Thomas, Stringer, Rowston, Oliver, Gruzewski, Angwin
ST KILDA: Tauru 2, Higgins 2, Wood, Wilson, Ryan, Phillipou, Owens, Hill, Hall

BEST
GWS GIANTS: Ash, Whitfield, Oliver, Callaghan, Fonti
ST KILDA: Sinclair, Wilson, DeKoning, Wanganeen-Milera, Wilkie

INJURIES
GWS GIANTS: Nil
ST KILDA: Caminiti (hamstring)

Crowd: TBC at Engie Stadium

The GIANTS have a happy knack of not announcing the crowd post-
match when less than 10,000 turn up….

 

Read more from Richard Griffiths HERE.

 

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