Round 9 – GWS v Essendon: GIANTS Snatch Victory from Jaws of Defeat

 

 

 

Round 9
GWS Giants v Essendon
Saturday May 9, 2026
Engie Stadium

 

By quarter time in a game the Giants were warm favorites the faithful at Engie Stadium had already entered the five stages of grief. By half time they were somewhere between despair and Googling ‘can you transfer Giants memberships to another code?’ The Giants, once hailed as a slick, handball-happy Ferrari of the competition, had instead transformed into a 1997 Hyundai Excel with three flat tyres and smoke pouring from the bonnet. It was hard to watch.

 

In the first half every Giant possession seemed to trigger a panic handball to a teammate under even more pressure, followed by a blind dump kick out of defence that landed directly in the grateful arms of an Essendon player. In the first half he Bombers racked up 35 inside 50s like they were collecting frequent flyer points while the Giants defenders looked as organised as shoppers fighting over discounted air fryers on Boxing Day.

 

Adam Kingsley sat in the coaches’ box with the expression of a man watching somebody reverse his car into the Parramatta River. One suspected the half-time address would involve overturned whiteboards, shattered magnets and several players suddenly questioning their career choices. A massive spray was coming. We’ve seen it before on the Giants doco.

 

Meanwhile, this suffering Giant had just about seen enough. Midway through the second quarter switching channels in disgust to the Antique Roadshow I thought it might be far less painful watching strangers argue over colonial-era teaspoons than what I was witnessing on Fox Footy. At least on Antique Roadshow, when somebody fumbles an old vase, there’s genuine tension and consequences. The Giants trailing 7.5 (47) to 5.2 (32) somehow felt less composed than a pensioner trying to carry a Ming dynasty urn across a slippery kitchen tile.

 

Whatever Adam Kingsley said at half time clearly bordered on a volcanic eruption. In the second half the fumbling subsided, the panic handballs were less frequent, and the orange tsunami finally returned. The Giants began slicing into Essendon’s lead with the desperation of a fan trying to reconnect the Wi-Fi after threatening to cancel the internet five minutes earlier. By three quarter time the margin was somehow only two points and Giants fans were experiencing the dangerous emotion known as renewed hope.

 

Of course, no modern AFL thriller can proceed without umpiring controversy so baffling it requires intervention from constitutional lawyers, bridge engineers and perhaps the Vatican. Both sets of supporters spent the quarter waving their arms around like inflatable tube men outside a car dealership as free kicks appeared to be awarded based on vibes, astrology and random wheel spins. Meanwhile, the previously abandoned Antique Roadshow was hastily switched off as this disgruntled Giants supporter returned to the football, declaring: “I can’t believe I’m saying this, but the chaos of AFL umpiring is somehow less confusing than watching a man value porcelain spoons from 1843.”

 

After a torturous three quarters the Orange Tsunami roared back to life to pinch a stirring 13-point victory over a brave Essendon outfit. Inspired by the swagger and brilliance of captain Toby Greene, the relentless pressure of Toby Bedford, the composure of Oliver, and the running power of Lachie Ash and Lachie Whitfield, the Giants finally remembered they were allowed to play exciting football instead of recreating a live-action tutorial on defensive panic.

 

Greene buzzed around the middle and up forward inspiring his troops, Bedford hunted Bombers with enormous intensity while Whitfield and Ash continually broke lines to set up scoring opportunities for the likes of Stringer, Cadman and Riccardi. Daniels running goal bursting out of the centre square was a true team lifter. Essendon fought gallantly and were clearly the better side in the first half but eventually the Giants’ class prevailed in a not so convincing performance. Three missed shots on goal by the Bombers and a Connor Idun smother helped the cause. Antique Roadshow featuring mildly interesting teacups and suspiciously overvalued grandfather clocks could indeed wait another week.

 

GREATER WESTERN SYDNEY          4.0     5.2     11.5     16.7 (103)
ESSENDON                                      3.2     7.5     11.7     13.11 (89)

 

GOALS
Greater Western Sydney: Stringer 3, Greene 3, Riccardi 2, Gruzewski 2, Gothard 2, Daniels 2, Himmelberg, Cadman
Essendon: Wright 3, May 3, Duursma 2, Caddy 2, Redman, Perkins, Parish

 

BEST
Greater Western Sydney: Whitfield, Greene, Callaghan, Stringer, Ash
Essendon: Roberts, Wright, Merrett, May, Perkins

 

INJURIES
Greater Western Sydney: Nil
Essendon: Sharp (shoulder)

 

Crowd: TBC at Engie Stadium

 

VOTES

3. L Whitfield
2. A Roberts
1.T. Greene

 

To read all Round 9 match reports click HERE

 

 

Read more from Richard Griffiths HERE

 

 

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