Match

GWS Giants vs Geelong Cats

Commentary / 01 Jul 2017

Pre Game

59:30

Welcome to Spotless Stadium for the GWS Giants v Geelong Cats Round 15 clash.

59:33

Outs for Giants: Z.Williams, H.Himmelberg, T.Taranto, T.Greene

59:34

Ins for Giants: R.Lobb, J.Kelly, D.Smith, J.Finlayson

59:35

Outs for Cats: T.Stewart, J.Selwood, D.Lang, S.Selwood, G.Horlin-Smith

59:36

Ins for Cats: L.Henderson, A.Black, Z.Smith, S.Simpson, Z.Guthrie

59:40

Don't forget to enter your tips for this match, you have until the bounce to make your selection.

00:00

A point of interest tonight will be Greater Western Sydney's ability to move end to end. The Giants transition 23 per cent of defensive 50 attempts inside forward 50 (ranked second) and have scored 15 goals this season from its kick-ins (ranked first).

Quarter 1

00:00

Q1 is now underway.

02:13

SCORE GOAL - Cats (Tom Hawkins)

03:06

Wylie Buzza is a late inclusion for Daniel Menzel who was injured in the warm up. Menzel has kicked 30 goals for the second, ranked second at Geelong. Tom Hawkins is ranked first at the Cats for goals this season and now has 32 for the year.

04:57

SCORE GOAL - Giants (Jonathon Patton)

05:46

Geelong (four) has committed double the turnovers of Greater Western Sydney (two) and the Giants have capitalised with a goal from the fourth. The Giants have generated a score from 26 per cent of intercepts this season, ranked first in the league.

12:49

Giants Interchange - Sam J. Reid off due to an injury.

13:40

SCORE GOAL - Giants (Nathan Wilson)

13:59

Nathan Wilson has had a strong start to the match, already winning a team-high six kicks and gaining 186 metres for his side - the most by any player on the ground. With his sixth kick he has notched up the second goal to the Giants.

16:05

SCORE GOAL - Cats (James Parsons)

16:19

Geelong has found some success transitioning on the counter-attack. Both of the Cats goals have been launched from defensive half intercepts.

22:10

SCORE GOAL - Giants (Jonathon Patton)

22:25

Jonathon Patton has kicked the Giants' third from a set shot from outside 50 metres. He has now kicked 21 goals from 28 set shots for the season.

23:39

SCORE GOAL - Cats (Mark Blicavs)

24:57

SCORE BEHIND - Cats (Cameron Guthrie)

28:37

SCORE BEHIND - Giants (Rushed)

30:52

Patrick Dangerfield has amassed 15 disposals this quarter but 14 of these have been handballs. This tally marks the most handballs recorded by any player in a quarter since 2009 when Scott Thompson had the same number in a quarter in Round 7.

31:38

The siren has sounded to end Q1.

31:48

An even quarter on the scoreboard is reflected by little difference in play and in the data. The Cats were able to launch three goals from eight defensive half intercepts, while the Giants were effective in launching two majors from nine clearances.

Quarter 2

00:00

Q2 is now underway.

01:01

SCORE GOAL - Cats (Aaron Black)

02:00

The Cats have the first goal of the second quarter after a 50-metre penalty against Steve Johnson has gifted Aaron Black a sitter. The Giants have conceded the third-highest percentage of points from 50-metre penalties this season.

04:28

SCORE GOAL - Giants (Steve Johnson)

04:39

Scores are level for the sixth time in this match after ex-Geelong forward Steve Johnson kicks a fine set shot from the boundary. The Giants have kicked two of their four goals directly from free kicks.

07:22

SCORE BEHIND - Giants (Rushed)

09:59

Greater Western Sydney have caught Geelong 'holding the ball' on three occasions while the Cats are yet to win a free kick of that type. This season the Giants only average 3.3 holding the ball free kicks per game, ranked 16th in the league.

12:46

SCORE BEHIND - Cats (Rushed)

13:49

Giants Interchange - Jeremy Finlayson and is possibly out for the game.

14:40

SCORE BEHIND - Cats (Mitch Duncan)

17:40

Nick Haynes has won a game-high six intercepts including three intercepts marks. The Greater Western Sydney defender averages 1.9 intercept marks per game this season, ranked second at the Giants and 34th in the league.

18:15

SCORE GOAL - Cats (Wylie Buzza)

19:59

SCORE BEHIND - Cats (Mark Blicavs)

22:42

SCORE GOAL - Cats (Jordan Murdoch)

22:45

The Cats have controlled territory in the past ten minutes, with the ball inside their forward half for 79 per cent of that period. In this time they have won two more clearances than the Giants and turned the ball over on two fewer occasions.

24:33

SCORE BEHIND - Giants (Jonathon Patton)

26:55

SCORE BEHIND - Cats (Jordan Murdoch)

28:51

SCORE GOAL - Giants (Jonathon Patton)

29:05

Jonathon Patton has kicked another set shot straight through the middle. The Greater Western Sydney forward has taken five marks, with two inside forward 50, on the way to three first half goals.

30:40

The siren has sounded to end Q2.

30:50

Another tight quarter but the Cats have edged ahead to hold their first interstate half time lead since Round 1. Geelong kicked two of its three goals for the quarter from outside 50 metres and have kicked four of the past six goals of the match.

Quarter 3

00:00

Q3 is now underway.

01:02

Nathan Wilson was a big driver off half back for Greater Western Sydney to half time. Wilson recorded 13 kicks on his way to 537 metres gained, the second highest tally by any player in a first half this season.

01:53

SCORE GOAL - Giants (Callan Ward)

02:03

Greater Western has won four free kicks inside forward 50 and kicked three straight goals as a result. The Giants have been very effective from set shots, with five goals without a miss.

03:55

SCORE BEHIND - Giants (Steve Johnson)

06:01

SCORE GOAL - Cats (Wylie Buzza)

06:13

One of three players on debut tonight for the Cats, Wylie Buzza has proven an important focal point. He has taken Geelong's only two marks inside forward 50 since the third minute of the match, converting both for the first two goals of his senior career

15:08

SCORE GOAL - Cats (Sam Menegola)

15:19

Given the exclusion of both Selwood brothers for the Cats, Sam Menegola has played an important role in the middle. He has amassed 25 disposals, already above his 2017 game average of 22.4 per game.

16:58

SCORE BEHIND - Giants (Rory Lobb)

21:15

SCORE GOAL - Cats (Rhys Stanley)

21:54

The Cats have stretched the lead to a game-high 18 points with their third successive goal. All three majors to Geelong this term have derived from possession chains launched forward of centre ending in marks inside forward 50.

22:39

SCORE BEHIND - Cats (Rushed)

27:27

It's taken until the final minute of the third term for Jeremy Cameron to score, marking just the Giants' second goal launched from defensive 50. Prior to this match the Giants had kicked 45 goals launched from this zone, ranked first in the league.

29:01

The siren has sounded to end Q3.

29:11

For the second consecutive quarter, the Giants have kicked their second goal late in proceedings after the Cats had scored three. Patrick Dangerfield and Sam Menegola combined for 25 disposals (but only eight kicks) for the term.

Quarter 4

00:00

Q4 is now underway.

01:18

Both these teams have been successful in final terms this year, each winning nine of 13. In fourth quarters, the Cats have averaged a net 17-point margin per game (ranked first) and the Giants have averaged a net eight-point margin (ranked second).

02:22

SCORE GOAL - Cats (Patrick Dangerfield)

03:46

Patrick Dangerfield has recorded 35 disposals but with just his ninth kick he has kicked his first goal. He has now kicked goals in all but two of his 14 games this season and has kicked 24 goals in total, equal to his tally from 2016.

07:16

SCORE BEHIND - Cats (Rushed)

08:26

SCORE GOAL - Giants (Rory Lobb)

08:29

Rory Lobb has taken the Giants' second mark inside 50 in the second half but put the set shot through from a tough angle. Both teams have been very impressive from set shots, with the Giants kicking 7.1 (43) and the Cats kicking 8.0 (48).

10:13

SCORE BEHIND - Giants (Rory Lobb)

14:42

SCORE BEHIND - Giants (Tom Scully)

16:46

SCORE GOAL - Giants (Lachie Whitfield)

16:59

With a great snap across the body, Whitfield has put Greater Western Sydney within a goal of Geelong. This is just the second Giants goal from general play for the match, well down on their average of over six per game from general play for the year.

21:45

SCORE GOAL - Giants (Jonathon Patton)

21:54

Scores are level after Jonathon Patton has marked strongly for his second contested mark and sixth overall. He has been the best forward on the ground, kicking four goals from four set shots.

26:13

SCORE BEHIND - Giants (Rushed)

32:29

SCORE BEHIND - Cats (Tom Hawkins)

32:39

The siren has sounded to end Q4.

32:49

A missed shot from Tom Hawkins after the siren (Geelong's first set shot behind for the game) has led to the first AFL draw since 2015. The Cats led for 76 minutes and the Giants led for 15 minutes, however at the final siren neither side could be split.