Darcy Jones celebrates kicking a goal during the match between Greater Western Sydney and St Kilda at Engie Stadium in round 24, 2025. Picture: AFL Photos

GREATER Western Sydney has survived a huge scare as captain Toby Greene reeled in a pair of match-defining marks to lock in a home final with an 11-point victory over St Kilda at Engie Stadium.

The Giants booted four of the last five goals to be all but certain of hosting an elimination final, while clinging onto faint hope of snatching a double chance with a 15.14 (104) to 14.9 (93) win against the Saints on Sunday.

The most likely scenario will see the Giants hosting a home elimination final, but in the unlikely event that Brisbane and Hawthorn play out a draw on Sunday night, the Giants could finish fourth on the ladder and travel to play Adelaide in a qualifying final.

Greene stepped up to inspire his side when the match was on the line as the chance of a home final began slipping out of their grasp, with two goals and a couple of classic marks in a see-sawing final term.

GIANTS v SAINTS Full match coverage and stats

The three-time All-Australian was the first to respond after the Saints had booted three consecutive goals to open up a healthy lead before the Giants made a late surge.

Greene pulled the Giants closer with his fourth goal of the game then set up another within a minute as he took command at the centre bounce.

But when the Saints threatened again as Max Hall slotted a set shot from a difficult angle, Greene threw the Giants on his back.

The skipper pulled down a screamer in the forward pocket before hitting the post, but then bettered that mark when running back with the flight into the centre square just as the Saints were about to counterattack.

Darcy Jones booted the sealer with less than a minute remaining to ensure the Giants will be back home in the coming weeks. 

Max Gruzewski also stood tall in the Giants’ injury-hit forward line with three critical goals which could have been much more as he missed a pair of set shots in an otherwise promising display. 

Tom Green (33 disposals) was important around the stoppages and Finn Callaghan (26) was superb early as the Giants made a fast start. 

The Saints came close to shaping the top eight for the second season in a row as they stifled the Giants’ ball movement and restricted the finals-bound side to only 28 inside 50s to the last change. 

But the Giants had more run and dare late in the game while the Saints paid the price for star midfielder Nasiah Wanganeen-Milera spending time on the bench with cramp in the dying stages.

Wanganeen-Milera has hardly been slowed down by speculation around his future this year so it was little surprise to see him hit the ground running after re-signing with the Saints.  

The young gun regularly showed his class after agreeing to a lucrative deal earlier this week and came close to sparking the Saints in the opening half.

He missed three gilt-edge opportunities to give his side a boost with some unusually wayward kicking for goal only producing three behinds.

But the 22-year-old did his usual damage around the field as he turned provider and finished with 23 disposals, including 10 contested possessions, and seven clearances as he continues to grow his game. 

Darcy Wilson gave the Saints plenty of hope for the future as well as giving them a sniff against the Giants after booting a career-best five goals.

Saints veteran Zak Jones had an opportunity to reclaim the lead with less than five minutes remaining but hooked his set shot from 40m out and directly in front, before the Giants dug deep to hold on.

Luckless Giant faces race to be fit for finals
Stephen Coniglio has had a season to forget after recovering from a horror blow in last year’s finals series before suffering a glute injury that sidelined him for 13 weeks. The Giants vice-captain returned from the unusual injury to face the Bombers in round 19 and was on track to again be a critical part of the engine room but now faces a race to be fit for finals. The 31-year-old crashed into Saints midfielder Marcus Windhager’s hip while attempting to lay a tackle and was soon subbed out with concussion. The Giants will hope the pre-finals bye plays into the luckless Coniglio’s hands and gives him time to recover before an elimination final in less than two weeks.

St Kilda forwards share the spoils
The Saints were clinging on after the Giants’ fast start when Max Hall bombed a wobbly kick into their forward 50. The tricky bounce left Isaac Keeler with plenty to do as the young Saints key forward came charging into heavy traffic, gathered the ball in time to sell a dummy and then stepped a pair of Giants defenders. The 21-year-old found space near the boundary to snap off his left boot and use the bounce to arc the ball toward goal. Keeler was already into his celebration when teammate Lance Collard arrived in the goalsquare in time to throw out a leg and steal the major with a touch off his toe.

Giant celebrates milestone match in style
Harry Himmelberg has shown he knows where the goals are across his 200 matches with the Giants but has rarely got forward enough to trouble the scorers this year. The 29-year-old key forward-turned-defender had only booted two goals this season before lurking around the 50m arc while Jake Riccardi lined up an early set shot. As the St Kilda defence switched off, Himmelberg pounced to receive a simple handball and open the scoring with a long bomb that sailed through the goals at post height. Himmelberg settled back into defence from there but celebrated his milestone match in style with 21 disposals and 12 marks.  

GREATER WESTERN SYDNEY   4.3    6.6    10.7    15.14 (104)
ST KILDA                                  2.5    6.7    10.8    14.9 (93)

GOALS
Greater Western Sydney: Greene 4, Gruzewski 3, Jones 2, Himmelberg, Thomas, Rowston, Bedford, Brown, Green
St Kilda: Wilson 5, Phillipou 2, Collard 2, Sharman 2, Hall 2, Keeler

BEST
Greater Western Sydney: Greene, Callaghan, Green, Ash, Whitfield, Gruzewski, Himmelberg
St Kilda: Wanganeen-Milera, Wilson, Windhager, Sinclair, Steele

INJURIES
Greater Western Sydney: Coniglio (concussion)
St Kilda: Phillipou (calf)

SUBSTITUTES
Greater Western Sydney: Jacob Wehr (replaced Stephen Coniglio in the second quarter)
St Kilda: Jack Macrae (replaced Mattaes Phillipou in the third quarter)

Crowd: TBC at Engie Stadium