Brent Daniels celebrates a goal during round 11, 2026. Picture: AFL Photos

A RECORD-SHATTERING third quarter has propelled Greater Western Sydney to a stunning upset over Brisbane at Engie Stadium on Sunday afternoon, securing the Giants a 78-point victory despite losing two players to hamstring injuries.

The catalyst for the triumph was an unprecedented third-term blitz. Coming out of the main break, the Giants unleashed a devastating onslaught to kick the highest-scoring quarter in club history — and write themselves into the record books with the highest third-quarter score in VFL/AFL history. The shell-shocked Lions simply had no answer.

The 26.10 (166) to 13.10 (88) win breathes life into what had been a rocky start to the season for GWS. Battling heavy defensive pressure while awaiting key players to return from injury, the Giants had found their campaign hanging by a thread after a shock defeat to Waalitj Marawar last week.

GIANTS v LIONS Full match coverage and stats

Heading into the match, the broader concern for GWS was its forward efficiency, having failed to score more than 74 points in any of their previous losses this year. However, a six-goal first term followed by that blistering 14-goal third term completely stunned the Lions.

In an absolute goal-fest, Toby Greene and Jake Stringer led the way with five goals each, as GWS secured their first victory over Brisbane at their Sydney home since round 6, 2018.

While the Giants completely dominated field position with a massive 75-49 inside-50 count, the clearance battle was a far tighter affair, with GWS only just edging ahead 45-42.

Clayton Oliver starred with 37 disposals, 11 clearances, and eight tackles. He received strong support from Lachie Ash, who racked up 28 disposals of his own.

Despite being subjected to a hard tag by Josh Dunkley, Finn Callaghan fought back to influence the game, racking up 30 disposals, four clearances, and a goal.

For Brisbane, Cam Rayner and Kai Lohmann led the way with three goals apiece, while Lachie Neale had 29 disposals and seven clearances.

It was a high-octane start from both teams, who traded blows in a blistering 11-goal opening quarter shootout that included two majors from Rayner. 

Brisbane struck first when Conor McKenna cleanly gathered the bounce, spun into space, and snapped a Gaelic-style opener. However, the response was instant from GWS, as skipper Greene played on from a free kick to hit back before Jake Riccardi slotted another to make it back-to-back goals. 

The opening term came at a cost for the Giants; despite losing Jack Buckley to a right hamstring injury, they fought hard to carry a six-point lead into the first break.

Neale opened the scoring in the second from a free kick before a period of wayward kicking and poor decision-making stifled the Giants, despite the ball living in their forward line. 

Ricciardi snapped his second goal, but Charlie Cameron returned serve with his own second for Brisbane — benefiting from a costly GWS turnover from a kick-in. 

Max Gruzewski snagged his second shortly after as the Giants pushed out to a 12-point lead. Ultimately, after eight lead changes during a see-sawing first half, it was GWS who held a six-point advantage at the main break.

Just seconds after half time, Phoenix Gothard hit the scoreboard, triggering a remarkable run where Stringer, Cadman and Greene all booted majors during a disastrous Brisbane restart. 

Cadman, Gruzewski, Greene, Stringer and Bedford then added to the pain, before Greene snagged his fourth of the quarter to wrap up a blistering 14.2 to 0.4 term.

Logan Morris finally ended the Lions’ 42-minute goal drought early in the fourth term, before Cam Rayner slotted his third to trigger a run of four straight goals for Brisbane. 

However, the Giants’ party soon continued, with Callum Brown snagging his second and Stringer capping off his brilliant afternoon with his fifth goal.

Despite the win the Giants have little margin for error as they face the in-form Demons in Alice Springs before their bye.

Greene masterclass fuels Giants’ historic blitz 
Toby Greene took centre stage during the Giants’ high-pressure third-quarter blitz, booting four of his five goals in that term alone. Responding to a flat performance against the Eagles last week, the Greater Western Sydney skipper bounced back in spectacular fashion. Greene put on a clinic to finish the match with 21 disposals that spearheaded a devastating second-half onslaught that completely dismantled the reigning premiers.

Buckley iced up as hamstring yields
Jack Buckley’s afternoon was cut short after suffering a right hamstring injury during a first-quarter contest with Charlie Cameron. Despite undergoing treatment and attempting run-throughs on the boundary line, the defender was ultimately iced up. Buckley had missed last week’s trip to Perth with hamstring soreness; while initial scans cleared him at the time, the Giants’ conservative approach proved in vain as the key backman was ruled out for the day.

Giants forced into late change
In an extremely late change, Harry Oliver replaced Lachie Whitfield ahead of the opening ball-up after the defender was sidelined by hamstring awareness. Whitfield, who was held to 21 disposals last week under a heavy Waalitj Marawar tag, had previously missed just one game over the last three years. The 31-year-old had struggled through training on Friday and completed a pre-game fitness test but was ultimately ruled out. While the Giants won that lone prior match in his absence, history was not on their side on Sunday; GWS carried a 5-9 record without their star backman dating back to 2020.

GREATER WESTERN SYDNEY      6.2   9.5    23.7    26.10 (166)
BRISBANE                                   5.2   8.5    8.8    13.10 (88)
 
GOALS
Greater Western Sydney: Greene 5, Stringer 5, Cadman 3, Gruzewski 3, Daniels 2, Ricciardi 2, Gothard 2, Brown 2, Bedford, Callaghan
Brisbane: Rayner 3, Lohmann 3, Cameron 2, McKenna 2, McLachlan, Neale, Morris

BEST
Greater Western Sydney: Gothard, Oliver, Daniels, Greene, Callaghan
Brisbane: Neale, Rayner, Wilmot, Bailey, Dunkley
  
INJURIES
Greater Western Sydney: Buckley (hamstring)
Brisbane: Nil
 
LATE CHANGES
Greater Western Sydney: Lachie Whitfield (hamstring) replaced in selected side by Harry Oliver
Brisbane: Nil
 
Crowd: TBC at Engie Stadium