GWS has produced its highest-ever score, blowing Brisbane away in a 78-point mauling of the reigning premiers on Sunday.
The Giants piled on 14 unanswered goals in an 86-point third term that marked the highest-scoring third quarter in AFL history, setting up the 26.10 (166) to 13.10 (88) win in incredulous scenes at ENGIE Stadium.
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Clayton Oliver led from the front at the contest, continuing his resurgent season by recording a game-high 37 disposals, 11 clearances and six score involvements.
Skipper Toby Greene looked like he was loving life in Western Sydney, booting five goals to go with a game-high 12 score involvements and 21 possessions.
Jake Stringer also slammed home five majors, with the Giants finishing with eight individual goalkickers.
THE 3-2-1 (what we learned) …
3. ‘IS THERE A MERCY RULE?’ HISTORIC GIANTS TSUNAMI BRUTALISES PREMIERS
Forgive us, as we’re still reeling from the highest-scoring third quarter in 130 years of VFL/AFL history.
The Giants put up an unfathomable 14.2 (86) to Brisbane’s measly 0.3 (3) at ENGIE Stadium on Sunday afternoon.
It was the fourth-biggest all-time margin in a quarter, GWS’ highest-ever score as a club, and its highest-scoring quarter in its history.
Read those words again, because we had to — a few times.
Not only is that record feat nothing short of incredible, but the Giants’ victims were the back-to-back reigning premiers.
Want another ridiculous detail? Adam Kingsley lost gun rebounder Lachie Whitfield to a hamstring issue in the pre-game, before star defender Jack Buckley was ruled out at quarter-time with a hamstring injury.
“I’d like to say I saw this coming, but my goodness me, this is one of the most phenomenal performances by the Giants, and that’s the kind of football club they are,” Gerard Healy said on Fox Footy, after caller Corbin Middlemas labelled it “jaw-dropping”.
“They are so bloody resilient, this group.”
Five of the nine goals Brisbane conceded to the 22-minute mark came from stoppage alone.
“It’s frightening; I can’t believe what I’m seeing,” Healy added.
After GWS’ 11th goal, Healy posed: “Is there a mercy rule? (Brisbane is) stunned at the present time.”
GWS smash VFL/AFL record against Lions | 01:01
At three-quarter-time, Lynch noted the Giants’ key improvements made from their disenchanting loss to West Coast the previous Sunday.
“It was off the back of things that we didn’t see last week … they only scored 1.3 out of the back half (last week). What we saw here is their ability to put pressure on, turn the ball over, and then the work ethic to run — and that tsunami came back in waves,” Lynch said.
The breakdown: GWS scored three goals from their defensive half, seven goals from turnovers, and six from stoppage. (A couple of those turnover goals originated in the defensive half.)
Maybe this — now sitting 5-6 on the season — will act as the Giants’ sparkplug for the rest of the season, sitting just percentage out of the top 10.
To recap, the Giants took just a six-point lead into the main change, before exploding to proportions we’ve never before seen.
And there were hints at half-time that a surge was eventually going to come.
“They’ve bounced back in a number of aspects of the game, but I think the most pleasing aspect is they’ve been able to score from turnovers,” Lynch said at the main break on Fox Footy.
“The pressure applied … They were able to turn the ball over. Especially when you’re playing against a class opposition like the Brisbane Lions, they’re going to get the ball, and they’re going to move the ball.
“So, you’ve got to put pressure on and turn it over.”
At the main break, the Giants had scored 6.4 (40) to the Lions’ 2.4 (16) off turnover, with their pressure rating sitting at 204.
“That’s a great result, and it’s off the back of that pressure that we’ve seen from the first bounce,” Lynch added.
The hosts were buoyed by Clayton Oliver’s continued resurgence, with the cast-off ex-Demon notching 20 disposals – 13 contested – eight clearances and 462 metres gained in the first half.
Those 462 metres were 10 shy of his best-ever first half in the metric.
“He looks really fit, and you can see by his work rate around the ground,” Lynch said.
“He’s on the inside, but then his transition from one stoppage to the next is first class.”
Lynch dissects GWS’ historic 3rd quarter | 01:40
2. ‘HAVE THEY…?’: LIONS QUESTION ON EVERYONE’S LIPS AFTER GRIM ‘SLAUGHTER’
Well, maybe the concerns around Brisbane — its hunger and defence in particular — were founded.
Dual North Melbourne premiership player David King put it on the agenda last Sunday on First Crack, after Brisbane got done by Geelong at home.
Entering Round 11, the Lions sat a middling 10th for points against — and if we know one thing about flag-contending sides, they typically have to be in the top six.
King said: “History never lies … the ‘she’ll be right’ approach doesn’t ring true to me, when you look at the defensive side of the game. The defensive numbers don’t lie.
“We never think the previous year’s premier is going to fall off the cliff … It’s an emotional thing; it’s a mental thing. You just drop off a fraction … What are you seeing at Brisbane? Everyone is dropping off.”
If you didn’t believe the Lions were dropping off last week, maybe you had a change of heart after what the Giants did to Chris Fagan’s men on Sunday.
The highest-scoring third quarter in history. Fourteen (14!) unanswered goals. Game over in 15 minutes.
We haven’t seen Brisbane look that hapless in years — and granted, it’s Round 11 — but it’s perhaps an early indication that this season won’t end the same as the previous two.
“This is just an amazing performance from the orange, and the Lions … they won’t believe what they’re putting out here at the moment,” Gerard Healy said in the third quarter.
“There’s just no urgency, no desperation — they’re getting slaughtered.”
Cats great Cam Mooney added: “This is the point in the season where you start to question: ‘Have they got that hunger?’
“I said weeks ago – I still wasn’t anywhere near ready to write this team off, because I thought they hadn’t got out of second or third gear yet, but now you start to maybe question: ‘Is the hunger there?’
“There’s nowhere to hide.”
While Mooney warned that writing off the Lions early had been perilous in years past, the negative noise around their flag credentials will undeniably grow.
“I’m not one to write them off yet. But we talk about having mulligans during the season,” Mooney said in the fourth quarter.
“I thought last week may have been their mulligan, and very rarely do you have two in a row when you’re one of the great teams like this.
“So, questions will be asked of them. And probably for themselves as well.”
Kingsley: “That needs to be our level!” | 10:22
1. DOUBLE GIANTS BLOW AS ‘CRISIS DEEPENS’
Crucial Giants defender Jack Buckley is once again in the wars with a hamstring issue, ruled out of Sunday’s clash before quarter-time.
After missing a week with a hamstring issue before coming back into the side this week, a frustrated-looking Buckley required assessment in the first quarter.
“It’s the belly of his right hamstring that’s the issue,” Alastair Lynch said boundary-side on Fox Footy.
“He was just chatting to the physio about doing a bit of a stride up the wing, and he shook his head, so he’s back on the bench.
“I reckon (it’s) highly unlikely that he’ll come back.”
Buckley did end up doing a proppy run-through or two, before he was ruled out of the game shortly after.
“The ice has come out of the esky and gone on Buckley’s hamstring, so he’s out,” Lynch added minutes later.
He said at quarter-time: “It does look like it’s a back-related hamstring … they tried to release the back, but in the end, they pulled the pin.”
It continues a brutal GWS injury run, with backline teammate Lachie Whitfield withdrawn less than an hour before Sunday’s first ball-up with hamstring awareness.
“The injury crisis deepens for Adam Kingsley,” caller Kelli Underwood remarked pre-game.
The Giants entered Round 11 with a 14-player injury list, not counting Whitfield nor Buckley, with integral key defender Sam Taylor among the stars yet to grace the field this season for Adam Kingsley.
Re-live Giants vs. Lions in our blog below!