Notable:
- The 32,691 strong crowd was the second biggest in Greater Western Sydney's short history. It was only the third time the club has drawn more than 30,000 fans to a game and ranks second behind the 38,203 who turned up to watch their first game against the Swans in round one last season.
- Collingwood's ability to pull away in the final quarter can be attributed to the way it improved in the contested ball stakes. At three quarter time, the Magpies trailed the Giants 28-32 in clearances and 99-106 in contested possessions. In the final half hour, they broke even in clearances (9-9) and won the bulk of the contested possessions (44-31). The Pies held away in the inside 50 stakes all night and ended with 18 more forward entries than their opponents.
- The performance of debutant Brodie Grundy was certainly eye-catching. The 202cm ruckman started at centre half forward and didn't look out of place after several strong performances in the VFL. He managed 14 disposals, laid five tackles, won 12 hitouts and took five marks. His aggression and ability to cover the ground were noteworthy and he looks set to form a dangerous ruck combination with Jarrod Witts in the years to come.
- After Saturday's match, Dane Swan is now averaging 38 disposals per game against the Giants. Sure, he's only played them twice, but he has certainly left his mark on them. He had 37 disposals and kicked five goals in the corresponding game last year, and was travelling down a similar path on Saturday when he had 39 touches and kicked 3.3.
- Harry O'Brien made a welcome return to senior football after a three week absence and it didn't take long for him to find his feet. He ended the night with 21 possessions and six marks, but it was his trademark goal on the burst during the third quarter that brought the fans to their feet.
Vote for your top three players following Saturday's win to help decide who will take home the Magpie Army Player of the Year Award.
Player | K | H | D | M | HO | FF | FA | T | G | B |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
36. Dane Swan | 23 | 16 | 39 | 9 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 3 | 3 | 3 |
17. Dayne Beams | 19 | 18 | 37 | 6 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 4 | 1 | 2 |
22. Steele Sidebottom | 22 | 9 | 31 | 8 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 4 | 3 | 0 |
39. Heath Shaw | 19 | 8 | 27 | 10 | 0 | 2 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
10. Scott Pendlebury | 12 | 13 | 25 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
8. Harry O'Brien | 13 | 8 | 21 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 1 | 0 |
11. Jarryd Blair | 9 | 10 | 19 | 3 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 7 | 0 | 1 |
15. Jarrod Witts | 6 | 12 | 18 | 2 | 15 | 1 | 0 | 6 | 1 | 1 |
6. Tyson Goldsack | 8 | 10 | 18 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 0 |
24. Josh Thomas | 9 | 7 | 16 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 0 |
46. Marley Williams | 9 | 7 | 16 | 3 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 |
3. Brent Macaffer | 10 | 6 | 16 | 9 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 0 |
28. Ben Sinclair | 8 | 7 | 15 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
41. Sam Dwyer | 7 | 7 | 14 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 |
35. Brodie Grundy | 6 | 8 | 14 | 5 | 12 | 2 | 0 | 7 | 0 | 1 |
32. Travis Cloke | 12 | 2 | 14 | 8 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 3 | 2 |
23. Lachlan Keeffe | 9 | 2 | 11 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
20. Ben Reid | 6 | 4 | 10 | 4 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 1 |
19. Jamie Elliott | 4 | 6 | 10 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 |
16. Nathan Brown | 4 | 5 | 9 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
5. Nick Maxwell | 5 | 3 | 8 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 0 | 0 |
27. Ben Kennedy | 3 | 2 | 5 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 |
K: Kicks, H: Handballs, D: Disposals, M: Marks, HO: Hitouts, FF: Free Kicks For, FA: Free Kicks Against, T: Tackles, G: Goals, B: Behinds.