After a strong opening half, the GIANTS - with twelve AFL listed players - were overrun by Southport in round eight of the VFL.

James Peatling (27 disposals, five tackles), Jacob Wehr (18 disposals, eight marks) and Jarrod Brander (22 disposals, 12 marks) impressed for the GIANTS, but it wasn't enough as the GIANTS fell to a 12.13 (85) to 8.10 (58) defeat at Austworld Centre Oval. 

GIANTS VFL coach Damian Truslove said he was proud of his side's effort, despite their disappointing final quarter.

“I thought we fought really hard, I was really happy with our effort,” Truslove said. 

“We gave it everything but to their credit, Southport’s pressure was outstanding for the entire contest.

“We lost Tanner (Bruhn) to illness just before the game, meaning we went in with one less player, but I though we fought it out really well.

“We’re looking forward to bouncing back at GIANTS Stadium this weekend.”

Truslove shared his assessments of the AFL and VFL listed players who played in the match.

AFL Listed Players:

9 Ryan Angwin

9 disposals, 3 tackles

Played on the wing and off half-back. His running patterns to support the defence was really good and he’ll look to get more involved offensively next week.

10 Jacob Wehr

18 disposals, 8 marks

Another really solid performance, his running patterns were good, and he used the ball well by foot.

20 James Peatling

27 disposals, 5 tackles

Played in the midfield this week. He was hard and tough for the entire contest and gave it everything he had, he’s in some really good form.

21 Leek Aleer 

8 disposals, 5 marks

Really competitive for the entire contest. He had some good spoils and attacked the opposition and ball with aggression.

28 Zach Sproule

12 disposals, 8 tackles

Played forward and in the ruck. He ran hard and tackled really well, an outstanding leader for us at the moment.

29 Cameron Fleeton

8 disposals, 3 marks

He had a big job on a former GIANT in Jacob Townsend and kept him to one behind and 8 disposals, it was a really impressive defensive effort.

31 Jarrod Brander

22 disposals, 12 marks, 1 goal

Played on the wing and support the defence really well. He used the ball well by foot and ran hard forward when he had the opportunity to do so.

32 Kieren Briggs

14 hit-outs, 1 goal

Had to compete against two of the best rucks in the competition and did a great job. He spent some time forward and will continue to work on his forward craft.

34 Josh Fahey

16 disposals, 4 rebound-50s

They put a lot of time into Josh, and he handled it really well. He was still really effective of half-back.

35 Will Shaw 

9 disposals, 3 marks

Was a bit quiet due to illness, we played him deep forward and he competed well.

42 Jake Stein

15 disposals, 6 marks

A strong game in defence and had some big and aggressive spoils. Was pivotal with our ball movement out of the back half.

46 Callum Brown

12 disposals, 4 marks

Had really good attack on the ball and was pleased to see him run and carry and take the game on.

VFL Listed and Academy Players: 

47 Josh Green

24 disposals, 1 goal

Played in the midfield and was hard and tough, competed hard.

48 Harry Grintell

9 disposals, 8 tackles

Played down forward and tackled really well. He supported our defence with good running patterns for the entire contest.

49 Sam Frost  

11 disposals, 4 marks

Played down back and was another battling illness. He was courageous to compete for as long as he did.

50 Billy Clark  

16 disposals, 5 tackles

Billy came into the side late and played both back and forward. He got involved with the ball movement out of the back half.

51 Ryan Hebron

9 disposals, 2 goals

Looked dangerous as a forward and kicked two important goals for us. His leadership is outstanding, and he’s become a really important player for us. 

52 Brodie Romensky

13 disposals, 2 goals

Played as a forward, led at the ball well and kicked a really good goal.

57 Sebastian Quirk

8 disposals, 2 marks

His second game in two days, it was a really impressive effort, and he gave it everything he had.

60 Leyton Chisholm

18 disposals, 3 marks

Worked hard around the stoppages as a midfielder. His tackle intent was good and he ran hard.

63 Ricky Monti

12 disposals, 1 goal

Kicked an outstanding goal on his left foot that lifted us. He played a defensive role in the midfield and was really disciplined.

64 Lachlan Benton

22 disposals, 3 inside-50s

Ran hard between the contest and tackled really well. He gave us plenty of energy around the ground.

The GIANTS will look to bounce back when they clash with Werribee at GIANTS Stadium on Sunday at 10:05am. The GIANTS’ AFL side take on West Coast from 2:10pm.

The AFL will live stream every match of the VFL season at afl.com.au/stream-vfl.