A severely undermanned UWS GIANTS were defeated by 109 points by their Western Sydney neighbours, the Sydney Hills Eagles at Rouse Hill on Saturday afternoon.
The GIANTS went into the game missing several senior players and used the occasion to blood a number of Slater & Gordon GIANTS Academy players, who will no doubt be better for the experience.
The chief destroyer for the Eagles was Ross Tangatalum, who has featured in several matches for the GIANTS this season and kept up his impressive form with six goals for the victors.
Despite the disappointing result there were many positives to come out of the game including the continued impressive form of GIANTS Number One draft pick, Jonathon Patton.
In a week where GIANTS coach, Kevin Sheedy announced that Patton was set to make his debut in the GIANTS game against Richmond at Skoda Stadium on June 12, Patton put in an impressive display to be named the GIANTS best on ground.
Patton again ran strongly and managed to get his name on the scoresheet, which sees the young forward find his name amongst the GIANTS best for the third consecutive week, which should dispel any concerns over the knee injury that has hampered his early 2012 campaign.
Slater & Gordon Academy Manager and NEAFL assistant coach, Lachlan Buszard hailed Patton's performance with conditions not favourable to tall forwards.
"Jonathon Patton was really good for us today; he presented up the ground and would have taken 13-14 contested marks in wet conditions and provided the side with a really good target, on what was a day not for tall forwards. Patton worked both ways and really tackled and chased hard, which was great to see," said Buszard.
Buszard said despite the defeat there were many positives to take away.
"We had Matt Buntine and Will Hoskin-Elliot withdrawal before the game, which left us with only eleven AFL listed players, which meant we had 13 Slater & Gordon GIANTS Academy players playing with us today. It was a great experience for them and to play alongside AFL listed players and within the clubs structures and it is tremendous for their development," Buszard said.
" Sam Schulz was really good in the midfield. He was our captain today and he got a lot of the footy and Sam Frost did well at fullback to restrict their key forwards and then went into the ruck and did well to give us first use of the football on a number of occasions. It shows that he is really developing having come from a Volleyball background, now into football at the highest level," said Buszard.
"When you have only eleven listed players it's going to be tough on any given day and today is a good learning opportunity for our players. Now they can go away, have a week off and be ready when they come back to go again."
Another good sign for the GIANTS was the return of Kurt Aylett, who completed his first game since August 2011 following his return from a long injury layoff due to Aylett suffering a torn ACL in last season's NEAFL competition, which required a full reconstruction.
Of the Thirteen Slater & Gordon Academy players used today, seven hailed from Western Sydney, with four from the ACT and two from Wagga.
Sydney Hills Eagles def. UWS GIANTS
20.16 136 - 4.3 27
Hills Eagles
Goal Kickers: R. Tungatalum 6, T. Head 3, C. Young , T. Garlick , B. Ure , S. Reed , J. Vlatko , M. Edwins , B. Yakimov , D. Steer , R. Houlihan , J. Vlatko , J. Dimery
Best Players: D. Charleston, R. Tungatalum, R. Houlihan, C. Young, T. Head, J. Vlatko
UWS Giants
Goal Kickers: K. Merson 2, J. Patton , S. EDWARDS
Best Players: J. Patton, S. Schulz, J. Hombsch, S. Frost, A. Tomlinson, M. Eastman
