Zac Williams has continued his impressive return from a pre-season Achilles injury, racking up 37 disposals and taking nine marks in the NEAFL GIANTS’ 101 point loss to Brisbane on Saturday at Blacktown International Sportspark.
A depleted GIANTS team was no match for the finals-bound Lions, losing their final match of the season 3.6 (24) to 19.11 (125).
Williams was one of just five AFL-listed players to
Zach Sproule rounded out his impressive season with two goals and 30 disposals, while rookie Jack Buckley kicked a goal and collected 24 possession in his first game since late July.
GIANTS NEAFL coach Adam Schneider said the result was a disappointing end to a season full of positives.
“Brisbane
“To make the finals would have been really exciting, we could have really challenged deep into finals, but that’s the way it worked out – we didn’t win enough games.
“But the year as a whole I couldn’t have been happier with the boys’ efforts in the way we played and dealt with adversity through the year.
“There were probably one or two games where we let ourselves down, but I thought the way the boys went about it was fantastic.”
Meanwhile, young GIANT Aiden Bonar was rewarded for his stellar year in the NEAFL, being named on the interchange in the NEAFL Team of the Year at the NEAFL Awards on Sunday night.
Bonar kicked nine goals in 14 games for the NEAFL GIANTS and was named amongst their best players eight times before being called up for his AFL debut in round 20 against Carlton.
“It was a fantastic effort from Aiden Bonar in his first year of senior footy to come into a new club and be thrown into the midfield and play against some quality midfielders,” Schneider said.
“It was a real credit to him, he’s done some extremely hard work, some of the stuff he does during the week to get himself ready is fantastic.
“A lot of credit needs to go to Damian Trusslove, our Development Coach, as he’s worked very closely with Aiden and got him up to speed and we’ve seen him get rewarded with playing senior footy at the end of the season.”
GIANTS 1.1, 1.2, 3.4, 3.6 (24)
Brisbane 3.2, 7.9, 11.11, 19.11 (125)
Goals
GIANTS: Sproule 2; J. Buckley 1
GIANTS NEAFL Coach Adam Schneider on the GIANTS AFL listed players:
Zac Williams - 37 disposals, 5 marks, 5 tackles
“He played down back the whole game to get him back to his usual role, and the ball came in there a fair bit on the weekend. His touch was like he hadn’t missed a game. He was fantastic with
Zach Sproule - 30 disposals, 2 goals, 7 marks
“It’s been a fantastic year for Zach, he’s really improved and been thrown a few different roles. We played him in the midfield on the weekend for most of the game and he got plenty of the ball, and went forward and kicked some goals as well. It was a great finish to the year for Zach.”
Jack Buckley - 24 disposals, 1 goal, 5 marks
“Jack’s had a very unlucky year to play games then cop a knock or a little injury here and there. It was good to see him play and get through a full game of
Jake Stein - 21 disposals, 8 marks
“I can’t compare him to last year but from what I’m hearing he’s improved through the roof. The way he goes about it is fantastic and he’s very professional with the way he prepares during the week. You’d hate to be lining up on him as he just wears you down. Again a great finish to the season for Jake in what was a super year.”
Dylan Buckley - 10 disposals, 3 marks, 2 tackles
“A bit of a quiet day for Dylan, he had a really good defender on him with the Lions
