The cavalry continues to arrive for the GIANTS as 11 AFL listed players took part in the NEAFL on Sunday.

While the GIANTS NEAFL side went down to the Brisbane Lions by 47 points at GIANTS Stadium, Xavier O’Halloran, Matt Buntine, Jack Buckley, Kieren Briggs and Isaac Cumming all impressed as they returned from time on the sidelines.

Irish rookie Callum Brown kicked two goals in the 11.9 (75) to 18.14 (122) loss as Connor Idun, Jackson Hately, Aidan Bonar, Tommy Sheridan and Nick Shipley also battled hard against a Brisbane side brimming with AFL listed players.

The return of O’Halloran, Buntine, Buckley, Briggs and Cumming comes at the perfect time as the GIANTS prepare for both AFL and NEAFL finals in the coming weeks.

Despite the final margin, the GIANTS were impressive against the undefeated Lions.

A six-goal opening quarter saw them trail by just six points at quarter time before the Lions slammed on six goals to none in the second quarter to open an unassailable 45 point lead at the main break. 

The GIANTS responded in the third term, kicking three goals while keeping Brisbane goalless to reduce the margin to 34 points at the final change. 

While a fightback appeared to be mounting, the experienced Lions ran over the top of the GIANTS in the final quarter kicking five goals to the GIANTS’ three.

“I was super pleased with three of the quarters against the best team in the competition,” GIANTS NEAFL Head Coach Adam Schneider said.

“That second quarter really let us down, but other than that I think it was eight points that we lost the rest of the game by.

“Footy is a four quarter game and unfortunately we didn’t get the job done across four quarters but, it’s positive coming into this time of year that we’re capable of playing good footy.”

The GIANTS’ NEAFL side take on the Gold Coast Suns at Metricon Stadium on Saturday in their final game of the home and away season before finals begin a week later.

GIANTS 6.1, 6.4, 8.8, 11.9 (75)

Brisbane 7.1, 13.7, 13.12, 18.14 (122)

Goals – GIANTS: Brown, Delahunty 2; Grant, E. Perryman, Sheridan, Shipley, J. Buckley, Addison, Barzen 1.

GIANTS NEAFL Head Coach Adam Schneider on the GIANTS’ AFL listed players: 

Jackson Hately – 14 disposals, four tackles
“Quiet game from Jacko, obviously it’s been a big year for a first-year player coming in and out of the AFL team. He struggled to get his groove into the game and came off at three quarter time to be the emergency for the AFL side. It was a good learning game for him.” 

Aiden Bonar – 15 disposals, seven tackles, three inside 50s
“Obviously he was playing against a quality midfield and he had seven or eight midfielders to play against on the day so he couldn’t quite settle on an opponent. His tackling was good, he had seven tackles and led the way with his grunt getting 11 contested possession out of his 15. On the inside he was fantastic, we’re just working on a few things with him on the outside.” 

Tommy Sheridan – 16 disposals, four marks, three tackles, three inside 50s, one goal
“It was Tommy’s second game back, he played out on the wing for the first half and the ball wasn’t quite going out there. He ran some good wing patterns for us and got back to support our defenders and also push forward. He snuck in a goal; I was pleased for him to get through.” 

Isaac Cumming – 23 disposals, eight marks, two tackles, two inside 50s
“It was Isaac’s first game off after four weeks being very diligent in his recovery; it was good to see him out there playing. He covered the ground really well, playing off half back and collected 23 disposals. He was very solid by foot, so it was good to see him out there, he was very, very solid for us and had a good balance between offence and defence.”

Matt Buntine – 15 disposals, four marks
“Bunts was super, one of our best players on the day. He’s so reliable and really did save us on numerous times, coming off his man to help out others. The ball did come in there a few times, but he was up for the challenge every time. I don’t think he had a goal kicked on him.”

Kieren Briggs – 10 disposals, three marks, five tackles, 32 hitouts, three inside 50s
“He had a good battle with Brisbane ruck Archie Smith, and I think he won the first quarter before Archie got on top in the second and third. We put it on him in the last quarter to really respond and I thought he was the key to us getting off to a good start in that term. He fought the game out well; we’d just like to see him follow up the ball a bit more and work his opponent over after the ruck contest. A pleasing game for him in just his fourth game as sole ruck for the year.” 

Xavier O’Halloran – 25 disposals, six tackles, seven inside 50s
“I thought ‘X’ was our best player for the day; 25 disposals, 20 of those contested, 10 clearances and six tackles. They’re great number for a guy who missed eight weeks of footy; it was super. He covered the ground really, really well. We had no expectations on how he was going to go but I was super pleased for him to come out and have the numbers he did. It’s reward for all the work he’s been doing over the last few weeks because he’s really been training hard. The challenge will be for him to back it up after a six-day break.” 

Nick Shipley – 16 disposals, two marks, two tackles, five inside 50s, one goal
“Shipley played a game on the wing on what wasn’t a wingers’ day. He had a good little battle with Lewis Taylor out there, I thought he got beaten on the day but he never game up. He kicked a really good goal for us thanks to his smart running patterns and he also had six score involvements. The challenge for Nick is choosing when he needs to go to a contest or stay on the outside. He got caught a few times.” 

Connor Idun – 15 disposals, five marks, one tackle
“Connor played on Ben Keays for the day. Keays has kicked a few goals on us in the last few times we’ve played them, and we gave him the job. Connor’s one of those guys who you can give a job and you know that he’s going to make his opponent have a tough day. I know Keays didn’t kick a goal on the day and I though Connor battled hard for us and fought until the end.” 

Jack Buckley – 10 disposals, four marks, three tackles, two inside 50s, one goal
“Jack’s numbers aren’t huge, but I thought he was really important for us. Some of the hard stuff he did was fantastic. He had seven contested possessions in his first game back from injury and I asked him to stand in the hole for us and stand under some big high balls and he did that numerous times. He also laid some tackles for us and like I said his numbers weren’t huge but the impact he had for the team was pretty outstanding.”

Callum Brown – 12 disposals, one mark, four tackles, two inside 50s, two goals
“It’s still super exciting what we’re seeing from Cal, it’s been a big year for him. He played down back in the first half but then we wanted to send him forward because of his history there. We were hoping he could sneak a goal with his big frame and his speed, and he managed to kick two goals for us and laid four tackles. Again, he’s growing each week and adding more tricks to his bag. We’re really pleased with what we’re seeing from him.”