‘Villain’ Greene only eyes prize

TOBY Greene will be playing the familiar role of the villain in GWS’s AFL fairytale. He doesn’t care.

All Greene knows is he gets a chance at winning a premiership with the Giants - an option that was out of his control as he watched on nervously while his teammates overcame Collingwood in a nailbiting preliminary final at the MCG last weekend.

Greene’s one-game ban for unnecessary contact with the eye region of Brisbane midfielder Lachie Neale is the latest in a long line of indiscretions for the talented forward.

The suspension won’t change his aggression levels for Saturday’s grand final with Richmond - with one caveat.

“I probably won’t be going near anyone’s face but I’ll be playing how I usually play,” Greene said.

Just a week before his run-in with Neale, Greene was fined $7500 for a similar incident with Western Bulldogs star Marcus Bontempelli in an elimination final. In total the 25year-old has been suspended for seven games across his 144-game career and racked up over $26,000 in fines.

It’s a record that is sure to have the majority of the crowd at the grand final booing him relentlessly.

But if Greene is affected by the intense scrutiny he’s been under for the past fortnight, he did a good job of playing it cool in front of a large media pack on Monday at Giants’ HQ.

“I’d rather not be doing this but it’s all part of it,” Greene said “There’s been a few stories along the last couple of weeks but it’s all played out well and we’re in a grand final so I’m happy.

“It’s just part of it, playing AFL footy. I guess I always compare it to EPL players and I love my soccer, the scrutiny they face is 10 times this, so I always refer back to that.”