GIANTS FANS JUMP FOR JOY

GREATER Western Sydney collected the four competition points in one of the most nailbiting games of the 2021 AFL season, winning 16.11 (107) to 16.9 (105) over Essendon.

The Giants led by 25-points heading into the final term before the Bombers burst back to bring the margin to just twopoints with under two minutes of the clock.

But Jacob Hopper was the hero for the Giants, with the young gun booting the sealer to win the match for his side.

The Bombers got on the board just 43 seconds into the match via Peter Wright, but from then on it was the Giants who dominated, kicking six straight goals before Will Snelling broke the streak.

Entering the quarter-time break with a 24-point lead, the Giants were gradually pegged back by the Bombers, who kicked three goals to nil to reduce the margin to just four points.

A late goal to Zach Sproule gave the Giants some breathing space in the form of a ninepoint buffer heading into the main break.

Zach Merrett starred in the opening half of his 150th game, despite being targeted physically by the Giants, with Shane Mumford and Jeremy Finlayson both roughing up the star midfielder.

Finlayson’s hit in particular could see him cited by the match review officer, connecting late with Merrett’s head after he disposed of the ball.

After the main break, the Giants resumed the form that saw them breakaway earlier in the game, piling on successive goals to get out to a five-goal lead once again.

The Bombers got themselves back into the contest again during that term, reducing the margin to just 12 points before the Giants broke away yet again to take a 25-point lead into the final change.

With the game on the line during the third term, GWS needed a hero to avoid a big slip-up against Essendon on their home turf.

The Bombers brought the margin back to three points in the early stages of the third quarter to give Ben Rutten’s team a sniff.

Star Josh Kelly has played across half-forward during stages of 2021 but it was the midfield where Leon Cameron got the most out of the All-Australian.

With the game on the line, Kelly went to another level with a standout term to bring the GWS lead back to four goals. “I loved his third quarter mainly, his third quarter was a complete quarter,” commentator Gerard Healy said. “BOG in that quarter by an absolute mile.”