Giants call in the big guns
GREATER Western Sydney is set to beef up its legal team as the Giants roll the dice in one final attempt to have talismanic forward Toby Greene available for Saturday’s preliminary final against Collingwood.
The Giants will front the AFL appeals board tonight, two days after Greene failed to overturn his one-match ban for making unreasonable or unnecessary contact to the eye region of Brisbane’s Lachie Neale.
GWS is mulling over whether to back up Adrian Anderson, Greene’s advocate on Tuesday, with a QC.
If Greene attends the appeal tonight and is successful he would remain in Melbourne and be joined by the rest of his team tomorrow.
Tuesday night’s shock tribunal verdict came despite favourable testimony from Neale, who said he couldn’t recall feeling any contact to his eyes.
“I thought all the evidence we presented was fantastic. I thought the case was spot on,” Giants’ coach Leon Cameron said.
“That’s why when we woke up this morning we were disappointed.
“But we’re also realistic about it as well and we’re confident when we go to the appeals we’ll present the same case and we’ll see where that leads to.”
With no new evidence likely to be presented, GWS will need to show the original judgment was manifestly unjust.
The drama comes amid another setback for the Giants, with star Lachie Whitfield ruled out of Saturday’s clash after being hospitalised with appendicitis.
But the Giants are hopeful that Whitfield — who had surgery to have his appendix out yesterday morning — would be able to return for the Grand Final if the Giants were to beat the Magpies.
Like Whitfield, Greene’s enormous importance to the Giants was emphasised during the semi-final victory at the Gabba, where he gathered 30 disposals and booted two goals.
The GWS firebrand had been at risk of missing that game but escaped with a $7500 fine for misconduct against Western Bulldogs star Marcus Bontempelli — a charge that also centred on Greene making contact with an opponent’s face.
While Greene’s growing rap sheet is a concern for the Giants, not having him available to face the Pies would be an even bigger worry.
GWS has managed only three wins from 18 games at the MCG and is yet to win a final at the iconic venue.
The Giants wasted little time deciding to appeal but the odds are stacked against them, given only two of 16 players have successfully challenged tribunal verdicts — the most recent being Melbourne midfielder Jack Viney in 2014.
Cameron wasn’t prepared to comment on whether there was a possible conflict of interest for tribunal member and former Collingwood player Shane Wakelin, who was spotted in the Magpies’ rooms after their qualifying-final victory.