Hawks crash in the land of Giants

THE AFL has had a glimpse of the future at Spotless Stadium and it’s scary. The worst fears of the other 17 teams are becoming a reality after the GWS Giants demolished the premiers for the past three seasons, Hawthorn, by 75 points.

The 13,766 in attendance would do well to remember the date and what they saw.

In a match billed as the Challengers against the Champs, the AFL’s newest team announced their arrival as a genuine premiership contender with a start-to-finish domination of the competition’s benchmark.

The 158 points was the Giants biggest score ever, surpassing the 151 they racked up against Port Adelaide two weeks ago. It was the biggest score Hawthorn has conceded since 2005 and also the first time a team has put 84 firsthalf points on them since the Western Bulldogs in 2009.

Steve Johnson looked like he was going to make the game his own when he kicked five first-half goals but it was a performance from the little known Rory Lobb which will stay in the memory.

In just his 17th game Lobb took 10 marks including eight contested and kicked four goals in a best-on-ground performance.

The makeshift ruckman who filled in for Shane Mumford when he was injured last year has turned an outstanding GWS GIANTS V HAWTHORN BEST 7.3 13.6 19.10 24.14 2.1 6.3 9.6 12.11 GOALS pre-season into a breakout year.

He had plenty of mates in support. Stephen Coniglio racked up 30 disposals and made nine tackles as he helped restrict Sam Mitchell to 26 touches and a rare under 30 possession game.

Tom Scully was also outstanding in his best year in the AFL with 23 disposals and three goals.

The Giants had seven multiple goal kickers with Rhys Palmer, Jeremy Cameron and Toby Greene each with three.

Dylan Shiel (34), Lachie Whitfield (28) and two goals, Callan Ward (29) and Josh Kelly (26) flogged the Hawks in contested possession (153-114) and even the tackle count 63-41.

Heath Shaw again led the GWS defence and looks to be in All Australian form again this season.