GREATER WESTERN SYDNEY 5.1 10.2 13.4 15.10 (100) CARLTON 5.1 6.5 10.8 14.8 (92)
Goals: Greater Western Sydney: R Palmer 3 D Shiel 2 J Patton 2 W Hoskin-Elliott 2 C Ward D Smith J Kelly K Jaksch L Whitfield T Boyd. Carlton: T Menzel 3 B McLean 2 D Thomas 2 J Waite 2 A Everitt A Walker B Gibbs D Armfield Z Tuohy.
BEST Greater Western Sydney: Mumford, Shaw, Ward, Treloar, Coniglio, Palmer. Carlton: Robinson, Gibbs, Menzel, Carrazzo, Everlitt, McLean.
Injuries: Carlton: S White (knee) M Murphy (hamstring) replaced in selected side by D Armfield.
Umpires: Ben Ryan, Scott Jeffery, Andrew Mitchell.
Venue: Spotless Stadium.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
There were two teams with high draft picks at Spotless Stadium on Sunday, but it's the three-year-old group, rather than one of the league's foundation clubs, that has the brighter short-term future.
On this occasion it was Carlton's turn to have their pants pulled down by Greater Western Sydney; they were beaten by a Giants side undaunted by the Blues' big names, who ran them off their legs.
The Swans await the Giants next week and the match now appears a far more appetising contest to GWS coach Leon Cameron than it did a month ago.
"We got Sydney when they were cherry ripe," Cameron said. "The brand of footy they're playing now – nine wins in a row speaks for itself – but a derby is a derby, anything goes.
"They're an awesome side, they're a top-two side, and they're up and running at the moment. We feel as though we've got our game back on track the last four weeks, so it's a huge challenge.
"One thing for sure, this young club is looking forward to that challenge."
In the years to come, defeats to the league's new boys will not be unexpected, like it was on Sunday, nor will the Giants be the catalyst for the type of scrutiny the Blues will undoubtedly face this week.
Mick Malthouse's team can now say they have been beaten by sides ranked 14th to 17th. The Giants have strong reason to believe they will not be a bottom-four side for much longer, judging by the strides made by the team in recent weeks.
Their eight-point win against a Blues side that had tested Geelong and Hawthorn in the past fortnight was meritorious for several reasons.
It was the first time they had won back-to-back games. Secondly, Carlton, even accounting for the late withdrawal of Marc Murphy, was fielding one of their strongest sides of the season.
But, perhaps most encouragingly for the Giants, they showed the bottle required to withstand several challenges from the Blues.
Sure, Heath Shaw could have iced the game a lot earlier had he not shanked a shot from 20 metres out on the run, but it only invited lesser-known Giants to answer their team's call. Adam Kennedy withstood a charging Lachie Henderson to take an invaluable mark inside defensive 50, and Rhys Palmer, the maligned former Rising Star winner, scored three goals all at crucial moments. None of Palmer's goals were more vital than his third, when he sprinted away from Andrew Walker to put his side 21 points.
The team also responded as a group, which was characterised by how they locked the ball in their forward 50 for several minutes near the finish when the Blues were attempting to pinch victory.
They were helped by another brave performance from Shane Mumford, whose 55 hit-outs and rugged follow-up work made his teammates walk taller.
"Ask any player at our footy club and they just love having him around there; he's just a warrior," Cameron said.
"It's no surprise to see Dylan Shiel, Callan Ward, Stephen Coniglio play some really good football on the back of Shane Mumford. He'll be looking forward to taking on his old side on Saturday night."
The Giants, however, had been in strong positions several occasions this season only to be let down by a disastrous 10 to 15-minute passage, or even a quarter. This time it did not come.
