GWS have put themselves right in the top four calculations with a crushing win over bottom placed Carlton by 105 points at Etihad Stadium.
Josh Kelly led the way for the Giants with 40 disposals and a Champion Data ranking post for 2018 racking up over 200 points as Stephen Coniglio (36 disposals, two goals) and Callan Ward (34 disposals) were brilliant as well in the middle of the ground.
Patrick Cripps led the way for Carlton as he put in a gallant performance with 29 disposals and young forward, Harry McKay showed some promising signs with kicked three goals.
The win came at a cost as the Giants were forced to play down a few players as Brett Deledio (calf), Dawson Simpson (ankle), Sam Taylor (hamstring), Rory Lobb (shoulder) and Toby Greene (leg) all spent time on the bench with injuries and are all in doubt for the all-important run-home.
The Giants got off to a flier with early goals from Zac Langdon, Harry Himmelberg and Adam Kennedy put the Blues on the back-foot early with the visitor’s pressure around the ground superior to their languishing opponent.
Youngster, Harry McKay kicked a nice snap to get the Blues their first of the game after some nice work from fellow youngster Cameron Polson.
However, all their hard work was quickly outdone with Adam Tomlinson and Kennedy kicking his second within the final two minutes of the quarter extending the Giants lead to 27 at the first break.
The second quarter started with much of the same for the Giants with Stephen Coniglio slotting a brilliant set-shot before McKay kicked two in a row to wrestle some ascendancy back for the Blues.
Jacob Hopper was able to pull one back and Charlie Curnow kicked a nice goal to bring it back to 22 points.
From that point on it was all Giants as Jeremy Cameron kicked three of the next five with Himmelberg and Tomlinson also adding solitary goals to extend their lead to 51 points at the major break.
The Giants were able to put the game to bed in the third quarter as Brent Daniels and Aiden Bonar both kicked impressive goals to extend their lead before Matthew Wright finally pulled one back for the Blues.
The quarter itself was not memorable for the Giants as Deledio and Taylor started the quarter on the bench with injuries. Simpson, Lobb and Greene followed forcing the Giants to play with no rotations heading into the final term with no rotations and a 66-point lead.
Daniels and Himmelberg added to the Blues misery with two early goals as the Giants extended their lead to 78 points early in the final term.
Wright slotted in his second to kick Carlton’s seventh before Coniglio kicked a brilliant running goal to heap the pain on the bottom placed Blues and Bonar was able to kick his second career goal with another beautiful long-range goal.
GWS remarkably finished the game with less than eighteen on the ground and kicked some goals with lack of numerical advantage as Tomlinson and Cameron kicked some more.
Matt De Boer ticked the lead over 100 and the feeling of despair rang around Etihad Stadium with the final siren ending it at a 105-point win and a big jump into third place.
The Giants face a huge test against the desperate Crows next Saturday night in Canberra while the Blues travel to Perth to take on the Dockers.
CARLTON 1.2 4.3 6.4 7.4 (46)
GREATER WESTERN SYDNEY 5.5 12.6 16.10 23.13 (151)
GOALS
Carlton: McKay 3, Wright 2, Dow, C Curnow
Greater Western Sydney: Cameron 4, Himmelberg 3, Tomlinson 3, Daniels 2, de Boer 2, Kennedy 2, Bonar 2, Coniglio 2, Whitfield, Langdon, Hopper
BEST
Carlton: McKay, Cripps, Murphy
Greater Western Sydney: Kelly, Whitfield, Coniglio, Kennedy, Ward, Hopper, Cameron
INJURIES
Carlton: Silvagni (ankle) replaced in selected side by Graham
Greater Western Sydney: Deledio (left calf), Taylor (left hamstring), Simpson (left ankle), Greene (left hamstring)
Reports: Nil
Umpires: Fisher, Stevic, Mollison
Official crowd: 16,697 at Etihad Stadium
Talking PoiNTS
1. GWS right in the hunt for top four football
Another super performance from the Giants who once again have showed that their second half of the season resurgence has them labelled as a contender once more.
A win over a miserly Carlton which boosts their half-game and percentage gap on the sides around them, shows how strong the Giants can be when they are running at full tilt and with their best group of players on the park.
This was a side without the likes of Dylan Shiel in their midfield but showed no signs of slowing down with Kelly, Ward and Coniglio all playing at their brilliant best. While youngsters Daniels and Bonar showing signs that they can play a major role in the run-home.
The return of Jeremy Cameron has also been a major boost for the Giants as they have missed Jon Patton for a month and having their sharp-shooter up-top they are suddenly much more imposing.
The run home won’t be easy with tough games against the Crows, Swans and Demons, but they are going in with all the running.
2. Injuries could once again stretch the Giants
The Giants were down to sixteen fit players on the field and showed no signs of being affected by the disadvantage.
However, against better opposition these injuries could come back to haunt the flying Giants. as Brett Deledio (calf), Dawson Simpson (ankle), Sam Taylor (hamstring), Rory Lobb (shoulder) and Toby Greene (leg) are all set to miss time and some of these injuries could affect them largely in their talls department.
Considering that four of these players have played a major role for the Giants the past month, the reliance on their depth players destroyed them mid-season and they will be hoping that they don’t face a similar drop in form. Expect the likes of Ryan Griffen, Dylan Shiel and Tim Taranto to be back in the weeks to come, with Tom Scully and Zac Williams both a long shot to make a rapid return.
Depth players such as Sam Reid, Lachie Keeffe, Harry Perryman and Isaac Cumming to find some games late on.
We saw how injuries have affected Collingwood, the Giants will be hoping that they don’t fall into the same position.
3. Carlton continue to disappoint
Carlton were mightily disappointing all day.
Their poor season continued with a massive loss to a Giants side who were kicking goals with two less players on the field.
A remarkably poor effort from Carlton saw them show some early signs of promise through McKay and Curnow but fell away due to largely showing no pressure around the ground and a range of players who more than likely won’t be at the club next season.
Their top end talent is there but the range of talent from there is largely disappointing and something the Blues will have to rectify heading into 2019.
With three games to go, another win wouldn’t go astray, but even after getting their second win last week, the third one seems a light-year away.
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