Sport

Giants women miss miracle comeback, berth in finals by one point while men fall short by 31

GIANTS fans didn’t have much to smile about on Sunday.

While the men came up short by 31 points against the Dockers in Perth in their second outing of the AFL season, it was nail-biting finish for the women’s side which fell by just one-point to a determined Carlton team in Blacktown.
The Blues put an end to any remaining hopes the Giants had of making the AFLW finals with a thrilling 4.8 (32) to 4.7 (31) win.
It was edge of the seats stuff during the closing stages of the game as the Giants threatened to produce the miracle comeback and coach Alan McConnell admitted it was probably “the best half” of football his team had played.
“I am pleased with the effort, I am pleased with the concentration…I am spewing because we lost,” he said after the match.
By contrast across the other side of the country, the Giants couldn’t stay the course against a dominate Fremantle side who won 11.21 (87) to 7.14 (56).
A high bump late in the third quarter from Sam Reid, will come under scrutiny from the Match Review Officer after Blues’ captain Nat Fyfe was sidelined with a suspected concussion and was the first player to be replaced by a medical substitute because of it.
Inaccuracy at goal was a problem for both teams, but Giants Harry Himmelberg, Toby Greene and Zach Sproule each managed to find the sweet spot twice as did Jacob Hopper who contributed his own solitary goal to the scoreline.