GWS got some revenge for their Prelim Final loss after beating Collingwood 18.6 (114) to 11.16 (82) on Saturday night at Engie Stadium.
After a fairly even start, the Giants quickly wrestled control and dominated the air inside 50 throughout at their home ground.
Although never really controlling field position, GWS were absolutely clinical inside 50 slotting 18 majors from 53 entries. Collingwood were the opposite, kicking 11 from 60 entries with none coming from marks until the last term.
Callum Brown and Jesse Hogan were the keys up forward for GWS while Tom Green and Lachie Ash were influential around the ground.
For the Magpies, Nick Daicos was as prolific as ever but he didn't have much support from his midfield mates.
See our rankings for each player below!
GWS
Tom Green: A+
The contested beast had plenty of it and was very influential around stoppages.
Lachie Ash: A+
Loves playing against Collingwood. Gave plenty of drive from half-back and showed off his great kicking.
Callum Brown: A+
Started on fire and made the most of his opportunities at goal. Looks to have gone to a new level
Jesse Hogan: A+
Was a key threat throughout and was simply too good for first gamer Charlie Dean. Appeared to hurt his knee late.
Brent Daniels: A+
Another GWS forward that had a prolific night. Was everywhere he needed to be.
Stephen Coniglio: A
Had plenty of it and made an impact on both the inside and outside of the contest.
Lachie Whitfield: A
A great performance from half-back. Gave his side plenty of run and some elite ball use.
Jack Buckley: A
Dominated his one-on-one matchups and did his role beautifully.
Sam Taylor: B+
Took some nice grabs but shared the points in his battle with Brody Mihocek.
Harry Himmelberg: B+
Intercepted well and pushed up the ground. Makes up an elite tall defensive unit with Sam Taylor and Jack Buckley.
Kieren Briggs: B
Was solid in his battle against Darcy Cameron but didn't take the points.
Josh Kelly: B+
Racked up a lot of the footy and was key in a lot of GWS' critical chains.
Aaron Cadman: B+
Kicked a couple and showed some great aerial signs. Could be a breakout year.
Nick Haynes: B
Connor Idun: B
Jacob Wehr: C+
Toby Bedford: C+
Toby Greene: C
Very quiet by his standards. Still hit the scoreboard and had some moments.
Harvey Thomas: C
Xavier O'Halloran: C
Jake Riccardi: D
Didn't impact.
Toby McMullin: N/A
Came on for Ward and didn't do much.
Callan Ward: N/A
Started well close-checking Jordan De Goey but went off before half-time with an AC joint injury.
COLLINGWOOD
Nick Daicos: A+
Typical Nick Daicos game. Did things others can't do. Had plenty of clearances, disposals and hit the scoreboard. Just didn't have enough teammates supporting him.
Josh Daicos: A
Picked up where he left off last season getting plenty of it and hitting nice kicks.
Darcy Cameron: A
Enjoyed a ruck battle with Kieren Briggs and edged him. Was clearly Collingwood's main man at the centre bounces and hit the scoreboard a couple of times.
Patrick Lipinski: B+
Had a strong pre-season and looks back to that 2022 form that made him such a boom recruit in the first place.
Brody Mihocek: B+
Had a solid battle against Sam Taylor and hit the scoreboard a few times. Could have been a bigger night if he kicked straight.
Brayden Maynard: B
Was made to play taller than usual and was caught out on some occasions. Still played well and helped keep Toby Greene relatively quiet.
Darcy Moore: B
A decent performance from Moore but clearly missed having both Nathan Murphy and Jeremy Howe alongside him. Too much left to the tall defender.
Isaac Quaynor: B
Looked great when he had it but didn't have his best night defensively.
Lachie Schultz: B
Showed plenty of signs in his first game but wasn't accurate enough in front of the big sticks
Beau McCreery: B
Did his role well and hunted GWS defenders all day. Didn't get a heap of footy himself.
Will Hoskin-Elliott: C+
Started well off half-back but went quiet as the game rolled on.
Jack Crisp: C+
Used off half-back for most of the game and didn't see a heap of it. Was eventually moved into the midfield and had a few moments.
Steele Sidebottom: C+
Worked into the game but didn't do a lot.
Oleg Markov: C+
Jamie Elliott: C+
An almost night. Just didn't have the finishing touch
Scott Pendlebury: C+
Came into the game with a knee issue and was poor in the first half. Worked into the game.
Jordan De Goey: C
Was well held by GWS who put a lot of work into him at stoppage.
Charlie Dean: C
Solid for a debut but wasn't able to break up enough of GWS' aerial entries.
Bobby Hill: C
Looked electric early but ultimately was pretty quiet without much opportunity.
Tom Mitchell: D+
Looked a little slow against a quick GWS midfield and was subbed out in the third quarter for John Noble
Mason Cox: D
No influence.
Ash Johnson: D
Didn't do enough to warrant his selection and was well beaten.
John Noble: N/A
Came on in the third quarter and tried hard. Wasn't out there enough to really impact.
