GWS captain Toby Greene and key forward Jake Riccardi have combined for nine goals to help propel the Giants to rare back-to-back victories with a 70-point thumping of Fremantle at Giants Stadium.
The Giants had not prevailed in consecutive matches since a late season surge in 2021, but had little trouble dismantling a disappointing Dockers outfit in a 16.10 (106) to 5.6 (36) win on Saturday.
Gun forward Greene backed up his starring role in the victory over North Melbourne last week with another superb display, gathering 16 disposals while booting four majors for the fifth time in 12 AFL matches.
Riccardi also stepped up as another focal point for GWS after spearhead Jesse Hogan was a late withdrawal and finished with a career-high five goals.
The tall forward was prominent in the air and pulled in eight marks including seven inside 50 in what looms as a breakout performance for the 23-year-old.
Tom Green (31 disposals, six clearances) and Stephen Coniglio (31, six) were also influential as the Giants dominated the stoppages with 39-29 clearances, including 16-6 at centre bounces.
Josh Kelly returned in style with 33 disposals, eight clearances and three goals after a stint on the sidelines, while Giants defender Sam Taylor impressed in his first match since round six.
The Giants (6-8) sent Taylor to emerging Dockers forward Jye Amiss and the All-Australian defender helped keep the dangerous 19-year-old scoreless after he had booted 15 majors in the past five matches.
The Dockers (6-7) were unable to match the Giants’ slick ball movement or at the stoppages, but also lacked the firepower to make the most of limited forward opportunities with Luke Jackson mostly playing in the ruck with Sean Darcy missing.
The sluggish visitors were outplayed from the opening exchanges and went into the first break trailing by four goals to none, to maintain their unwanted record of only leading once at quarter time this season.
Caleb Serong (32 disposals, one goal) and Andrew Brayshaw (29) battled hard for the Dockers but lacked much midfield support, while Jordan Clark (22), Luke Ryan (22) and Hayden Young (20) tried to boost their movement out of defence.
Veteran Michael Walters struggled to work his way into the contest and finished with three disposals, while Nat Fyfe turned back the clock with a leaping mark in the second term but otherwise had little impact.
Fremantle will look to bounce back when they host Essendon next at Optus Stadium on Saturday night, while GWS will have a bye.
