Greater Western Sydney have sealed their first win of the season with Stephen Coniglio reinforcing his return-to-form and Braydon Preuss impressing in the 26-point victory over Gold Coast at Giants Stadium.
The GWS midfield came out firing after criticism of their performance last week with co-captain Coniglio and club debutant Preuss joined by Tom Green and Tim Taranto in setting the tone around stoppages.
The Giants won the clearances 54-35 as the Suns’ prolific onballer Touk Miller was restricted to only 17 possessions and Matt Rowell also had little influence on the match.
The resurgent Coniglio again looked to have rediscovered some of his best form as he collected 21 disposals in the first half, and finished with 32 touches and a game-high 10 clearances in a stirring display.
“His fast feet were clearly the Stephen of old,” Giants coach Leon Cameron said after the match.
“The thing I liked about him is he’s adapted to a different position. Stephen went to the forward line and played that role with some on-ball.
“So not only was it a very good performance individually, it was a selfless performance as well.”
The injury-prone Preuss made his Giants debut after arriving at his third club late in 2020 and had an instant impact with 34 hitouts, 16 possessions and seven clearances while getting the better of Suns co-captain Jarrod Witts.
The inclusion of the 206cm Preuss and 204cm Lachlan Keeffe allowed emerging onballer Green to leave the rucking to the bigger bodies so he could focus on winning the ball at ground level.
The 21-year-old continued his outstanding start to the season and ended with 28 disposals and six clearances while also drifting forward to be a regular target inside 50. Green kicked 2.2 including a smart right-foot snap in the third-quarter when the game was still in the balance.
Tim Taranto (35 disposals, 1 goal) also stood out in the second half in particular while Harry Himmelberg (3 goals) and Jesse Hogan (two goals) ensured the Giants midfield dominance was reflected on the scoreboard.
The Suns’ co-captain Miller was unable to shake the close attention of Lachlan Ash as he dropped under 29 touches for the first time in the past 19 matches.
“He’s been tagged before and he’s got through it, he didn’t today,” Suns coach Stuart Dew said.
“We’ve got to understand the level that this guy has been playing at, that’s why it stands out so much.
“He’s been going hard for my whole time at this footy club and I haven’t seen him tagged out of the game so I don’t expect it to become a pattern of behaviour.”
Mabior Chol and Levi Casboult (both three goals) kept the scoreboard respectable for the Suns while Jack Lukosius was missed in defence but set up several shots on goal with his neat kicking when playing in the front-half.
Greater Western Sydney are due to travel to Perth to play Fremantle next weekend while Gold Coast will look to bounce back when they host Carlton at Metricon Stadium in round four.
