Dermott Brereton called it.
“That’s the worst thing for the Swans because it now allows Toby Greene to get down to this pack and be the playmaker,” the Hawks legend told Fox Footy after the Giants skipper’s kick inside 50 spilt out of bounds inside the last minute of the tense Sydney derby.
And the big-time playmaker he was — and match-winner.
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Toby Greene: “I was bloody cooked!” | 00:59
With GWS trailing by four points, Greene received a handball from Harrison Himmelberg in the forward pocket, found some space and kicked a clutch match-winning goal with just under 50 seconds remaining.
“Told ya!’ Brereton exclaimed after Greene’s clutch finish and fourth goal in a brilliant best-on-ground performance.
“That ball going out of bounds allowed Toby to get down there. And if there’s one man who can sniff out the ball at this situation, it’s Toby Greene.
“His game knowledge and understanding of the sport is just off the charts.”
It marked the Giants’ fourth-straight goal to snatch the lead from Sydney in the most unlikeliest of turnarounds after it appeared the Swans were running away with it.
There was still time though — 42 seconds to be precise — as the Swans weren’t going to go down without a fight.
Sydney won the next clearance and booted it inside 50, but Lachie Whitfield was there with a crucial intercept mark just inside the arc.
Whitfield went straight down towards the boundary line on the wing as the ball spilt out of bounds with 17 seconds on the clock.
“It’s just unbelievable to think this could happen,” Brereton added.
But Sydney kept attacking, surging the ball forward from the next stoppage as a touched Callum Mills kick inside 50 was again taken by Whitfield, who quickly got it to Finn Callaghan, then Nick Haynes, who bombed it back the other way to seal the win in the frantic final moments.
GWS Giants Press Conference | 07:38
“(Luke) Parker kicks that goal in the last quarter … then all of a sudden the Giants did everything, they took the game on,” Western Bulldogs legend Brad Johnson said on Fox Footy.
Brereton added: “What have we just seen!? If you want your best on the ground, you saw him (Greene) kick the last goal. if he doesn’t play, they don’t get anywhere near this four points.
“There’d be two, three, maybe four players in the league at most that kick that goal Toby Greene kicked … what a player.”
Greene admitted to Fox Footy post-match he was “bloody cooked” in the final stages of the match in recapping his heroics.
“To be honest, I didn’t run too much in the last, I was bloody cooked,” Greene told Fox Footy post-match.
“I was able to capitalise on a couple of bits of good play.
“There wasn’t too much going on. I was trying to get a block, I don’t think I got one. I got a good handball and was able to finish it. That’s what you practice during the week and I was able to nail it.”
