Collingwood’s Isaac Quaynor says he won’t back down from another shot at Giants star Toby Greene, despite the GWS skipper getting “the better” of him the last time the two sides met.
Asked on Fox Footy’s On The Couch if he’d be prepared to line up on Greene again if asked to by coach Craig McRae, Quaynor said: “Oh I’m there of course.
“That’s why we play the game, to play against the best.
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Quaynor was shown footage of the last time he played on Greene, who kicked 5.1 from 18 disposals and polled two Brownlow votes in the Giants’ 30-point win in 2021.
“He definitely got the better of me … this is giving me some PTSD watching this,“ Quaynor said with a laugh.
“He’s a star player.
“But for us, we play a system defence so it’s not necessarily one person stopping this person. It might be a number of lads going through and playing on him.”
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Fox Footy’s Garry Lyon says he’s hoping to see “the most anticipated match up of the season” with Brayden Maynard tipped to get the job on Greene.
The duo have history after Maynard once described the GWS star as “no more special than any other forward”.
“He’s no more special than any other forward, so I’m looking forward to getting out there and seeing what he’s got to offer,” Maynard said of Greene back before the two sides met in the 2018 semi final.
“It’ll be interesting to see what happens, but I’m sure we’ll get a bit lippy if I do play on him.”
Another option at coach Craig McRae’s disposal is to bring in a small defender like John Noble who became Collingwood’s finals heartbreak tale earlier this month.
Despite playing every game this season, the call was made for Noble to be omitted for the qualifying final against Melbourne.
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“(It was) super tough to see John so flat … obviously a lot of media on it,” Quaynor explained.
“I think we’ve played like 80 something games together – basically single every one of my games has been with John.
“It did feel a little bit weird with him not out there.
“He trained really well and he’s doing everything he can to put his name forward.”
Given the Giants use their small forwards like Greene, Toby Bedford and Brent Daniels to advantage by getting out the back with the “Orange Tsunami” style play, Noble could present a good option for the Pies in defence.
Regardless of who makes the final team, Quaynor said the excitement was clearly building around the club.
“I’m aware of how big an occasion it is – not everyone gets to play in a prelim,” he said.
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“We were so close last year (losing by one-point to Sydney in the preliminary final) … I can feel how close we are to achieving the ultimate success.”
It was only four years ago GWS stunned Collingwood in the 2019 preliminary final – a match Greene didn’t play in due to suspension.
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