It didn’t deliver the fireworks many had hoped for but Brayden Maynard’s showdown with Toby Greene played a big role in Collingwood’s AFL semi-final win over GWS.

Arguably the Giants’ best player in their elimination final against Sydney, Greene was well-beaten on Saturday night as the Magpies prevailed by 10 points at the MCG.

Greene’s controversial fly-kick marks were a major talking point last week after he twice caught Sydney opponents with his studs up while protecting his space in contests.

And when it emerged that Maynard – one of the few players in the AFL who can match Greene for on-field combativeness – was set to mind the Giants forward, pundits were quick to predict a potentially explosive battle.

It wasn’t to be.

Besides tangling with Taylor Adams during a heated second quarter, Greene was unusually subdued and finished the game goalless from just nine disposals.

His quiet showing was in large part thanks to the blanketing he received from 21-year-old Maynard, who beat the All-Australian in virtually every contest.

“Brayden was set for the match-up pretty early in the week … I told him not to tell anyone and he tells the world,” Magpies coach Nathan Buckley joked.

“That’s the type of kid he is. He’s pretty direct and he’s building some confidence but more than that, the confidence is based on a good dose of hard work and a healthy respect for the competition that he plays on.

“He does his work and he’s starting to become a really important part of our back six.

“I thought he won the contest convincingly.”

Buckley noted that Greene was playing just his second game back from a hamstring injury and may have been playing under duress.

The Giants attempted to bring Greene into the game by sending him up the ground but it proved ineffective.

“You’ve got to give Collingwood’s backs credit,” coach Leon Cameron said.

“Talk about undermanned and undersized, they were terrific and they had the better of our front six or seven.”