Toby Greene is often cast as the villain in the growing AFL rivalry between GWS and the Western Bulldogs, and that’s just fine with him.
After recovering from a calf injury, Greene looms as a key figure when the teams face off in Saturday’s elimination final at Giants Stadium.
The star forward has mellowed a bit in recent years, but is expecting to receive the usual stick from travelling Dogs fans.
Even a few years on, supporters tend to remember the karate kick on then-Bulldog Luke Dahlhaus and the two-match ban for striking Caleb Daniel.
“I’m not too fazed about it … it was probably warranted in the past with a couple of incidents,” Greene replied with a wry smile when asked about the likely hot reception from Dogs supporters.
The sides will meet in a final for the first time since their memorable 2016 preliminary final face-off at the same venue, a six-point thriller won by the Bulldogs.
The rivalry between the clubs cranked up another notch last time they played when Nick Haynes suffered a fractured larynx in a Marcus Bontempelli bump that went unpunished by the league.
“There’s always going to be a bit of spice in a final and we’ve had some cracking games against them in the past,” Greene said.
“I’ve got no doubt it will be on in the first quarter and it will be a tough, hard game.”
Haynes is back for the clash, with Brett Deledio (calf) and Jacob Hopper (hamstring) also coming into the line-up.
Deledio’s inclusion raised eyebrows, but Adam Tomlinson’s omission was equally surprising.
The key defender hasn’t missed a game in the past two seasons, but found himself out of the side along with Ian Hill, Isaac Cumming and Lachie Keeffe.
“Obviously it’s extremely shattering for him,” Greene said of Tomlinson demotion.
“But I guess it’s a good problem for us that we’ve got that many blokes to pick from that are up and ready to go.
“Hopefully we give him (Tomlinson) the chance to potentially come in next week.”
The Dogs have stuck with the same line-up that dispatched Adelaide in Ballarat, so veterans Tory Dickson and Jackson Trengove were unable to force their way in.
