Giants star Toby Greene fined over ‘silly’ brain-snap

Giants livewire Toby Greene has escaped suspension for striking Carlton’s Nic Newman in Greater Western Sydney’s round 14 match.

The incident occurred off the ball in the third term of the Giants’ win over the Blues and was deemed “Intentional Conduct, Low Impact, Body Contact” by the AFL’s Match Review Officer Michael Christian.

The contact was classified as a $3000 sanction as a first offence, however Greene can accept a $2000 fine with an early plea.

Either way, the offence will increase Greene’s tally of fines accumulated throughout his ten-year career to almost $30,000.

In the same quarter, Greene was assessed for touching umpire Jacob Mollison.

However, he will not be disciplined for the contact, which the AFL said “did not constitute a reportable offence”.

Greene had a day to remember on Saturday, kicking two fourth quarter goals to help the Giants stave off an unlikely Carlton comeback.

He finished the match with four majors and 20 disposals to his name.

After the game, coach Leon Cameron stood by his divisive small forward when quizzed about the striking incident.

“I think in the last couple of years, Toby has gone a long way to tidying up a lot of those things,” he said.

“He’s really tidied up in that area and let his footy do the talking and let his leadership do the talking.

“I’m not too concerned about it, but I’ll keep making sure that he’s addressing all the areas of his game and what he can improve on.

“Toby’s such a passionate player … that’s what we love about him.

“I love his passion, I love the way that he goes about his footy, I love the way he’s leading.

“There’s a lot of good things and a lot of right things going on with Toby Greene at the moment.”

After the game, Greene admitted it was “silly” to have struck Newman.

He will be available for Greater Western Sydney’s clash with Hawthorn next week.