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Find your frequency hereKingsley: It would be ‘disappointing’ if Greene gets fined for Papley comments
Nicholas Quinlan • July 26th, 2025 1:25 pm
Greater Western Sydney coach, Adam Kingsley, does not think that his captain, Toby Greene, should be fined for his comments towards Tom Papley.
In an already fiery Sydney derby between the Giants and the Swans, which saw Greene already involved in two incidents with Isaac Heeney and Aaron Francis in the first quarter, the three-time All-Australian only added fuel to the clash.
During half-time, the GWS captain was interviewed by Fox Footy’s Ben Dixon with the Giants down by 28 points.
Dixon asked him a question about Papley, who, after kicking his first goal for the game, would run into Greene to celebrate.
It was then that he commented on Sydney’s No. 11 weight as he concluded the interview.
“He’s looking overweight, so we’ll see how he goes in the second half,” Greene uttered.
The comment about Papley's body and fitness is just the latest chapter in the long-running feud between the two small forwards.
In last year’s Qualifying Final between the two sides, Papley and Greene would both be fined following their involvement in a melee at quarter time, which Greene initiated by pushing Papley to the ground.
Regardless of the comments, the Giants would come out motivated from halftime and would end up winning the match by 44 points in a 79-point turnaround.
Speaking in the post-game press conference, Kingsley would defend his captain, noting that he did not use any language that warranted a fine.
"I wouldn't have thought so. I'd be pretty disappointed if he got fined for ... I mean, he didn't use any language or anything like that, did he?" he told the media.
"It's a really important game for both clubs. We know the importance of it, and all the players treat it seriously.
“So they're trying to put each other off, and they're doing ... all within the rules, of course, but that's just AFL footy, it's part of the game. Winners are grinners, and if you're not, you move on.”
Sydney coach Dean Cox would initially play a straight bat at questions surrounding the verbal taunt towards his player.
“I don’t really listen to other players during halftime interviews,” he said.
“There’s always a bit of cheek between some of our players and their players.
“That’s always happened, so I’m not sure what he said.”
But when given a follow-up question and more context surrounding the comments, Cox admitted that it didn’t surprise him that Greene said what he said.
“I think people, when they speak in the media, generally are really calculated to opposition players,” he added.
“Some players push the boundaries a little bit. Toby’s probably one of those.”
