Land of the Giants
Premiership Player
Where and when: MCG, Saturday September 21, 4.35pm
TV, radio and online: Click here for broadcast guide
What it means for Collingwood: The chance to progress to a second successive Grand Final – which would be a remarkable achievement after the tumult of 2017 – and another chance to be the finals party pooper for the Giants.
What it means for GWS: An opportunity to make their first Grand Final after losing their previous preliminary finals in 2016 and 2017. It would also show great steel to win their third final in a row while missing stars Stephen Coniglio, Lachie Whitfield, Callan Ward and Toby Greene.
The stat: The Giants have lost both of their finals at the MCG, where they have won just two of their past 11 games. The victories were against a depleted Collingwood in round two last year and against Melbourne in round 10 this year.
The match-up: Jeremy Cameron v Darcy Moore
Coleman medallist Cameron (No.64 in the Official AFL Player Ratings) and intercept specialist Moore (down at No.352, affected by injury absences) are set to stage a hard-running, high-flying duel that might well be worth the admission price alone.
It's a big week for: Josh Kelly
With Whitfield ruled out and Greene another absentee, the Giants' best remaining playmaker could be required to produce a career-defining performance against a Magpie midfield that is humming. The silky left-footer's finals form has been strong, averaging 24 touches and two goals. He might need to lift that to 30 and three.
Big call: Giants little man Brent Daniels and Pies opponent John Noble to stage a sprint that will remind many of ex-Swan Lewis Jetta burning off Hawk Cyril Rioli in the 2012 Grand Final.
Prediction: Magpies by 16 points
===========================================
Land of the Giants Preview
Still blown away by the amount of support we had last night, and the sight that greeted me at the pre-match function. And I won’t forget that moment of victory either. You live for that sort of thing.
How on earth did we manage to win? Look at the stats. We lost the kicks, inside 50s, free kicks, hit outs, clearances, stoppages, contested possessions and marks by huge margins.
But we did win a few critical areas – tackles, tackles inside 50, “one percenters” (Phil Davis take a bow), as well as turnovers and intercept possessions. In other words, all the really tough grunt work, the kind that wins finals. It worked against the Dogs and now it’s worked against the Lions. But we’ll need to continue this sort of hardened work ethic against Collingwood.
Team selection will be interesting. The line-up for the eight-goal victory in Round 18 included Mumford, Simpson and Keeffe, but I’m not sure if Simpson and Keeffe will return. Mumford might be gone, cooked, whatever you want to call it, and he gives away a lot of frees, but we do tend to win when he plays. He’s like some kind of keystone species.
Himmelberg had a very quiet game by his lofty standards, as did Whitfield and Taranto. The chances of all three of them having another quiet game would be remote, and I think at least one of them will have a big game against Collingwood. Taranto and Whitfield in particular had huge games in Round 18.
We will have to wait and see what happens with Toby and Coniglio, and I hope common sense prevails at the tribunal. But the important thing is that the team is playing well. I don’t think that will change this weekend, regardless of who lines up.
As for Collingwood, it’s obvious they would have preferred to play Brisbane, which is really saying something considering our abysmal track record at the MCG. Memories of Round 18 and the comprehensive way we outplayed them still linger.
We’re sore and tired, but adrenaline is a wonder drug that heals like no other. We’re also match-hardened, and while the Magpies are fresh, they’ve also only played one game of football in a month. I think we’ve had some pretty good preparation.
I’m heading down the highway for this one and can’t wait for this particular pre-match function and yet another march, which will probably be the best ever. And as this is a very winnable game, it will probably be our biggest win ever.
Until the following week, that is.
Go Giants!
Last edited by a moderator:
