Land of the Giants
Premiership Player
Fantastic result on Thursday night against Brisbane.
The Orange Tsunami was well and truly roaring in the second half, with nine unanswered goals. Having pushed us so hard in the second quarter, Brisbane looked clueless as goal after goal sailed through the big sticks. It was a joy to behold.
Debutant Darcy Jones more than lived up to the promise he’s shown in the seconds. Given an opportunity, his speed was electrifying, and he left the Lions flat-footed on more than one occasion. You could feel the energy pulsate around the ground whenever he went near the ball.
There’s plenty to think about this week, for what is sure to be one of most anticipated derbies for a long time. Team selection is a real challenge. With several stars returning, and plenty of outstanding young talent, who do we omit? Here are my thoughts.
The backs are relatively easy. Taylor will take Aleer’s place, that’s a given. Himmelberg can play at half-back.
I’ve opted to put Perryman in the centre, as I think we’ll need a bit of grunt in there against the Swans. If Coniglio returns, it would be at the expense of Peatling.
With full-forward, who would be most effective small forward near goal, with Hogan and Brown? I’ve started with Toby, and would play Darcy Jones off the interchange to keep him fresh, and inject that speed of his when we need it.
If Daniels if fully fit, he can start at half-forward alongside Cadman and Bedford. I opted for Cadman to ensure we have a bit of height down there. Thomas would play off the bench.
I’m reluctant to drop XOH from the line-up because of the physical intent he always brings, because I think we’ll need it. So, Wehr and Aleer would be omitted, and Ward “managed” for his impending 300th. Peatling would be the sub.
FB [15] Sam Taylor, [44] Jack Buckley, [39] Connor Idun
HB [6] Lachie Whitfield, [27] Harry Himmelberg, [7] Lachie Ash
C [22] Josh Kelly, [17] Finn Callaghan, [36] Harry Perryman
HF [14] Toby Bedford, [5] Aaron Cadman, [16] Brent Daniels
FF [4] Toby Greene, [23] Jesse Hogan, [46] Callum M. Brown
FOL [32] Kieren Briggs, [3] Stephen Coniglio, [12] Tom Green
IC [2] Darcy Jones, [33] Xavier O'Halloran, [28] Harvey Thomas, [26] Jake Riccardi
SUB [20] James Peatling
We’re arguably at greater than full strength with the emergence of Harvey Thomas and Darcy Jones, but nonetheless, we’d be crazy to underestimate the Swans, and especially Heeney, who always plays well against us and is an early favourite for the Brownlow.
Something else to think about is the rest differential between the teams. We’re coming off an eight-day break, as opposed to only five for Sydney, but it might not make much difference. Check out this article by Cody Atkinson and Sean Lawson on the ABC website titled “How rest and preparation dictate AFL performance”. It includes this observation:
"When a side has two days less rest than their opponent, they are likely to perform just under a goal worse than expectation when they are the home team, and about half that when they are the away team. They're not big numbers on the surface, but when you're looking at hundreds or thousands of results it suggests there's something there."
Still, when it comes to resting tired bodies and niggling injuries, I know which side of the ledger most teams would rather be on.
Get excited everyone, we’ve got a derby for the ages on our hands. The SCG has been the site of some famous victories for us and will hold no fear. I tried to get a ticket in Bays 1 and 2 to be with other Giants, but there’s none left, so I've been relegated to the Trumper Stand.
This will be an absolute blinder. I can’t wait for next Saturday.
Let’s go Giants, let’s go!
The Orange Tsunami was well and truly roaring in the second half, with nine unanswered goals. Having pushed us so hard in the second quarter, Brisbane looked clueless as goal after goal sailed through the big sticks. It was a joy to behold.
Debutant Darcy Jones more than lived up to the promise he’s shown in the seconds. Given an opportunity, his speed was electrifying, and he left the Lions flat-footed on more than one occasion. You could feel the energy pulsate around the ground whenever he went near the ball.
There’s plenty to think about this week, for what is sure to be one of most anticipated derbies for a long time. Team selection is a real challenge. With several stars returning, and plenty of outstanding young talent, who do we omit? Here are my thoughts.
The backs are relatively easy. Taylor will take Aleer’s place, that’s a given. Himmelberg can play at half-back.
I’ve opted to put Perryman in the centre, as I think we’ll need a bit of grunt in there against the Swans. If Coniglio returns, it would be at the expense of Peatling.
With full-forward, who would be most effective small forward near goal, with Hogan and Brown? I’ve started with Toby, and would play Darcy Jones off the interchange to keep him fresh, and inject that speed of his when we need it.
If Daniels if fully fit, he can start at half-forward alongside Cadman and Bedford. I opted for Cadman to ensure we have a bit of height down there. Thomas would play off the bench.
I’m reluctant to drop XOH from the line-up because of the physical intent he always brings, because I think we’ll need it. So, Wehr and Aleer would be omitted, and Ward “managed” for his impending 300th. Peatling would be the sub.
FB [15] Sam Taylor, [44] Jack Buckley, [39] Connor Idun
HB [6] Lachie Whitfield, [27] Harry Himmelberg, [7] Lachie Ash
C [22] Josh Kelly, [17] Finn Callaghan, [36] Harry Perryman
HF [14] Toby Bedford, [5] Aaron Cadman, [16] Brent Daniels
FF [4] Toby Greene, [23] Jesse Hogan, [46] Callum M. Brown
FOL [32] Kieren Briggs, [3] Stephen Coniglio, [12] Tom Green
IC [2] Darcy Jones, [33] Xavier O'Halloran, [28] Harvey Thomas, [26] Jake Riccardi
SUB [20] James Peatling
We’re arguably at greater than full strength with the emergence of Harvey Thomas and Darcy Jones, but nonetheless, we’d be crazy to underestimate the Swans, and especially Heeney, who always plays well against us and is an early favourite for the Brownlow.
Something else to think about is the rest differential between the teams. We’re coming off an eight-day break, as opposed to only five for Sydney, but it might not make much difference. Check out this article by Cody Atkinson and Sean Lawson on the ABC website titled “How rest and preparation dictate AFL performance”. It includes this observation:
"When a side has two days less rest than their opponent, they are likely to perform just under a goal worse than expectation when they are the home team, and about half that when they are the away team. They're not big numbers on the surface, but when you're looking at hundreds or thousands of results it suggests there's something there."
Still, when it comes to resting tired bodies and niggling injuries, I know which side of the ledger most teams would rather be on.
Get excited everyone, we’ve got a derby for the ages on our hands. The SCG has been the site of some famous victories for us and will hold no fear. I tried to get a ticket in Bays 1 and 2 to be with other Giants, but there’s none left, so I've been relegated to the Trumper Stand.
This will be an absolute blinder. I can’t wait for next Saturday.
Let’s go Giants, let’s go!
mine was better.
