The GIANTS have reached the midway point of the 2018 season and with their record standing at six wins, five losses and one draw, the last 10 rounds are going to be crucial as the club pushes for its third successive finals appearance.
The Story So Far
The GIANTS started strongly with a resounding 82-point win over the Western Bulldogs at UNSW Canberra Oval in round one. A hard-fought 16-point win over Collingwood followed but it came at a cost with star midfielder Tom Scully breaking his ankle.
A loss to the Swans came in round three at the SCG as Rory Lobb battled through a knee injury.
The GIANTS then went undefeated over the next three weeks with sizeable wins over Fremantle in Canberra and Brisbane at Spotless Stadium, while a draw against the Saints came in between.
As injuries mounted, the GIANTS’ season hit a rough patch as they lost their next four matches. Defeats to Geelong, West Coast, North Melbourne and Essendon saw the GIANTS slip out of the top eight.
A spirited win over the Crows in Adelaide stopped the rot and a record 108-point win over the Suns at Spotless Stadium saw the GIANTS sitting in ninth position going into the bye.
“It’s been a little bit up and down,” GIANTS veteran Ryan Griffen said.
“That month there was pretty disappointing as we went away from the brand we know we can play.
“But the last couple of weeks have been really good, the confidence is back.
“We’re playing some exciting footy and hopefully we can carry that on for the second half of the year.”
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The Road Ahead
It’ll be a travel-filled and tough final 10 rounds with trips to Brisbane, Adelaide and Perth ahead for the GIANTS, while they face five sides who currently sit inside the top eight.
The GIANTS return from the bye to face the Lions in round 14 at the Gabba. Brisbane have won just one game in 2018, but eight of their losses have been by under 30 points and five have been decided by three goals or less.
Hawthorn at Spotless, West Coast in Perth, Richmond at Spotless and Port Adelaide in Adelaide follow before the GIANTS face St Kilda, Carlton, Adelaide, the Swans and Melbourne in their final five fixtures.
“We’re looking forward to the second half of the season. We’ve got 10 games to
“Our goal for the second half of the season is pretty clear, we understand that we’ve got to keep on winning and keep on getting better.
“We don’t want to just make the eight, we want to make sure we position ourselves to have a good run in the finals series.
“We want to keep on playing the brand of footy we’ve been playing in the last couple of weeks and we look forward to the challenge.”
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The Highlight
The GIANTS’ round 11
The
A titanic struggle between the two sides followed, with the Crows hitting the lead early in the final term. The hometown crowd had found their voice, but they were quickly silenced by the GIANTS, with two Jeremy Cameron goals and an incredible running goal by Zac Langdon the difference when the final siren sounded.
The 16-point win was the
“It was massive. We needed to get that belief back and that confidence in our team,” GIANTS midfielder Josh Kelly said.
“We went over there with the aim to win the game and to get that belief back and we did.
“It was a massive win, one of the best I’ve been a part of and hopefully it’s a turning point for our season and we really get going from here.”
