Where and When: Sunday June 26, MCG, 3.20pm
Last time they met:
These teams haven’t met since round four of the 2021 season, on what was a nice (and relieving) night for the GIANTS: after losses in the first three rounds, the club broke its duck with a 30-point win at the MCG. Toby Greene – stand-in skipper for the night – kicked five of the GIANTS’ 14 goals, with the midfield trio of Tim Taranto, Jacob Hopper and Callan Ward also instrumental. Lachie Ash had the most productive game of his career to that point, and Conor Stone made a promising debut in the No.18 jumper.
Broadcast:
Sunday’s AFL match between the GIANTS and Mapgies will be shown live on Fox Footy and Kayo nationally and on 7mate in NSW and the ACT from 3pm.
The match will also be shown via the AFL Live app with a subscription purchase. The match can also be heard on the following radio stations in Sydney this week: SEN’s AFL Nation and ABC Radio.
For the latest TV and radio broadcast guide, click here.
What it means for the GIANTS:
It’s another opportunity to play some positive footy against an in-form team, continue instilling new habits, keep looking at what players can do in different parts of the ground and working towards what the 2022 GIANTS team might look like with as many wins along the way as possible. The GIANTS have done some heavy duty scoring in the last few weeks, but on Saturday night conceded 125 points to the Western Bulldogs, meaning there is some tightening up to be done. The next few weeks will be big ones: Collingwood are looking to play finals, Hawthorn are on the improve, Port Adelaide are still in the hunt, and Brisbane are top of the ladder.
Where’s the opposition at?
The Magpies are putting together a good season, and sit just one win off fifth spot coming out of their bye round. They’ve won four games in a row now, most recently beating Melbourne in the Queen’s Birthday game at the MCG after scoring seven of the game’s last eight goals. Their forward line is versatile, industrious and will take some covering. Brodie Mihocek kicked four goals against the Demons, with Jamie Elliott adding three. Mason Cox was dangerous all day, with Jack Ginnivan and Beau McCreery sharp ground level players and Jordan De Goey always a chance to turn a game Collingwood’s way.
Player watch:
Jacob Wehr had to wait a while to get his chance, but he has grabbed it hard. He’s laid an average of 3.5 tackles in his four games so far, and kicked at an average of 79.5 per cent efficiency, nailing eight of his 10 kicks against North Melbourne two weeks ago and nine of 10 against the Bulldogs. The 23-year-old has also added some good run in the last few weeks, gaining 273 metres against the Roos and another 358 against the Dogs.
In the mix:
The injury list is a long one, but reinforcements are on the way with some young GIANTS ready to go: Cooper Hamilton, Callum Brown, Cam Fleeton and mid-season draft recruit Wade Derksen are all playing good footy in the VFL, with Will Shaw working towards his first chance too. Daniel Lloyd is a strong chance to return from his broken arm, with Phil Davis ready to step back in and Tim Taranto racking up a heap of the footy in his VFL return from a back issue last week. After a disrupted few weeks on the edge of the senior team, Xavier O’Halloran is another ready to jump back in. With Braydon Preuss suspended, Matthew Flynn injured and Kieren Briggs on his way back from illness, how to counter the Collingwood rucks looms as the pressing issue for the GIANTS.
