GIANTS skipper Callan Ward will play his first game of the 2019 season when the fourth-placed GIANTS take on ladder leaders Geelong on Saturday afternoon.
Ward has overcome a lateral collateral ligament strain in his knee, suffered in the first JLT Community Series match in early March.
Across his eight seasons at the club, Ward has missed just eight of the 164 games the club has played.
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Coach Leon Cameron welcomed the return of his star midfielder.
“It’s great to have him back in, he’s trained well for the last couple of weeks,” Cameron said.
“He wanted to try and play last week but we look forward to welcoming him back in (now).
“We look forward to Wardy stepping up to the plate because it’s a big task and we play the number one team in the competition at the moment.”
Ward comes in to replace midfielder Tommy Sheridan who injured his calf in his club debut last weekend.
Cameron said the GIANTS are under no illusions about the tough task in front of his side at a ground where the GIANTS have never tasted victory.
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“We know we haven’t been successful down there out of four visits and we need to play a better brand to give ourselves a chance,” Cameron said.
“Everyone’s looking for consistency, you want to back up win, lose or draw, you want to actually back up from the week before.
“Ultimately, you’re practicing every week for these big games and it’s a huge game for us. We know the challenge, we’re not scared of it, we look forward to it.”
The GIANTS take on Geelong at GMHBA Stadium at 1:45pm on Saturday, broadcast live on 7mate in NSW and the ACT and Fox Footy nationally.
Round 4
Geelong Cats v GIANTS
Saturday, April 13 at 1:45pm
GMHBA Stadium
FB: Heath Shaw, Phil Davis, Adam Kennedy
HB: Nick Haynes, Sam Taylor, Jeremy Finlayson
C: Zac Williams, Stephen Coniglio, Adam Tomlinson
HF: Lachie Whitfield, Harry Himmelberg, Matt de Boer
FF: Daniel Lloyd, Jeremy Cameron, Jacob Hopper
RR: Shane Mumford, Callan Ward, Tim Taranto
Interchange: Josh Kelly, Brent Daniels, Sam Reid, Matt Buntine
In: Callan Ward
Out: Tommy Sheridan (calf)
Emergencies: Aiden Bonar, Isaac Cumming, Dawson Simpson, Nick Shipley
