The Greater Western Sydney GIANTS have named two debutants for their clash against Richmond at Skoda Stadium this Saturday.
Number one draft pick Jonathon Patton, 19, will play his first AFL game after undergoing knee surgery in Sweden in January.
WATCH SHEEDY RUN THROUGH HIS SELECTIONS
Patton has impressed in the last few weeks with some standout performances for the UWS GIANTS in the NEAFL.
Recruited from the Eastern Ranges, Patton was a stand out up forward for VIC Metro in the 2011 NAB AFL Under 18 Championships and was named in the forward line of the 2011 Under 18 All Australian squad.
New South Wales born and raised Sam Schulz also wins selection for the first time having also impressed in the NEAFL.
Schulz, 20, played his junior football in the Riverina town of Culcairn, before joining the GIANTS in 2010 as one of the club's NSW/ACT zone selections under the GIANTS List Establishment Rules.
The selection of Patton and Schulz takes the number of AFL debutants for the GIANTS in 2012 to 29.
There are five changes to the team which played Geelong in round 10. Dean Brogan will return after recovering from an elbow injury sustained in Round 6 against Carlton.
Rhys Palmer and Shaun Edwards are also back with Sam Reid (shoulder), Stephen Coniglio (thumb), Jonathan Giles (calf), Dom Tyson (shin) and Jacob Townsend (jaw) all out due to injury.
The GIANTS decided not to risk Israel Folau, who will spend at least another week on the sidelines to overcome a hamstring injury.
Sam Reid will now undergo a shoulder reconstruction next week and will miss the remainder of the season and Dom Tyson is expected to miss three weeks with a stress reaction in his shin.
Jonathan Giles will miss one week with calf soreness, while Jacob Townsend will miss four weeks following a broken jaw sustained in Round 10 against Geelong.
GIANTS Coach, Kevin Sheedy said they were looking forward to welcoming back a number of key players alongside the two debutants.
“We have a few changes this week. We have two new boys coming into the side, with Jonathon Patton and Sam Schulz to play their first game of AFL football," he said.
" It’s always exciting to provide an opportunity for young players to test themselves at the highest level and I am looking forward to seeing how the two young men go on the weekend.
"Our ruckman, Dean Brogan is back from injury, after spending a number of weeks out with an elbow injury and he will provide some much needed experience and Shaun Edwards will make his return as well.”
“We're really looking forward to these guys coming back into the side, they have been in good form. They've really excelled on the training paddock.”
“It's a big game coming up at SKODA Stadium, and we really want to build on what we started when we last played there against Essendon. It's always good to play at home and we hope to see plenty of fans out there in orange on Saturday cheering us on.”
