The GIANTS return home to ENGIE Stadium looking to get back to their winning ways, against a young and exciting West Coast Eagles outfit.
Match Details
GIANTS v West Coast Eagles
Sunday, April 6 at 1:10pm
ENGIE Stadium | Wangal Country
What It Means For The GIANTS
The GIANTS will look to return to their winning ways on Sunday, following their first loss of the year to the undefeated Hawks, going down by 12 points in Launceston.
Currently sitting in fifth spot on the AFL ladder, the GIANTS will be hoping to force their way back into the top four by accounting for an Eagles side who have already shown their best can match it with the competition leaders.
Returning to ENGIE Stadium for their second home game of the year, the GIANTS will be aiming to replicate their brilliant Opening Round performance at home in which they beat Collingwood by 52 points.
Sunday’s clash against the emerging Eagles will also give GIANTS fans in Sydney their first look at boom recruit Jake Stringer following his GIANTS debut last week against Hawthorn.
Stringer will make his ENGIE Stadium debut as part of a star-studded forward line also featuring reigning Coleman Medallist Jesse Hogan who will also play his first home game of the year after a starring return against the Hawks in Tasmania last week.
The Opposition
The Eagles will make the long trip to Sydney without a win to their name over their first three games but still having played some eye-catching football that challenged the league’s best.
While they lost to the Dockers by 38 points in Sunday’s Western Derby, the Eagles showed the week prior against the reigning premiers that they can never be taken lightly, with West Coast almost pulling off one of the biggest upsets in recent memory against the Lions.
Toe-to-toe with Brisbane for most of the match, the Eagles gave last year’s premiers all they could handle for three quarters before being overrun in the final term.
Up by 24 points at half-time and three points at the final break on the back of some brilliant football, the Eagles showed that their best football can cause trouble for any side and that the GIANTS must be on their game to claim the four points on Sunday.
Recent History
The GIANTS welcome the Eagles to town holding a 3-2 advantage over the westerners in their last five matches, with the orange tsunami surging to a 65-point win in their last meeting in round two at Optus Stadium last season.
It’s been three years since the Eagles last played the GIANTS at ENGIE Stadium, when the visitors fell short by 52 points, thanks to a dominating performance by Stephen Coniglio with 36 touches.
Key Match-Up: Halting Harley
On Sunday the GIANTS will welcome one of the league’s most exciting young players to town in Harley Reid.
While he’s dominated more headlines than matches across the first three games this year, Reid’s talent is undoubted and if there’s one man that can help the Eagles cause a boilover over against the GIANTS it is the talented teenager.
Toby Bedford and Connor Idun loom as great matchups for Reid whether he spends time on ball or in attack, with those two among a host of GIANTS sure to be mindful of keeping the young gun from having a match-winning performance on Sunday.
GIANTS Player to Watch: Jesse Hogan
Superstar Jesse Hogan missed the opening two games of the season (thumb) but showed no signs of rust with a starring performance in the close loss to Hawthorn last week.
Picking up from where he left off last year, the reigning Coleman Medallist kicked a game-high four goals against the Hawks and will now turn his attention to the Eagles’ backline as he looks to return to ENGIE Stadium with a bang on Sunday.
With one game under his belt and up against a youthful Eagles side, Hogan will be hoping he can help lead a GIANTS’ forward line to a big win on Sunday.
In The Mix
Team selection will continue to be no easy task for Adam Kingsley, with several GIANTS playing well in the VFL over the weekend to push their case for AFL selection.
Harry Rowston, Leek Aleer, Jake Riccardi, and Harvey Thomas are just a number of those looking to earn a call-up to take on West Coast.
Click here for a recap of Saturday’s VFL win to see who stood out.
Team Selection
The GIANTS will name their squad for round four at 6:20pm on Thursday and their final team at 5pm on Friday at gwsgiants.com.au.
Rehab Report
Get a full injury update ahead of Sunday’s match here.
Where To Watch
The clash with the Eagles will be shown live and free in NSW and the ACT from 1pm on Channel Seven and 7plus, as well as nationally on Fox and Kayo from 1pm.
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