The GIANTS are under no illusion that the hard work to earn a spot in the finals is finished, according to co-captain Phil Davis.
The GIANTS moved back up to
Just four points separate the fourth-placed Sydney Swans and ninth-placed Geelong Cats, while a further three teams are just another four points behind and still hold hope of making the finals.
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The GIANTS are in the middle of the crush, with a draw against St Kilda earlier in the year taking
They will face the Saints again on Saturday at Spotless Stadium, but despite the disparity in their positions on the ladder (the Saints sit 15th), Davis said the GIANTS were not foolish enough to take the contest lightly, especially in the wake of 17th-placed Gold Coast’s shock victory over the Swans last weekend.
“We feel like we’re in a good place, but it’s such an even competition,” Davis said on his weekly podcast The Footy Phil.
“The weekend proved that yet again with, in particular, the Gold Coast game being the standout game that (showed) you need to be 100
“We’ve got a challenge the next five weeks – we need to win the majority of these games just to be guaranteed to play finals.
“The challenge is there in front of us, but we’re feeling very confident that our football is in a good place.”
After external sources had GIANTS tipped as one of the leading contenders for the flag pre-season, a horror run through May saw the team precariously balanced at four-and-a-half wins after 10 rounds and at risk of missing out on finals altogether.
But a drastic turnaround in form since has seen the team win six of its past seven games, bookended by wins against Adelaide and Port Adelaide at Adelaide Oval – just the second and third wins in GIANTS’ history at the venue.
A thrilling two-point win over reigning premier Richmond a fortnight ago confirmed the GIANTS’ rise to
“It’s just a good thing for football, to be honest,” he said. “As a player, you’re always trying to make sure that you are bringing your maximum effort, whoever you’re playing. Whether you’re playing the 18th team or the first team, you’ve got to bring your maximum effort.
“It’s a really good message for everyone and I think it’s really good for us in the sense that, hey, one: it doesn’t matter who you’re playing, if you don’t bring maximum effort, you’re not going to get the win.
“Two, we could beat anyone on any given day.
“And thirdly, anyone can beat us on any given day if we don’t bring what we want to bring.
“That’s probably been the height of our consistency over the last six, seven, eight weeks, that we’ve been able to be consistent with that effort.
“Even when we lost to West Coast, I thought we probably should’ve won that game. We missed some opportunities that would’ve really cemented our scoreboard position that day, but we were still competing and making it very hard for West Coast who are a very good side.”
After being ravaged by injuries at stages this season, the GIANTS have started regaining players.
Adam Kennedy made his way back from a knee reconstruction two weeks ago, alongside Toby Greene, who hadn’t played since round five with ongoing foot issues.
Brett Deledio, who had been in spectacular form early in the season before succumbing to a calf injury, returned against Port Adelaide, while it is hoped Rising Star nominee Sam Taylor, Ryan Griffen
The GIANTS’ forward line will receive another boost in two weeks’ time, with Jeremy Cameron poised to return after serving a five-week suspension.
Join us at the GIANTS 2018 Multicultural Festival this Saturday from 1-5pm
Davis said the GIANTS were looking forward to seeing the Orange Army out in force at Spotless Stadium on Saturday afternoon as the team strives to strengthen its position in the finals race.
“It’s going to be a big challenge as we understand that we’ve had to work so hard to get where we are, so there’s no chance we’ll be taking our foot off the
“It’s going to be a good game: 4.35pm on Saturday at Spotless (Stadium) is a great time for our fans, they usually turn up in great numbers for that time slot.
“We’re looking forward to it and hopefully we can keep the march going forward.”
