Veteran Renee Forth has been recalled to the GIANTS line-up for their do-or-die clash against the Brisbane Lions at Blacktown on Friday night as they look to secure a maiden Grand Final berth.
Forth returns to the side for fellow West Australian Aimee Schmidt, who will miss this week’s clash with an ankle injury sustained against the Bulldogs last weekend.
“It’s disappointing that she’s got an injury to her ankle, hopefully she’ll be right if we get through,” coach Al McConnell said.
A spot in the NAB AFL Women’s Grand Final is on the line for both teams at Blacktown International Sportspark, with five teams a mathematical chance of making the final two.
With the top two sides on the ladder - the Bulldogs and Melbourne - facing off on Saturday, a win by the GIANTS would put them in the box seat to claim the second spot in the decider.
McConnell said it’s business as usual for his side, who started the season 0-2 and have virtually been in elimination finals the last four weeks.
“For me, it’s exactly the same,” he said.
“I think if you get too wound up about the outcome, you’re on the wrong train.
“It’s about looking at what we’ve done well and doing it again and looking at what we need to improve and trying to find a way to do it.
“I think that’s something we’ve actually been really good at, every week we’ve addressed one or two things we’ve been able to add to our game, but we need to do the same thing this week.”
Brisbane have again been one of the top teams in the competition after making the NAB AFLW Grand Final in the inaugural season.
While they suffered a shock loss to Collingwood in Brisbane last round, McConnell and his GIANTS aren’t taking them lightly.
“There’s a lot to play for for both teams. They’re a good contested ball team, hard to score against, so it’ll be on,” he said.
Forth, 30, spent the 2017 season on the sidelines recovering from an ACL injury, but played the first five games this season after making her AFLW debut in round one.
McConnell said Forth would come back into the team after spending the past fortnight working on her game.
“She’d been working on a range of things, most particularly her confidence,” he said.
“She was probably overthinking things a little bit too much in the game rather than playing instinctively so she’s gone back and worked away at that.”
The GIANTS take on the Brisbane Lions with a spot in the 2018 NAB AFLW Grand Final on the line at Blacktown International Sportspark on Friday night at 7:05pm.
Entry is FREE with the game live on Fox Footy or online at AFL.com.au.
