Where and when: GIANTS Stadium, Saturday July 18, 1.45pm AEST
Last time they met: The Giants booked their place in the 2019 preliminary finals with a gritty and gripping three-point win over the Lions at the Gabba, holding on for three long minutes after Brent Daniels pounced upon a loose ball and scooted into goal late in the last quarter to put his team in front. Josh Kelly got the GIANTS going early and drove the ball towards goal all night. Phil Davis and Nick Haynes saved the day multiple times with their intercept marking under pressure, Jacob Hopper had a big game in the midfield, winning 13 contested possessions, and Zac Williams was aggressive with his run off half-back. Matt de Boer did a great job on Lachie Neale and Toby Greene was brilliant in front of goal and all over the ground, his subsequent report and suspension the down point of the night. Stefan Martin played a great game in the ruck for the Lions, with Dayne Zorko, Jarrod Berry and Daniel Rich all prominent.
TV and online: https://www.afl.com.au/broadcast-guide-premiership
What it means for the GIANTS: This is an important one. The GIANTS sit at 3-3 after six rounds, with last week’s loss to Port Adelaide pushing the team out of the top eight with 11 games to go in this shortened season. A win will keep the club in touch with the clubs sitting in the top section of the ladder on 4-5 wins – including Brisbane – while a loss will leave some work to do in order to bridge that gap.
Where’s the opposition at? The Lions have been one of the better performed teams this season, and sit in third spot on the ladder with four wins from their six games. Their losses have come against Hawthorn (back in round one) and Geelong (last week) while they have beaten Fremantle, West Coast, Adelaide and the top-placed Port Adelaide since the break. The Lions dominated the first half of their game against the Cats at the SCG, but conceded seven goals in the third term to go down by 27 points.
The number: 3. That’s the number of players to have lined up for both the GIANTS and the Lions over the years. Jake Barrett played one for GWS in 2015 before adding two more at Brisbane in 2017-18. Joel Patfull played 182 games for the Lions before joining the GIANTS’ backline and playing 38 more in 2015-16. And then there is Luke Power. An original co-captain, Power finished up at the Lions after a long and distinguished 282-game career, playing 20 for the GIANTS in 2012 as he helped steer his new young teammates through their first season in the AFL.
In the mix: Callan Ward has been ruled out for the next 4-6 weeks after injuring a ligament in his (good) knee against Port Adelaide. Adam Kennedy isn’t quite ready to be considered yet, with the medical staff considering him a week to week proposition at the moment due to some soreness in a hamstring tendon, while Daniel Lloyd was feeling good early in the week after suffering a concussion against the Power. Tim Taranto has pulled up well after his game last weekend against the Hawthorn reserves, Xavier O’Halloran has overcome a concussion and draftee Tom Hutchesson (hamstring) is ready for his first run since the break. Jye Caldwell keeps banging the door down at reserves level, with others including Zac Langdon, Bobby Hill and Jack Buckley continuing to push for a game.
In the spotlight: The long break worked to the benefit of Taranto, who had major shoulder surgery back after the GIANTS first pre-season match back in March. The midfielder, last year’s Kevin Sheedy Medallist, has worked diligently at his rehab program over the last few months, and got back into it last week against Hawthorn in a scratch match. Is he ready, or will the coaches look to give him one more run at reserves level? His return, whenever it is, will add another layer of toughness to the midfield group.
