Where and when: Fremantle Oval, Sunday January 31, 4:10pm EDT/1:10pm WST
Last time they met: The GIANTS and Dockers haven’t faced each other for over two years, after not being drawn to play each other during the 2020 or 2019 seasons. With only nine rounds scheduled in the now 14-team competition, it isn’t unusual to go a season or two without facing one particular team. The last time these two teams met was in round five, 2018 when the GIANTS beat the Dockers 39-21 at Fremantle Oval. Courtney Gum, Ellie Brush and Erin McKinnon starred that day.
TV and online: All AFLW matches are available live on Foxtel, Kayo, the AFLW Online site, AFL Telstra TV App and on the AFLW and AFL Official Apps. GIANTS matches are also broadcast live into NSW and the ACT free-to-air on 7mate.
What it means for the GIANTS: Round one is always the first opportunity to get a gauge of where teams are at for the new season, particularly after the 2020 season was cut short due to the pandemic. The GIANTS are coming off a heartbreaking final-minute loss to the Demons in their first finals appearance that preceded the competition being cancelled. We recruited young, but experienced, defender Katherine Smith from the Demons who is still coming back from an ACL injury suffered last year. The bulk of the GIANTS’ list is settled but we welcomed some new faces through the draft including young Canberra duo Tarni Evans and Emily Pease and experienced local defender Libby Graham. Gaelic star Bríd Stack joined the club from Cork in Ireland - but unfortunately suffered a serious neck injury in the club’s practice match - while former basketball and mum-of-two Erin Todd came in as a replacement player for Irishwoman Yvonne Bonner, who was unable to come to Australia for this season. The only recent exposed form was that practice match against the Adelaide Crows a fortnight ago, which the GIANTS lost by 20 points. It’s worth noting the GIANTS had been in transit for more than 30 hours in the lead-up to the game and only arrived in Adelaide late the evening before. Speaking of travel: the GIANTS broke from pre-season training on December 18 as a coronavirus cluster broke out in Sydney, with the team coming back together in Albury in southern NSW on January 1. They’ve been on the road since and relocated to Adelaide - via a stopover in Canberra - two weeks ago. Lou Stephenson is the only player not to join the hub, with work commitments with NSW Fire and Rescue in Sydney.
Where’s the opposition at? It’s fair to say the Dockers dominated the 2020 AFLW season and would have been bitterly disappointed that the competition was cancelled. Fremantle were undefeated in the six games of the regular season that were played last year and they topped Conference B with 24 points. After six rounds the competition moved immediately to finals, where the Dockers demolished the new Gold Coast Suns side, 80-10. They were in ominous form and had Kiara Bowers and Gemma Houghton named in the AFLW All Australian team. The Dockers took on cross-town rivals the West Coast Eagles in a practice match two weeks ago, coming from four goals down to win by 10 points. Skilful with the ball and ruthless in their attack without it, the Dockers set a new standard for the AFLW in 2020 and head into the 2021 season as premiership favourites.
The number: 34. The number 34 will be printed on the top of the back of the GIANTS’ jumpers for the 2021 season and beyond as the club remembers Jacinda Barclay, who passed away in October. It’s been a tough period for the GIANTS’ AFLW team, losing a much loved teammate and beloved member of the GIANTS family. Along with the number 34 on the playing jumpers and staff apparel, both teams will come together for a minute’s silence ahead of Sunday’s match and players and staff will wear black armbands.
In the mix: The GIANTS have six uncapped players on their list and at least a handful are in line for their first taste of AFLW action this week. Draftees Tarni Evans, Emily Pease and Libby Graham have all slotted in seamlessly and played in the practice match a fortnight ago. Erin Todd also impressed, even with her limited football experience, while Georgia Garnett is yet to make her debut coming into her second season on the list. We’ll have to wait a little longer to see Irishwoman Bríd Stack - who will spend the next few weeks in a neck brace - while Katherine Smith, who is looking to make her GIANTS debut after three seasons at the Demons, is also still recovering from injury.
