Forward Dylan Buckley and defender Lachlan Keeffe and will make their GIANTS debut in Friday night’s blockbuster clash with Geelong at GMBHA Stadium.
Buckley and Keeffe will become the 86th and 87th GIANTS after both forged AFL careers at Carlton and Collingwood respectively.
Coach Leon Cameron said the GIANTS are excited to see how both players perform.
“We look forward to seeing how these guys go. They’re popular guys amongst our footy club so I’m sure the guys will get a lift with those guys
“They’ll be hell-bent on wanting to try and re-start their footy careers, if they’ve got that great attitude that they’ve had since they arrived at our footy club then they’re in for a really positive performance on Friday night.”
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Keeffe joined the GIANTS as a delisted free agent after 40 games with Collingwood between 2011 and 2017. A tall and agile defender, he impressed in the JLT Community Series playing both games and has started his NEAFL season in fine form for the GIANTS Reserves.
“Lachie’s been playing some really good footy all over the place really,” Cameron said.
“He’s been key back, wing, forward as well, so we really look forward to him coming into the team and playing his role.”
Buckley, a hard-running defensive forward who played 39 games for Carlton and kicked 16 goals in six seasons, joined the GIANTS in the 2018 Rookie Draft and has been amongst the GIANTS Reserves' best players, consistently been hitting the scoreboard.
“Dylan Buckley’s had two-and-a-half games back now and he gets his opportunity to come in and play that small forward role that he’s been playing since he arrived at our footy club,” Cameron said.
The duo
“It is disappointing that Brett will be out for a week or two and Jeremy the same, but as we’ve said before, that’s life and every footy club goes through it,” Cameron said.
“So, we’ve got to make sure that our performance on Friday night stacks up to give us every opportunity to win the game."
Cameron is wary of his side’s history at GMHBA Stadium, with the GIANTS yet to win after three matches at the Cats’ home ground.
Coaching his 100th AFL game this week, Cameron is positive the GIANTS can create their own slice of history at the ‘The Cattery’.
“Playing the Cats away at their home ground is huge, everyone knows that, but it’s a great opportunity to hopefully get the job done,” he said.
“No doubt they would have been disappointed to lose against the Swans last week, but we have an opportunity this week to play a really good brand of footy and we believe when we do play that then we can beat anyone.”
Geelong v GIANTS
GMHBA Stadium
Friday, May 4 at
FB: Jeremy Finlayson, Adam Tomlinson, Heath Shaw
HB: Nick Haynes, Phil Davis, Matt de Boer
C: Lachie Whitfield, Dylan Shiel, Aidan Corr
HF: Daniel Lloyd, Harry Himmelberg, Jacob Hopper
FF: Callan Ward, Ryan Griffen, Sam Reid
RR: Jon Patton, Stephen Coniglio, Nick Shipley
Interchange: Tim Taranto, Zac Langdon, Lachlan Keeffe, Dylan Buckley
Emergencies: Aiden Bonar, Isaac Cumming, Dawson Simpson, Tim Mohr
IN: Dylan Buckley Lachlan Keeffe
OUT: Jeremy Cameron (toe), Brett Deledio (hamstring)
