- Nov 23, 2015
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Adam Kingsley will be wanting to bottle the mindset that the Giants players took into that game, so that he can replicate that in future - starting next weekend against his former club. This game will be a fascinating match-up on multiple grounds. Firstly, it's AK's old club, so he'll know their normal gameplan inside out, as well as the majority of their players. Does that give him a leg up in devising a specific gameplan for them? Certainly, the gameplan that he took to GMHBA Stadium seemed fine-tuned for the location, and in carrying it out the team was able to get on top of the Cats. Second, the Tigers are (sort of) where we were 12 months ago, having just shed their coach. Of course, that was on the back of 3 premierships, so no tears for them. But it does put them at the start of a major adjustment. Often a new coach will get a bounce in performance - and the Tiges have been underperforming where they think they should be. The 10-point loss in round 11 against Port was hard fought, does that point to a "bounce" against the No 2 ranked team; if so, can they sustain it against the more lowly ranked Giants? Third, there is the fascination from fans (well, at least Giants' fans) on the "deathride" - barracking hard against Richmond because we hold their first round pick in the draft this year. Beat them, and not only do we edge higher on the ladder, we get a better draft pick off them for Jacob Hopper. Finally, there's the trade factor, that Tim Taranto - whom we let walk in order to simplify our inside midfielder situation while prioritising Tom Green - is now leading the Richmond midfield and probably leading their B&F count. He had a field day against Port with 33 disposals and 4 goals.
Both sides have a fair swathe of injuries, so part of the battle is how well those gaps can be patched. For Giants, what was once our strength - the backline - has lost half its normal complement (Taylor, Haynes, Cumming) and first choice replacements (Himmelberg, Aleer, Davis), but led by Jack Buckley and Connor Idun has performed creditably. Haynes and Himmelberg may be back for this game, and one presumes that either or both will be rushed back in if fit. The Tigers have played a forward mix of an ageing Reiwoldt and 206cm Samson Ryan (or ruck Toby Nankervis), and also named Ben Miller (normally a KPD) forward (but I have not watched Richmond games to see if he's actually played there). I fully expect that we'll look to return to a normal tall defensive setup. Ricmond also rely on their small forwards a lot, so Dusty and Shai Bolton, complemented by Cotchin and Mansell. I expect Connor Idun to take on Dusty, but Bolton will be a difficult matchup.
In the battle of the midfields, we would hope that the GWS midfield (missing Josh Kelly) at home would stand strong. Tom Green is still performing highly, and will be a case of #4 (Green) versus #5 (Taranto) in disposals per game (this season). Briggs at ruck has been good in his two games thus far, but Nankervis and Ryan will be a test at another level. Ward was strong for us in the contest against Cats, so hopefully he can replicate that against Tigers.
The forward line will be one to watch. Talls Hogan and Cadman took great marks, but couldn't finish, and both went goalless. The recalled Riccardi both took some great grabs and kicked straight, finishing with 3 goals. Toby was his usual self, but Binga brought the forward pressure and kicked three goals. If the talls can fire, then we'll also put on scoreboard pressure.
So, the task for us would be to replicate that pressure game, be a little cleaner in our disposal, and finish the job forward.
I can't see AK making too many changes to a winning side, apart from fitting in the returning usual-22 players from injury. Presuming both Haynes and Himmelberg are fit, it will be interesting to see who comes out. I would think Haynes in place of Callum Brown in the backline is likely. If Haynes were not to get up but HH did, then I'd see HH take that third-tall interceptor role. If both are fit, then what does AK do? He's said all along that he wants to play HH as a forward, but threw him into the game against Saints in the backline, but was concussed early. The two options would be to bring him in as a KPD in place of Keeffe, thus keeping the forward line the same; or keep Keeffe in the backline, and replace one of the KPFs. Riccardi was the last in, but played well and doesn't deserve to lose his spot. Conversely, we've been calling for Cadman to go back to VFL for some consolidation and to fix his goalkicking yips; HH coming back in with Riccardi performing is the perfect rationale.
My prediction:
What are your thoughts for this game?
Both sides have a fair swathe of injuries, so part of the battle is how well those gaps can be patched. For Giants, what was once our strength - the backline - has lost half its normal complement (Taylor, Haynes, Cumming) and first choice replacements (Himmelberg, Aleer, Davis), but led by Jack Buckley and Connor Idun has performed creditably. Haynes and Himmelberg may be back for this game, and one presumes that either or both will be rushed back in if fit. The Tigers have played a forward mix of an ageing Reiwoldt and 206cm Samson Ryan (or ruck Toby Nankervis), and also named Ben Miller (normally a KPD) forward (but I have not watched Richmond games to see if he's actually played there). I fully expect that we'll look to return to a normal tall defensive setup. Ricmond also rely on their small forwards a lot, so Dusty and Shai Bolton, complemented by Cotchin and Mansell. I expect Connor Idun to take on Dusty, but Bolton will be a difficult matchup.
In the battle of the midfields, we would hope that the GWS midfield (missing Josh Kelly) at home would stand strong. Tom Green is still performing highly, and will be a case of #4 (Green) versus #5 (Taranto) in disposals per game (this season). Briggs at ruck has been good in his two games thus far, but Nankervis and Ryan will be a test at another level. Ward was strong for us in the contest against Cats, so hopefully he can replicate that against Tigers.
The forward line will be one to watch. Talls Hogan and Cadman took great marks, but couldn't finish, and both went goalless. The recalled Riccardi both took some great grabs and kicked straight, finishing with 3 goals. Toby was his usual self, but Binga brought the forward pressure and kicked three goals. If the talls can fire, then we'll also put on scoreboard pressure.
So, the task for us would be to replicate that pressure game, be a little cleaner in our disposal, and finish the job forward.
I can't see AK making too many changes to a winning side, apart from fitting in the returning usual-22 players from injury. Presuming both Haynes and Himmelberg are fit, it will be interesting to see who comes out. I would think Haynes in place of Callum Brown in the backline is likely. If Haynes were not to get up but HH did, then I'd see HH take that third-tall interceptor role. If both are fit, then what does AK do? He's said all along that he wants to play HH as a forward, but threw him into the game against Saints in the backline, but was concussed early. The two options would be to bring him in as a KPD in place of Keeffe, thus keeping the forward line the same; or keep Keeffe in the backline, and replace one of the KPFs. Riccardi was the last in, but played well and doesn't deserve to lose his spot. Conversely, we've been calling for Cadman to go back to VFL for some consolidation and to fix his goalkicking yips; HH coming back in with Riccardi performing is the perfect rationale.
My prediction:
- Cadman out for Himmelberg
- Brown out for Haynes
What are your thoughts for this game?
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