Land of the Giants
Premiership Player
Welcome back, everyone. I’m sure we’ve all been looking forward to Round 1 with a lot of anticipation.
This time last year, there was a real sense of unfinished business around the club, that we would go one step further than 2016, and make the Grand Final.
Well, it didn’t work out that way, and while we did make a second consecutive preliminary final – and, in terms of development and experience, a very important one – I think it’s fair to say we were never really contenders. It just wasn’t our year.
What about 2018? How far can we go? As mentioned by Giant Strides in his general preview, the poll of club captains shows that seven other skippers think we're one of three main chances for the flag. You’d have to think anything short of that would be seen as under-performing.
So, let’s have a look at the injury list going into Round 1. As of Friday 16th March:
· Matt Buntine Knee 4-5 weeks
· Brent Daniels Knee 2-3 weeks
· Ryan Griffen Ankle 1-2 weeks
· Jacob Hopper Groin Test
· Adam Kennedy Knee 2-3 weeks
· Tom Scully Knee Test
· Will Setterfield Knee Season
· Zac Williams Achilles Indefinite
As you can see, it’s an uncomfortably long list of problems before the season even starts (and the injury to Zac Williams really hurts).
The pre-season saw two good hit-outs against the in-form Swans, and a trouncing of Collingwood. But injuries notwithstanding, we still have a strong list of players putting their hands up for selection.
This is what I think our Round 1 line-up will look like:
B: N. Haynes, P. Davis, H. Shaw
HB: L. Whitfield, A. Corr, A. Tomlinson
C: C. Ward, M. de Boer, S. Coniglio
HF: J. Cameron, D. Shiel, D. Lloyd
F: J. Patton, H. Himmlberg, T. Greene
FOLL: R. Lobb, J. Hopper, J. Kelly
I/C: T. Taranto, B. Deledio, J. Finlayson, Z. Langdon
I wouldn’t include either Hopper or Scully in particular this week. I think we have enough depth to cover for them.
As for the Bulldogs, they’ve seen a bit of turmoil during the off-season, distracted by senior management changes and various player issues, including Jake Stringer being traded in controversial circumstances.
Problems with their forward line cost them dearly last year, and with Stringer gone and Travis Cloke retiring, they’ve used the pre-season to experiment, with mixed results. They used Bontempelli, Macrae and Johannisen against Hawthorn, which worked, but Easton Wood didn’t really perform against Collingwood a couple of weeks ago. I think we might see Bontempelli spend some time up-front.
The corresponding game last year was billed as a contest between two fierce young rivals, and it did not disappoint. We prevailed in hectic circumstances by the razor-thin margin of 2 points. But then, in something of an anti-climax, we crushed them in Round 21 at Etihad by 8 goals. Their season was probably best summed up by Ryan Davidson on the AFL website:
“When you don't make the finals as the reigning premier, it's fair to say your season has been a failure”.
I think they’re going to come out breathing fire. Based on the pre-season, they’ll look to make a quick start, which is something we need to prepare for, as our own starts against the Swans, and even Collingwood, were quite slow. We can’t afford to be caught flat-footed.
I know it’s only Round 1, but seriously, we have to win this game. These guys will be motivated on numerous fronts, and we can’t let them get the better of us.
Giants by 24.
This time last year, there was a real sense of unfinished business around the club, that we would go one step further than 2016, and make the Grand Final.
Well, it didn’t work out that way, and while we did make a second consecutive preliminary final – and, in terms of development and experience, a very important one – I think it’s fair to say we were never really contenders. It just wasn’t our year.
What about 2018? How far can we go? As mentioned by Giant Strides in his general preview, the poll of club captains shows that seven other skippers think we're one of three main chances for the flag. You’d have to think anything short of that would be seen as under-performing.
So, let’s have a look at the injury list going into Round 1. As of Friday 16th March:
· Matt Buntine Knee 4-5 weeks
· Brent Daniels Knee 2-3 weeks
· Ryan Griffen Ankle 1-2 weeks
· Jacob Hopper Groin Test
· Adam Kennedy Knee 2-3 weeks
· Tom Scully Knee Test
· Will Setterfield Knee Season
· Zac Williams Achilles Indefinite
As you can see, it’s an uncomfortably long list of problems before the season even starts (and the injury to Zac Williams really hurts).
The pre-season saw two good hit-outs against the in-form Swans, and a trouncing of Collingwood. But injuries notwithstanding, we still have a strong list of players putting their hands up for selection.
This is what I think our Round 1 line-up will look like:
B: N. Haynes, P. Davis, H. Shaw
HB: L. Whitfield, A. Corr, A. Tomlinson
C: C. Ward, M. de Boer, S. Coniglio
HF: J. Cameron, D. Shiel, D. Lloyd
F: J. Patton, H. Himmlberg, T. Greene
FOLL: R. Lobb, J. Hopper, J. Kelly
I/C: T. Taranto, B. Deledio, J. Finlayson, Z. Langdon
I wouldn’t include either Hopper or Scully in particular this week. I think we have enough depth to cover for them.
As for the Bulldogs, they’ve seen a bit of turmoil during the off-season, distracted by senior management changes and various player issues, including Jake Stringer being traded in controversial circumstances.
Problems with their forward line cost them dearly last year, and with Stringer gone and Travis Cloke retiring, they’ve used the pre-season to experiment, with mixed results. They used Bontempelli, Macrae and Johannisen against Hawthorn, which worked, but Easton Wood didn’t really perform against Collingwood a couple of weeks ago. I think we might see Bontempelli spend some time up-front.
The corresponding game last year was billed as a contest between two fierce young rivals, and it did not disappoint. We prevailed in hectic circumstances by the razor-thin margin of 2 points. But then, in something of an anti-climax, we crushed them in Round 21 at Etihad by 8 goals. Their season was probably best summed up by Ryan Davidson on the AFL website:
“When you don't make the finals as the reigning premier, it's fair to say your season has been a failure”.
I think they’re going to come out breathing fire. Based on the pre-season, they’ll look to make a quick start, which is something we need to prepare for, as our own starts against the Swans, and even Collingwood, were quite slow. We can’t afford to be caught flat-footed.
I know it’s only Round 1, but seriously, we have to win this game. These guys will be motivated on numerous fronts, and we can’t let them get the better of us.
Giants by 24.
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