- Nov 23, 2015
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Well, it's a bright, sunny day here in Canberra - fabulous weather for fast, open footy on a Saturday afternoon. Hope to see plenty of Canberra fans as well as our Sydney comrades-in-arms turn up for today's match. You'd think that GWS - despite Cal Ward's loss - would be brimming with confidence; but hopefully not overconfidence. The Dockers have 3 ex-GWS players in their line-up - all of whom were good players for us and only left because of homesickness issues, and all of whom can have an influence on the game if they play well. One of those is 'Sunshine' Cam McCarthy, although Freo's forward line still not functioning as well as it should with some decent talls in the squad. A big battle is that in the ruck, with Rory Lobb up against his former senior player and later ruck tutor in Shane Mumford. I am surprised that they've left out Sean Darcy and gone with Lobb - one of the reasons he left was supposedly not to be first ruck. Of course Nat Fyfe will be influential for the Dockers in his return after a week off for concussion; but ex-Docker Matt de Boer may be given a job to curb his influence. MdB was cut by Ross Lyon but resurrected his career in the charcoal and orange and has been having a fantastic year to date. As have several other young players in the GWS line-up, including Jacob Hopper, Tim Taranto and Lachie Whitfield. We welcome Jackson Hately back to his birthplace in his debut for the Giants, and wish him all the best for a fantastic game. With an excellent 11-1 winning record in Canberra since 2015, GWS will be very disappointed if we don't continue that domination in the capital today.
Where and when: UNSW Canberra Oval, Saturday April 20, 1.45pm AEST
Last time they met: UNSW Canberra Oval, round four, 2018: GWS 11.16 (82) defeated Fremantle 7.9 (51)
The Dockers got the start they wanted and led at the first change, but the Giants kicked 10 goals to four after quarter-time to win a scrappy affair in Canberra. Fallen co-captain Callan Ward grabbed the three Brownlow votes for his 34 possessions, while Nick Haynes dominated across half-back with 15 marks and 29 touches.
What it means for GWS: After last week's outstanding win at Geelong, a first for the club, the home side must maintain their momentum by beating the Dockers. If they're really flag contenders, they'll win big.
What it means for Fremantle: The wasteful Dockers had their chances against West Coast last week and a similar effort will see them head back to Perth with the same result. At 2-2 Fremantle must take a big scalp.
How GWS wins: Even without the injured Ward the Giants midfield is stacked with talent and runs too deep for the Dockers to stop. Jeremy Cameron and Jeremy Finlayson are in a rich vein of form and they'll get plenty of opportunities.
How Fremantle wins: He's had an inconsistent year so far, but if Michael Walters can break free his impact on the game will be immense. Time to throw him into the midfield and let the skilfull left-footer have an influence.
The stat: The Dockers had a 33.3 per cent conversion rate against the Eagles last week and had 1.9 on the scoreboard at half-time, which makes it extremely tough to win games. They must clean that up to get reward for effort.
The match-up: Shane Mumford v Rory Lobb
The master and his former apprentice will lock horns for the first time since Lobb walked out on the Giants last year to head home to Perth. Lobb – ranked 131st in the Schick AFL Player Ratings - hasn't coped well against physical ruckman in the past so it will be a massive challenge, but he has the athleticism to hurt Mumford (323rd) around the ground and forward.
It’s a big week for: Matt de Boer
The former Docker learnt his tagging craft at Fremantle and is likely to get another job this week. The returning Nat Fyfe will attract de Boer's attention in Canberra and the Giant will know the captain's game well after playing on him in match simulation at training for years.
Where and when: UNSW Canberra Oval, Saturday April 20, 1.45pm AEST
Last time they met: UNSW Canberra Oval, round four, 2018: GWS 11.16 (82) defeated Fremantle 7.9 (51)
The Dockers got the start they wanted and led at the first change, but the Giants kicked 10 goals to four after quarter-time to win a scrappy affair in Canberra. Fallen co-captain Callan Ward grabbed the three Brownlow votes for his 34 possessions, while Nick Haynes dominated across half-back with 15 marks and 29 touches.
What it means for GWS: After last week's outstanding win at Geelong, a first for the club, the home side must maintain their momentum by beating the Dockers. If they're really flag contenders, they'll win big.
What it means for Fremantle: The wasteful Dockers had their chances against West Coast last week and a similar effort will see them head back to Perth with the same result. At 2-2 Fremantle must take a big scalp.
How GWS wins: Even without the injured Ward the Giants midfield is stacked with talent and runs too deep for the Dockers to stop. Jeremy Cameron and Jeremy Finlayson are in a rich vein of form and they'll get plenty of opportunities.
How Fremantle wins: He's had an inconsistent year so far, but if Michael Walters can break free his impact on the game will be immense. Time to throw him into the midfield and let the skilfull left-footer have an influence.
The stat: The Dockers had a 33.3 per cent conversion rate against the Eagles last week and had 1.9 on the scoreboard at half-time, which makes it extremely tough to win games. They must clean that up to get reward for effort.
The match-up: Shane Mumford v Rory Lobb
The master and his former apprentice will lock horns for the first time since Lobb walked out on the Giants last year to head home to Perth. Lobb – ranked 131st in the Schick AFL Player Ratings - hasn't coped well against physical ruckman in the past so it will be a massive challenge, but he has the athleticism to hurt Mumford (323rd) around the ground and forward.
It’s a big week for: Matt de Boer
The former Docker learnt his tagging craft at Fremantle and is likely to get another job this week. The returning Nat Fyfe will attract de Boer's attention in Canberra and the Giant will know the captain's game well after playing on him in match simulation at training for years.
