- Video
-
Club Roar
Captured a great grassroots sporting moment? We want to see it!Content Collections
The Roar Community
- Join
- Login
The GWS Giants took an important win over the Port Adelaide Power on Sunday, coming back from a horror start to run out the 19-point winners.
» Click here for the full match report
Final score
Port Adelaide 9.6.60
GWS 11.13.79
Port Adelaide will be looking to keep their ever-dimming finals chances alive against the Greater Western Sydney Giants in the last game of Round 18. Join us for live scores and commentary from 4:40pm (AEST).
Depending on how the rest of Round 18 goes, this match could either have real meaning for Port’s shot at the top eight, or be crucial to the Giants’ chances at the top four.
The Power have been hard to love in 2016. They have been brilliant and lamentable in even measure but showed plenty of the former last week when they belted North Melbourne at Etihad Stadium.
They’ve also run the Bulldogs and Hawks close in high quality games but in between, have been outplayed by lowly Fremantle.
While Port have started to pick up their game, their opponents from Greater Western Sydney are headed for their first ever finals campaign on the back of even, consistent team performances.
The Giants need a win to preserve their top-four position but it won’t be an easy fight against a Port team welcoming back Brad Ebert and Jared Polec.
The enigmatic John Butcher plays his first game for 2016 replacing key forward Charlie Dixon who misses with an ankle injury. If nothing else, it should be entertaining to see how Butcher goes coming in cold against high quality defenders like Phil Davis.
GWS have matured rapidly this year and this is most evident in the approach of Callan Ward, Dylan Shiel, Steven Coniglio and Toby Greene.
The most impressive thing about the Giants for mine is their hard edge – a style of play that belies their young years and it’s apparent that once they have a taste for blood, they will go for the kill to win by as much as they can.
Port found this out the hard way in Round 4 when they travelled to Canberra and came away reeling from an 86-point beating.
Port’s relatively young backline will be under intense pressure from the start if the Power can’t figure out how to counter the GWS midfield setup.
To be fair, the Power’s ‘moneyball’ approach to the ruck contest using Jackson Trengove worked well against Todd Goldstein and North Melbourne last week (at one stage leading seven clearances to zero), but the physical play of Shane Mumford and the speed and quickness by hand in the GWS midfield is a completely different beast.
Prediction:
For all their faults, Port Adelaide have started to play some decent football and should be more of a handful for the Giants. Having said that though, I can’t ignore the Giants elite young midfield and potency up forward. Giants to eventually pull away and win this one.
Giants by 43.
Join us from 4.40 AEST for live coverage on The Roar!