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North Melbourne Kangaroos vs GWS Giants highlights: Giants by 37

Roar Guru
27th August, 2016
First bounce: 7.25pm AEST
Venue: Etihad Stadium
TV: Channel 7

North Melbourne
B Luke McDonald, Michael Firrito, Shaun Atley
HB Jamie Macmillan, Robbie Tarrant, Nick Dal Santo
C Sam Gibson, Jack Ziebell, Daniel Wells
HF Shaun Higgins, Ben Brown, Lachlan Hansen
F Lindsay Thomas, Drew Petrie, Brent Harvey
Fol Todd Goldstein, Ben Cunnington, Andrew Swallow
I/C Jed Anderson, Trent Dumont, Aaron Mullett, Majak Daw .

GWS Giants
B Nathan Wilson, Phil Davis, Zac Williams
HB Ryan Griffen, Nick Haynes, Heath Shaw
C Adam Tomlinson, Dylan Shiel, Josh Kelly
HF Jacob Hopper, Jonathon Patton, Devon Smith
F Steve Johnson, Rory Lobb, Jeremy Cameron
Fol Shane Mumford, Callan Ward, Tom Scully
I/C Toby Greene, Lachie Whitfield, Stephen Coniglio, Joel Patfull
Drew Petrie dropped? Not even for a second (AAP Image/Joe Castro)
Roar Guru
27th August, 2016
174
2767 Reads

Match result:

The GWS Giants have locked up a top four spot with a win over North Melbourne on Saturday night in Round 23.

» Click here to read the full match report

Final score
North Melbourne Kangaroos 9.9.63
GWS Giants 14.16.100

Match preview:

The finals picture continues to take shape, as the North Melbourne Kangaroos host the Greater Western Sydney Giants. Join The Roar for live scores and a blog from 7:25pm AEST.

There’s an interesting dynamic in this game tonight, with both sides finals bound, and yet only one of them has anything on the line tonight.

North will finish eighth. Short of St Kilda shattering every single scoring record tomorrow against the Lions, that is guaranteed.

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GWS’ fate, however, very much rests on tonight’s result.

They can still finish in the top four, even theoretically in the top two as of Saturday morning.

With Adelaide having lost against West Coast last night, a win tonight will guarantee GWS a double chance regardless of other results. At this stage a Sydney derby at ANZ Stadium looms as the most likely matchup should that happen.

That would mean two finals in Sydney at a minimum – a superb result for the young club and for the AFL.

However, should they lose this game then they could fall as low as seventh after the Eagles’ upset win, denying them any kind of home final.

Ordinarily you might say that there isn’t really much on the line for the Kangaroos. But the events of the week have surely stirred up all kinds of emotions.

The announcements that veterans Nick Dal Santo, Michale Firrito, Drew Petrie and Brent Harvey will not be offered new contracts has shaken up the club and stirred the media and fanbase into strong and largely negative reactions.

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All four have been named to play, and this might well be the last time that quartet play footy in front of their home supporters. Whatever the result, expect a stirring tribute from the Shinboner faithful after the final siren.

Also selected for the Roos is Shaun Higgins, returning to the team from injury after a long absence. Defender Luke McDonald also comes back, while Scott Thompson is injured and Brad McKenzie is left out of the side.

GWS have named an unchanged lineup after last week’s big win over Fremantle.

North’s failure to capitalise on a flawless start to the season is well publicised.

The Kangaroos are still missing Jarrad Waite, Taylor Garner and Kayen Turner on top of Thompson, while Ben Jacobs and Sam Wright have been returning from injury in the VFL, but there’s no doubt that the injury list is much healthier than it was a month or so ago.

After last week’s positive display against Sydney it could be that North’s late season slump is behind them. They’ve proved in the last two years that they’re capable of playing their best footy late in the season, so we might well see improved performances from here on.

The Giants have also struggled to maintain their early season form – their victory over the Swans back in round 12 was their last over a finals-bound team.

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Lately they’ve suffered surprise losses against Collingwood and the West Coast Eagles, two of the three teams they’ve never managed to beat in their short existence.

The third is in fact their opponents tonight in the Kangaroos. Who knows whether that’s an indication of how the game will go, but it’s a reminder that this is still a young club trying to do a lot of things for the first time.

Looking at the team lists really tells a story – the Roos are far more experienced, but probably not as exciting or potent as the Giants.

With so much on the line for GWS, one would think they’d want to be at their best for this one.

But already this round we’ve seen how relatively inexperienced players can falter so close to the finals. I’d back experience and composure over motivation any day of the week, so I’m tipping the Roos to defy the bookmakers and record a rousing win.

Join The Roar for live scores and a blog from 7:25pm AEST.

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