- Video
-
Club Roar
Captured a great grassroots sporting moment? We want to see it!Content Collections
The Roar Community
- Join
- Login
A replay of what many considered the best game of 2016 is finally upon us as the GWS Giants and the Western Bulldogs square off in a Friday night blockbuster. Join The Roar from 7:50 pm tonight for live scores and commentary.
The highly fancied GWS were outlasted by the relentless eventual premiers in last year’s preliminary final, and they will be hell-bent on exacting revenge.
After being blown away by the Crows in Round 1, the Giants haven’t put a foot wrong. They have won four on the trot, and last week they continued the Swans’ horrible start to the season.
Their young midfield has continued to elevate – Josh Kelly and Dylan Shiel have led the way and are in All-Australian contention – and they have an embarrassment of riches up front, which allows them to score at will. Truly they’re a scary outfit.
The Doggies saluted Bob’s 300th against Brisbane last week, but it was no picnic. The Lions pushed them to the final quarter before the Dogs busted the contest open. This has been the pattern for their season – big quarters and efficient scoring against a lesser opposition has papered over some lacklustre performances.
They are 4-1, but apart from Luke Dalhaus it’s hard to point to any of their prime movers having reached top form yet.
Both teams have reasonably settled line-ups, but the Dogs will again have an undersized forward line due to the ongoing injury concerns of several key talls. The depth of both teams is astounding, which makes it hard to say how close either is to their best 22.
Big game for
Steve Johnson. He missed the prelim last year through suspension and will be keen to show what sort of a difference he would have made. He is in nice touch this year, although there have been harder forward pockets to get a kick in.
Tom Liberatore. He leads the league for tackles this year, and his defensive efforts have allowed his teammates to get off the chain going the other way. He will have plenty of chances to add to those numbers against the stacked Giants midfield.
Prediction
I can’t wait for this game. The midfield battle will be top notch and may decide the contest. If the Dogs can nullify the Giants at the contest and prevent the ball getting to the outside, they can disrupt the Giants from scoring. If any of Jeremy Cameron, Jon Patton, Tom Boyd or Jake Stringer has a day out, that will sway the result.
I have to go on form and say the Giants are travelling better right now, so it’s GWS by ten points for mine.
Join The Roar from 7:50 pm tonight for live scores and commentary.
Who’s in your ultimate team? Pick the best team and compete with other fans for daily prizes on Draftstars. For the best odds on the game try out Aussie bookmaker PlayUp. Think. Is this a bet you really want to place? Set a deposit limit.