Having marked their Friday night debut with a thrilling win over the Western Bulldogs last week, this week the GWS Giants will play their first Friday night match in Melbourne when they face St Kilda at Etihad Stadium.
After a rough start to the season, getting thumped by the Adelaide Crows at the Oval, finishing Round 1 18th on the ladder and attracting criticism and ridicule for their insipid showing from the media, the Giants have won their last five matches to shoot up to second place behind the undefeated Crows.
It could have been so easy for them to give up on their premiership aspirations after they were so brutally exposed as pretenders in the City of Churches over five weeks ago.
But the criticism they copped, the most harshest coming from Channel Nine’s Footy Classified (who in the past and to this day continue to be their harshest critics), would lay the foundations for the five-match winning streak they are currently on.
"I think it's his judgement year" – @craighutchy believes Leon Cameron may be under pressure in 2017. #9FootyClassified pic.twitter.com/0V048FfGSw
— Footy Classified (@FootyClassified) March 27, 2017
The Gold Coast Suns were the first team to feel the brunt of the Giants’ anger; a week after they lost to the Brisbane Lions by just two points, Rodney Eade’s men would end up on the wrong side of a 102-point hiding.
North Melbourne, Port Adelaide, the Sydney Swans and last week the Western Bulldogs have all since fallen victim to the Giants, who have righted the ship over the past five weeks, emerging through April undefeated.
Against the Bulldogs last Friday night, the Giants had to come from 11 points down in the final quarter to win by two points, with Jonathan Patton’s clutch goal from outside the 50 providing the turning point.
They were still under the pump in the final minutes, but eventually emerged victors after the Bulldogs coughed up a 50-metre penalty which pulled them out of their attacking 50 in the dying seconds.
It was the perfect way for Leon Cameron’s men to mark their first ever Friday night premiership match, one of three for the season which have come about as a reward for the club’s continued surge last year.
The second of those will come when the Giants face St Kilda, against whom they have a 3-3 record, at Etihad Stadium this Friday night.
After losing their first two matches of the season, the Saints have also righted their own ship, winning three of their last four matches to possess a season record of 3-3 after six rounds.
They couldn’t have been more impressive last week against Hawthorn, winning by 75 points and handing the Hawks their first defeat in Launceston for exactly five years, while also notching their first win there since 2009.
The margin could have been slightly more had Josh Bruce not hit the post while running into an open goal late in the match.
Bruce and Jack Steele are the two ex-Giants now entrenched at the Linen House Centre, while the Giants can boast former Saints champion Lenny Hayes within their coaching ranks.
Alan Richardson’s men will be thankful that Giants serial pest Toby Greene is suspended for this match, as he had gained the three Brownlow Medal votes the last time these two teams met, in Round 5 last year.
It was GWS’ third-straight win over the Saints after they had lost the first three meetings, the first by 128 points at Friday night’s venue, Etihad Stadium, late in the 2012 season.
The pendulum then started to swing heavily after that, with the Saints winning the next two by 78 and seven points, before the Giants broke through with a nine-point win in Round 1, 2015.
They won by 35 points the only time they met at Spotless Stadium, in Round 15, 2015, while in the corresponding match last year they scored their biggest win over the Saints yet, by 47 points.
This will be their seventh meeting overall, and fifth at the Docklands venue.
The Giants have an impressive recent record at the venue, winning six of their last eight matches under the roof, including all three last year.
Apart from Greene’s suspension, Leon Cameron’s men will be without defender Nick Haynes for a prolonged period after he suffered a hamstring injury in last Friday night’s two-point win over the Western Bulldogs.
However, Phil Davis should come back in after sitting out last week, while Stephen Coniglio is a good chance to make his first appearance for the season after an ankle injury sidelined him for the early part of the season.
A sixth straight win will see them equal the club record for most consecutive wins, which was set between rounds four and nine last year.
But they’ll have to do it without reigning best-and-fairest Greene, who as mentioned above has been suspended for two matches for his punch to the head of Western Bulldog Caleb Daniel.
Greene and Heath Shaw had been warned last week by coach Leon Cameron to control their tempers after the pair took things to the edge in the Round 5 win over the Sydney Swans.
The former escaped suspension following an alleged headbutting incident involving Isaac Heeney while the latter copped some severe criticism for using inappropriate language towards his opponent, Tom Papley.
It seems like Greene did not get the message clearly and as a result he will also miss the Giants’ Round 8 clash against Collingwood, one of two teams they are yet to defeat, at Spotless Stadium.
Despite his absence, and that of Nick Haynes for at least ten weeks, the Giants will start favourites on Friday night to notch up their sixth straight win, and fourth straight against the Saints.
All the Saints can do is ensure that the contest does not turn into a blowout.
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Things heating up in Canberra!
We’re taking a look at one player from each team that needs to make a difference this week, starting with the ANZAC Day games.
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