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Dylan Shiel has starred in his 100th game, with Greater Western Sydney grabbing top spot on the AFL ladder with a 10-goal hammering of Brisbane at the Gabba.
» Click here to read the full match report
Final score
Brisbane Lions 12.14.86
GWS Giants 22.14.146
The Brisbane Lions will hope their recent form resurgence can continue when they go up against the GWS Giants, who need a win here to take top spot on the ladder. Join The Roar for live scores from the match at the Gabba on Saturday afternoon, starting from 4:35pm AEST.
Battles between Northern States clubs are always intriguing for where they sit in terms of the progress of their clubs in markets that have a different dimension to those in the Southern States.
There won’t be the hype, for example, around this game than there has been for the continuing rugby league exhibition series.
The crowd will probably be fairly small, as they have been throughout the season for the struggling Lions.
This doesn’t mean, however, that the game won’t have its entertainment and important questions for the AFL’s continuing narratives in the northern states.
The Giants are strong favourites to win, but have not had that happy a time recently.
The loss to the more enthusiastic Carlton and the last minute loss of the crucial Josh Kelly to a training injury casts their side as not being as assured of victory as most would believe.
Add to that the recent fading form of Shane Mumford, today facing one of the better ruckmen in the competition, Stefan Martin, and the Lions should feel more confident of their chances.
The Lions have been building an up and down season, but have shown signs of strength that should cast them as having a solid future side.
Dayne Zorko has emerged as one of the game’s best midfielders who can also go forward and score goals. He is only underrated by southern states fans who don’t monitor Lions games.
He is ably backed up by fellow midfield stars Tom Rockliff and Dayne Beams, as well as the emerging forward/mid Ryan Lester.
It has also been of note to see the re-emergence of former Rising Star winner Lewis Taylor, who will cause some grief for the Giants around stoppages and the forward line.
For the Giants, they will be grateful for the return of Nick Haynes, who will add some more rebounding skill from the backline, as well as the ability to make crucial intercepts.
Otherwise, the team will need more from Callan Ward, Lachie Whitfield, Dylan Shiel, Matthew Kennedy and Tom Scully to fill in the gap caused by the loss of Kelly.
There also needs to be more input from Jeremy Cameron and Jono Patton – Patton in particular has looked lost when taken out by superior key defender performances.
Prediction
The Giants should win this game, but then they should have defeated Carlton easily two weeks ago. Brisbane should put in a good display for their long suffering, but passionate fan base.
Join The Roar for live scores from the match at the Gabba on Saturday afternoon, starting from 4:35pm AEST.
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