With big Jon Patton out for the remainder of the year due to a ruptured ACL and Jacob Hopper missing this weekend with calf tightness, things have gone from bad to worse for the injury-plagued Giants.
They started the year looking like a top-four contender only to have their dreams shattered by what some are putting down to bad recovery protocols and poor training plans leading to a mass of injury woes.
Adding to a list of injured stars that includes Brett Deledio (calf), Toby Greene (foot) and Tom Scully (ankle), the Giants have been left struggling to stay in the top-eight, with the likelihood of finals footy fast diminishing.
Further complicating things for Greater Western Sydney is the fact that Patton was part of the Giants shared ruck duties and between him and Rory Lobb, there was less pressure on the shoulders of dedicated ruckman Dawson Simpson. Enabling the two key forwards to move around the ground was a versatile option.
Matters made worse by the fact they are still without star forward Jeremy Cameron, who was slapped with a five-game ban after his brutal hit on Brisbane’s Harris Andrews.
Coming into the team for this week’s clash against the third-placed West Coast Eagles is 19-year-old small forward debutant Brent Daniels, who has been averaging 17 touches and three tackles a game, and he will be joined by Harry Perryman who has also shown good form in the NEAFL.
Giants coach Leon Cameron conceded “It hasn’t been the best eighteen months, we’ve had some nasty injuries, but we’ve found a way to get up and play some really good footy, I expect that to happen on Sunday and so do our players, it’s a great challenge, we are fighting now for a spot in the eight, the Eagles are fighting for a spot in the top four, so it’s a huge clash and one we are really looking forward to.”
It will be interesting to see if Leon’s trend-setting approach to coaching from the bench will come into play and if it will provide the same level of success as it did for them previously against the Hawks.
West Coast goes into this week’s game tipped to win as $1.55 favourites, though they are not without their own injury dramas, missing Josh Kennedy (knee), Jack Darling (Ankle), and Mark LeCras (wrist) among others.
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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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