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GWS coach Leon Cameron isn’t shying away from the challenge of unlocking Collingwood’s measly defence in Friday’s AFL preliminary final rematch at Giants Stadium.
The Magpies have limited the Western Bulldogs, Richmond and St Kilda to five goals apiece through the first three rounds.
That makes the flag favourites (107 points conceded) the second stingiest side in the AFL just behind ladder leaders Port Adelaide (105).
Along with the Power, the Giants boss considers Collingwood the in-form team of the competition and admits their defensive numbers make for eye-watering reading.
“Those sort of figures (averaging five goals a game), it looks really confronting for us on Friday night,” Cameron said.
“But, like everything, it’s a great challenge.
“They have some really good defenders that defend really well, but they also kick the ball well out of their back end.
“Clearly we want to bounce back in some key areas that we let ourselves down in (over) the last two weeks.”
The Giants forward unit was given little service in their 24-point loss to the Bulldogs, scoring 4.9 (33) from just 29 inside 50s.
Despite falling 26 points down early in the second half, GWS were reluctant to use the corridor to find a way back into the game.
But Cameron doesn’t believe his side needs to be bolder with their ball movement.
“I think you are discrediting the Dogs defence last week,” he said.
“Everyone’s always looking when you have a low score from one week to the next, they always say you need to be braver.
“But there’s brave and there’s also stupidity as well. We need to make sure we’re making the right options when coming inboard.
“Clearly we want to take more ground. I mean 29 inside 50s last week is just clearly not enough to kick any score.
“We’d love to be pumping the ball inside 40, 43 or 44 times this weekend to give our forwards an opportunity to put some scoreboard pressure on the Pies.”
All Australians Toby Greene (knee) and Josh Kelly (calf) are among four inclusions for the Giants, while Lachie Whitfield and Brent Daniels have kept their spots after recovering from concussion.
Adelaide recruit Sam Jacobs has been dropped, with veteran ruckman Shane Mumford the preferred match-up for Collingwood’s Brodie Grundy despite the Magpies star amassing an astonishing 73 hit-outs in their head-to-head battle during last year’s preliminary final.
“It’s a huge challenge in the ruck against Grundy,” Cameron said.
“We know he’s on top of his game and one of the best ruckman in the competition but we look forward to the midfield battle.
“Clearly, if we can get some ascendancy in there, then it goes a long way to getting the game in our front (half) which we haven’t had in the past two weeks.”
© AAP
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