Melbourne
55
Match Complete
GWS Giants
64
| Fourth Quarter | ||||
| M. Gawn |  | 24:34 | ||
| 20:39 | | C. Ward | ||
| 13:11 | | J. Kelly | ||
| B. Fritsch |  | 11:26 | ||
| E. Langdon | | 10:20 | ||
| T. McDonald | | 9:15 | ||
| 7:51 | | L. Whitfield | ||
| B. Fritsch | | 6:18 | ||
| C. Petracca | | 2:59 | ||
| 5.9 (39) | Third Quarter [+] | 8.8 (56) | ||
| Rushed | | 24:20 | ||
| 22:47 | | J. Finlayson | ||
| C. Salem | | 21:07 | ||
| 19:34 | | L. Ash | ||
| 15:09 | | H. Himmelberg | ||
| 12:34 | | S. J. Reid | ||
| B. Fritsch | | 10:13 | ||
| B. Fritsch | | 5:41 | ||
| C. Petracca | | 3:07 | ||
| 3.6 (24) | Second Quarter [+] | 6.6 (42) | ||
| A. Neal-Bullen | | 30:00 | ||
| Rushed | | 29:00 | ||
| 24:24 | | J. Kelly | ||
| 22:31 | | H. Himmelberg | ||
| 21:08 | | T. Greene | ||
| 19:38 | | J. Hopper | ||
| T. Sparrow | | 16:44 | ||
| T. McDonald | | 14:12 | ||
| A. Neal-Bullen | | 12:10 | ||
| 8:08 | | C. Ward | ||
| 5:10 | | B. Daniels | ||
| 3:25 | | Rushed | ||
| 2:04 | | T. Taranto | ||
| 1.3 (9) | First Quarter [+] | 2.2 (14) | ||
| 22:54 | | T. Greene | ||
| Rushed | | 20:45 | ||
| J. Viney | | 19:44 | ||
| K. Pickett | | 16:55 | ||
| 11:05 | | Rushed | ||
| M. Gawn | | 8:51 | ||
| 6:37 | | Rushed | ||
| 0:30 | | T. Greene | ||
The GWS Giants return to the MCG keen to atone for last week’s disastrous loss to Hawthorn against ladder-leaders the Melbourne Demons Join The Roar for live scores from 1:45pm (AEST) as Saturday afternoon footy begins.
Sydney’s COVID-19 outbreak forced the Giants to play the Hawks at the ‘G as a “home” game, which came back to haunt them in an 18-point loss. At least this time, they’ll take on an MCG tenant as an away team, though another loss could make a run to the finals very tricky indeed.
In a major shock, tagger Matt de Boer has been dropped from the team, making way for young gun Tom Green. De Boer held Demons gun Clayton Oliver to just 11 possessions in their last match, back in Round 3, before injuring his hamstring in the third quarter. Freed up, Oliver duly amassed 12 possessions in the last quarter and a bit to help the Dees over the line.
The Dees have a selection surprise of their own, with recruit Ben Brown remaining out of the team despite a five-goal haul in the VFL. The gun forward has managed just three games since crossing from North Melbourne at the end of 2020, with the form of Tom McDonald and Luke Jackson as key pillars keeping him on the outer.
The Demons looked a shade below their best against Essendon in Round 15, but managed to escape with a win. It’s been a remarkable resurgence for Simon Goodwin and his team, having missed the finals in the last two seasons; but with the Bulldogs breathing down their necks in second, they will likely need to win this game to keep hold of top spot.
Game information
Opening bounce: 1:45pm (AEST)
Venue: MCG
TV: Fox Footy
Live stream: Kayo Sports, Foxtel Now, Foxtel Go
Betting: Demons $1.19, Giants $4.70 (odds via PlayUp)
Teams
Melbourne
B: 29 Jayden Hunt, 1 Steven May, 8 Jake Lever
HB: 14 Michael Hibberd, 35 Harrison Petty, 3 Christian Salem
C: 23 James Jordon, 5 Christian Petracca, 15 Ed Langdon
HF: 7 Jack Viney, 25 Tom McDonald, 9 Charlie Spargo
F: 30 Alex Neal-Bullen, 6 Luke Jackson, 31 Bayley Fritsch
FOL: 11 Max Gawn (c), 13 Clayton Oliver, 36 Kysaiah Pickett
I/C: 4 James Harmes, 10 Angus Brayshaw, 24Trent Rivers, 32 Tom Sparrow
EMG: 17 Jake Bowey, 22 Aaron vandenBerg, 37 Kade Chandler, 50 Ben Brown
NO CHANGE
GWS
B: 44 Jack Buckley, 1 Phil Davis, 7 Lachie Ash
HB: 36 Harry Perryman, 19 Nick Haynes, 13 Isaac Cumming
C: 6 Lachie Whitfield, 8 Callan Ward, 22 Josh Kelly
HF: 16 Brent Daniels, 27 Harry Himmelberg, 37 Ian Hill
F: 4 Toby Greene (c), 31 Jeremy Finlayson, 38 Daniel Lloyd
FOLL: 41 Shane Mumford, 14 Tim Taranto, 2 Jacob Hopper
INT: 12 Tom Green, 30 Matt Flynn, 39 Connor Idun, 40 Adam Kennedy
EMG: 24 Matt de Boer, 32 Kieren Briggs, 33 Xavier O’Halloran, 50 Sam Reid
IN: Shane Mumford, Tom Green, Lachie Ash (R15 medical sub)
OUT: Kieren Briggs, Matt de Boer, Sam Reid
Scary
1dog
Roar Rookie
Absolutely! Now stop living in the past :silly:
Dave
Roar Rookie
Fair call, think everyone would agree though that any supporter would be pretty happy if their team had won 3 out of the last 4 flags :happy:
Thom Roker
Roar Guru
If Freo wins then both 2019 Grand Finalists will be out of the top 8.
Chanon
Roar Rookie
Very true!
1dog
Roar Rookie
That’s random
:thumbup:
1dog
Roar Rookie
Thom? The guru?
Charlie Keegan
Roar Guru
Really it’s quiet surprising how coordinated two midgets standing on one another’s shoulders can be
Charlie Keegan
Roar Guru
Soooo which ones are drago? And which ones are rocky? You know dolphh lundgren went to university in Sydney.
Cloak
Roar Rookie
Teams aren't beating us. We're beating ourselves. Momentum destroying set shot misses, fumbles under little pressure and hacked kicks inside 50 will keep any opponent in the game. We know when we don't do those things we beat almost everyone we play. But evidently we can't stop doing them and we're our own worst enemy right now.
pablocruz
Roar Rookie
Goes for Port. Been very sheepish since last year's prelim.
Deleted as I’m being stalked by
Chanon
Roar Rookie
Fair enough
Chanon
Roar Rookie
Don’t want your empathy nor should you feel compelled to show feelings for my team or any other team apart from your beloved Blues!
CloudRunner
Roar Rookie
What’s Petty’s injury? Didn’t see the game.
dab
Roar Rookie
They played the first half of the season with some of their more ordinary players, but kept on winning. Coach was reluctant to change a winning combination. Consequently, there are some good players to come into the side but they will need a few games to acclimatize.
1dog
Roar Rookie
Si :thumbup:
dab
Roar Rookie
I know I know It is really Juan Dog
Tassie.
Roar Rookie
:stoked: :thumbup: