‘We want to respond’: Giants’ premiership hopes still alive ahead of must-win match against Port
The cavalry is coming for the Giants with captain Toby Greene knowing that this week’s clash against Port Adelaide is verging into must-win territory if they want to keep their premiership hopes alive.
AFL
Don't miss out on the headlines from AFL. Followed categories will be added to My News.
The Giants aren’t backing down from their premiership aspirations despite verging into ‘must-win’ territory for this week’s clash against Port Adelaide.
GWS has lost five of their past seven matches, including last week against Hawthorn where they came up short despite leading with three minutes to go.
The bad run of form has left many players with a bitter taste in their mouth, but it hasn’t weakened the resolve that they can still achieve the ultimate glory in 2024.
“(The premiership hopes) don’t waver, but obviously we’re not where we want to be right now,” Giants captain Toby Greene said.
“It’s a bit of fundamental stuff, a bit of system and a bit of pressure. All things we’ve got to get better at … to get back to what makes the Giants hard to play against.
“We know it’s sort of killing ourselves a little bit, but it’s easy to train and it is a bit of decision making under pressure which with practice you get better at.
“I was really disappointed with (my game) on the weekend. I’ve been building okay before that, but was really disappointed. We’ve got to go again now, it’s a long season
“The Swans are the team to beat at the moment, everyone’s coming for them. So that’s where we’ve got to get to. That’s what we got to work towards.
“We’ve got 10-11 weeks to do that. It doesn’t change what our goal is at the end of the year.”
Greene is confident that the atmosphere around the group remains positive as they look to go on a charge in the second-half of the season similar to their preliminary final run in 2023.
However, he agrees there is an implicit understanding that a win this weekend against fellow top-eight side Port Adelaide is crucial to set the tone for how they mean to go on.
“It’s bloody important and against a side that’s in a similar position,” Greene said.
“We want to respond after last week, we were really disappointed. Port is a good chance to do it.
“If you’re out (of the eight) at the end of the year, then that’s not ideal. But right now, it is what it is.
“We want to be there at the end of the year and it helps if we win this weekend, but we’re not panicking right now.”
The skipper has been cleared to play after a head laceration suffered against the Hawks, he’ll also be without the headgear he ended up wearing from the second quarter onwards – “That’s strictly for Darcy Jones,” Greene said.
But the Giants are also set to receive a massive boost in the coming weeks with five key players in contention to return.
Josh Kelly (calf) and Jack Buckley (calf) both trained strongly on Wednesday and should play against Port after a final test at main training on Friday.
Isaac Cumming (hamstring) is also close to a return, but will likely play VFL this weekend before being considered for the Sydney Derby. Lachie Ash (calf) and Stephen Coniglio (shoulder) could also be in line to play against the Swans.
Those players are set to make a big difference as the Giants look to find their groove, and the orange tsunami, once again.
“We’re getting a few boys back and those two boys will help our team massively on the weekend,” Greene said.
“It’s great to have some cavalry come back and some very good players. But the boys out there on the weekend need to deliver as well.
“We’ve got a 10 week block to have a crack at helping us get to the position we want to be at the end of the year.”
More Coverage
Originally published as ‘We want to respond’: Giants’ premiership hopes still alive ahead of must-win match against Port
Buddy, Gaz, Dusty? The 10 best AFL players this century ranked
Think naming the team of the century was hard? Jon Ralph and Glenn McFarlane have narrowed that down to 10 and determined the defining player of the 21st century. HAVE YOUR SAY.
SuperCoach winner’s surprising advice for fantasy success
The 20-year-old university student who won $50,000 in SuperCoach last year reveals the strategy and players he hopes can carry him to back-to-back titles.