GWS Giants head back to school in plan to end MCG hoodoo with victory over Melbourne
The GWS Giants will be forced to finalise their preparations for Sunday’s clash against Melbourne at a high school as they fight to break their drought at the MCG.
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GWS Giants have been sent back to school as they desperately fight to escape the curse of their devil’s playground.
A horror 2-13 record at the MCG looms large over GWS heading into Sunday’s acid test against Melbourne, and the club won’t even get the benefit of a customary dry run at headquarters before they try and break their hoodoo.
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It’s customary for travelling sides to hold their captain’s run on the main arena on match eve, but the MCG is completely booked out ahead of Saturday night’s Dreamtime at the G fixture between Richmond and Essendon, forcing Giants coach Leon Cameron to take his final preparations to a nearby high school in Melbourne.
Captain’s runs are more about familiarisation than heavy-duty training or rehearsal of game plans, and in one sense the backdrop of classrooms and school halls shouldn’t matter.
But missing that rare chance to simply get comfortable in the epic surrounds of the MCG before the gates open and the bright lights come on may not be an insignificant factor for a Giants side that has acknowledged, via hardman Matt de Boer, that the ground holds a certain aura as sport’s ‘modern-day Colosseum’.
AFL great Matthew Lloyd yesterday questioned how the Giants can be taken seriously as premiership contenders if they can’t vanquish their demons against Melbourne at the home of September football on Sunday.
Particularly after their humiliating capitulation against Hawthorn at the MCG just a fortnight ago.
“If they can’t beat Melbourne at the G, well how can they win a final at the MCG?” Lloyd said on the AFL’s Access All Areas.
Coach Cameron wasted no time switching focus to the MCG assignment, addressing it in the Giants Stadium sheds just moments after Sunday’s 93-point thrashing of Carlton.
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“A lot is going to be built up for the game. The biggest thing is we need to learn to compete there,” said Cameron, who is refusing to lay down the significance of the challenge that awaits.
“Firstly we’ve got to remove the MCG and we’ve got to talk about Melbourne. Clearly they’re a good team and they gave us a touch-up there last year.
“I know the MCG will be built up, because what happened last week (against Hawthorn). And until we address that and fix that there will be lots more talk about it.
“We’re not going to shy away from it. We welcome the challenge and look forward to next Sunday.”
Whitfield missed the chastening loss against Hawthorn at the MCG through injury, and showed what a hole he leaves when he decimated Carlton on Sunday with 40 disposals and three goals in a sparkling return.
If the Giants knew why their consistency has completely abandoned them on two occasions this year, including at the MCG against the Hawks, GWS would be sitting on top of the table, says Whitfield.
But the star admits ending their MCG hoodoo is all about mindset.
“Leon has talked about it already. Straight away. It’s a big game for us. We need to get up and we need to play well,” he said.
“It’s pretty hard to change how you prepare for games. Everything is pretty much the same week-to-week. You do the same sort of stuff. You prepare in the same manner.
“I don’t think too much will change (this week). It’s just a mindset.
“We need to get ourselves right. We need to be prepared to play on the G. It’s a bit of a bigger ground. Narrow some skills and we’ll be right.”
Shane Mumford is free to line-up for the Giants this weekend after the AFL match review decided he had no case to answer for the accidental knee bump in a tackle that fractured the ribs of Carlton’s Marc Murphy.
Originally published as GWS Giants head back to school in plan to end MCG hoodoo with victory over Melbourne
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