GWS won’t let its mounting injury list halt its premiership aspirations in season 2018
GWS’s bad luck with injury has continued with Heath Shaw, Josh Kelly and Sam Reid joining the growing list but young gun Jacob Hopper says the Giants won’t let the bad luck stop it from chasing a maiden premiership this season.
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THE GWS Giants’ seemingly never-ending injury list has grown even longer with Heath Shaw unlikely to play again this year.
Saturday night’s brave 15.16 (106) to 13.14 (92) win over Adelaide came at a massive cost, with Shaw (knee), Josh Kelly (concussion) and Sam Reid (hamstring) all hurt.
The Giants are somehow third on the AFL ladder with two games remaining, despite the latest trio joining last week’s injured group of Dawson Simpson (ankle, out for season), Toby Greene (hamstring, two weeks), Matt de Boer (hamstring, two weeks), Brett Deledio (calf) and Sam Taylor (hamstring, two weeks).
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Throw in season-ending injuries to Tom Scully, Jonathon Patton, Will Setterfield and Lachie Tiziani, the massive casualty list has forced Leon Cameron to use 37 different players, including six debutants (third in the AFL).
Despite all this the Giants remain optimistic about the road ahead, having won 10 of their last 11 games.
Midfield gun Jacob Hopper says the GWS premiership push is still on track and for every soldier that drops there is another rising to take his place.
They will certainly need them when they take on the Swans in the latest edition of the Sydney derby at Spotless Stadium on Saturday.
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“It’s frustrating the number of injuries we’re getting but the feeling around the club and the spirit in the group is as good as I’ve seen,” Hopper said.
“We want to go as far as we possibly can. We’ve got this real confidence and self-belief among the group. Everyone that is coming in is doing a job, Aiden Bonar is the latest, Brent Daniels, Zac Langdon and Sam Taylor. These are all first year players who are all playing significant roles for us.”
One advantage with the steady turnover of injured players is the depth of senior experience it adds to the list.
Hopper says there is another group of players in the reserves ready to step up.
“Even losing the players we did in Canberra we’ve got replacements ready to go,” he said.
“Dylan Buckley did well in the NEAFL, so did Harry Perryman, Daniel Lloyd and Jeremy Finlayson. We’ve got boys putting their hand up to play significant roles.
“When we’ve got players putting their hands up and placing pressure on players in the team it puts us in a good spot.”
In a midfield which features Kelly, Dylan Shiel, Callan Ward, Stephen Coniglio and Tim Taranto it’s hard to get recognised. But Hopper is doing that in a big way averaging 10.5 contested possessions in his 18 games this year and adding goal scoring as well.
His two against the Crows on Saturday night were priceless. It’s a reward for persistence after his first two seasons were restricted to just 23 games due to a range of injuries.
“There was definitely frustration in the first two years and even this pre-season again,” Hopper said.
“It’s nice to get some continuity and feel like a regular contributor, there’s a great feeling around the club. We all work off each other.”
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