The long, hard pre-season is over and the first GIANTS side of the year has been named to take on Melbourne at the MCG on Saturday afternoon.
Coach Leon Cameron had plenty of selection headaches but he’s gone with a settled line-up, with just two players dropping out of the side that played Brisbane in the final NAB Challenge game.
“It was really tough, there’s probably about 27 or 28 guys who could legitimately be picked this week,” Cameron said.
“It was a really tough week but it’s a good position for the club to be in.”
A notable absentee is Stephen Coniglio, who was elevated to the official leadership group this week. He suffered a slight hamstring strain at training a few weeks ago and will line up in the NEAFL trial match this week.
“Just because he hasn’t played for 30 days, that was probably the factor and we didn’t take that risk,” Cameron said.
The GIANTS will be without star forward Jeremy Cameron through suspension but there’s plenty of big names, and tall forwards, up front to replace the four-time leading goal kicker.
“It’s time for guys like Adam Tomlinson and James Stewart, they’re in their fifth and their fourth years, Rory Lobb comes into his third year, so there’s a great opportunity there over the next month of footy to stand up,” Coach Cameron said.
WATCH OUR FULL INTERVIEW WITH COACH LEON CAMERON
They’ll be joined up forward by three-time Geelong premiership star Steve Johnson who joined the club in the off-season after 253 games and 452 goals. Johnson impressed over the NAB Challenge, kicking six goals in six quarters of football.
“He’s had a really good pre-season and contributes obviously not just on the scoreboard or as a general forward,” Cameron said.
“He’s good for the other five or six forwards in the moment and staying in the moment, particularly with his voice and direction and knowledge of the game.”
Johnson will be the club’s only debutant but young GIANTS Caleb Marchbank and Jack Steele will play in the starting 22 after stand-out pre-seasons. 19-year old key defender Marchbank played five games last season while GIANTS Academy graduate Steele, 20, made seven senior appearances in 2015.
“They’re second-year players, they’ve progressed really well and had good pre-seasons,” Cameron said.
“Caleb’s been down as a key back and progressing at his craft really, really well and Jack’s been that inside mid.
“He likes that physical side of the game and we’re going to get that on the weekend. Their pre-season has been good and they deserve to play.”
It’s business as usual for Shane Mumford, Phil Davis, Dylan Shiel and Tom Scully who all return to the field after long-term injuries cut their 2015 seasons short.
This week marks the first time the new interchange cap will be in action, with each side limited to 90 rotations throughout the game.
“It’s going to be interesting, I think it was a bit of a shock to most clubs in that last NAB Challenge,” Cameron said.
“At the back-end of quarters it’s going to knock them around a bit. There’ll be longer rests for players on the bench because we’ve got less rotations but players are going to have to do long stints on the ground and with that, that helter-skelter footy can only last so long.”
The GIANTS’ four-game winning streak over the Demons was broken in round 23 last year when the club went down to the Dees in a disappointing performance. There’s plenty on the line as both team’s try to get the 2016 season off to a winning start.
“To kick off at the MCG, second game of the first round, it’s great for us,” Cameron said.
“It’s a 50-50 game, the Demons have been playing really well in the NAB Challenge and we feel like our form has been pretty good as well so it’s just going to be a cracking game for two sides.”
The GIANTS take on Melbourne at the MCG on Saturday at 1.40pm with live coverage on 7mate in NSW and the ACT and Fox Footy all across the country. We’ll have all the action on Twitter, Facebook and gwsgiants.com.au.
GWS GIANTS
FB: Heath Shaw, Aidan Corr, Matt Buntine
HB: Nathan Wilson, Phil Davis, Adam Kennedy
C: Lachie Whitfield, Callan Ward, James Stewart
HF: Rhys Palmer, Rory Lobb, Tom Scully
FF: Toby Greene, Adam Tomlinson, Devon Smith
RR: Shane Mumford, Ryan Griffen, Dylan Shiel
Interchange: Caleb Marchbank, Jack Steele, Josh Kelly, Steve Johnson
Emergencies: Stephen Coniglio, Zac Williams, Will Hoskin-Elliott
