The GIANTS are looking to notch up back-to-back wins for the first time since 2018 when they face the undefeated Brisbane Lions at Hickey Park in Brisbane on Sunday. 

The Details
Brisbane Lions v GIANTS
Sunday, March 1 at 4:10pm (Local), 5:10pm (AEDT)
Hickey Park, Brisbane
Entry is FREE

The Game

The GIANTS have had a torrid history against Brisbane in the previous three seasons of the competition. The closest they’ve come to taming the Lions was in round one, 2019 when the GIANTS went down by two points.

Interestingly, the GIANTS have beaten the Lions in their last three pre-season practice matches, including their match in late January when the GIANTS held Brisbane goalless at Tom Wills Oval. 

That practice match counts for nothing though, as the Lions have started the season in outstanding form. They beat last year’s premiers Adelaide in round one by 13 points and then backed it up with a confident 19-point win over Geelong in Geelong. A draw in last weekend’s inaugural Women’s QClash won’t dent their confidence as they’re one of the highest scoring teams in the competition despite still missing star forward Jess Wuetschner.

The GIANTS will enter the game buoyed by their dominant display against West Coast last Sunday. Their 28-point win was the perfect response to their round two loss to the Kangaroos, with the GIANTS dominating all facets of the game against the Eagles.

After kicking just three goals over the course of the opening two rounds, their six-goal return, including three to Rebecca Privitelli, will have the team full of confidence heading into Sunday’s game.

The Key Points

1. The ruck duel between Jess Allan and Jessy Keeffe will be an intriguing one. Allan won her ruck duel with West Coast’s Parris Laurie in her first game shouldering the ruck duties alone. Keeffe lost her battle with Gold Coast’s Lauren Bella last weekend, but has performed strongly in her previous battles against Geelong and Adelaide.
2. Brisbane will need to stay close to Alyce Parker. The 19-year-old ran riot against West Coast, gathering 22 disposals to go with her returns of 16 in round two and 22 in round one. The GIANTS will equally need to look to hold Emily Bates, with the two-time All Australian averaging 20 disposals per game in 2019 with a game-high 24 disposals against the Suns earning her the QClash Medal as best on ground.

3. Elle Bennetts and Jess Dal Pos have taken to their new roles in the GIANTS’ backline like ducks to water. Bennetts, who joined the GIANTS as an other sport rookie ahead of the 2018 season, played primarily on the wing in her first two seasons but has been a revelation across half-back in her previous two games. With her netball background, Bennetts’ hands have been the highlight with the 30-year-old reeling in intercept mark after intercept mark. Dal Pos, who was an All-Australian midfielder in 2017, has anchored down a role running alongside each opponent’s small forward. Hard to beat in a one-on-one contest on the ground and in the air, Dal Pos has used her elite foot skills to relieve pressure on the GIANTS’ backline time and time again.
4. Britt Tully’s tackling pressure has not gone unnoticed, with the returning GIANT ranked equal-third in the competition for tackles with 22. Teammate Alicia Eva isn’t far behind with 21, the same amount as Brisbane’s Sophie Conway.
5. Catherine Svarc and Kate Lutkins are leading the competition for intercept possessions, with first-year Lion Svarc averaging 8.7 per game and experienced Lion Lutkins close behind with eight per game.

Who to Watch
Rebecca Privitelli’s performance up forward for the GIANTS against West Coast was awesome. Her willingness to crash packs and fly for any and every contested mark saw her impact the game in a massive way. Her three goals were the difference, so the GIANTS will be hoping she can put in another solid shift on Sunday against the Lions. 

At the other end of the ground, Jesse Wardlaw will be one to keep an eye on with the Brisbane tall the joint leading goalkicker in the competition. At 181cm, the athletic 20-year-old will take some stopping after having kicked five goals in her three games so far, including three against Geelong in round two, which also earned her a NAB AFLW Rising Star nomination.

How to Watch 
The match will be broadcast live on 7Mate in NSW, the ACT and Brisbane, and can be watched on Foxtel or the Kayo App with a subscription.
All AFL Women’s matches are streamed live via womens.afl and the AFLW Official App.

There was no second half fadeout for Brisbane this week as it welcomed back coach Craig Starcevich with a commanding 28 point win over the GIANTS to vault to the top of Conference A.

 The 7.9 (51) to 3.5 (23) victory at Hickey Park sets up a mouth-watering contest next Sunday against Conference B leaders Fremantle at Fremantle Oval – both teams are unbeaten.

Unlike eight days earlier where Brisbane relinquished a 15-point half-time lead to draw against Gold Coast, there would be no such mistake against the GIANTS.

On the back of a dominant midfield led by Cathy Svarc (23 disposals, two goals and 11 tackles) and Emily Bates (24 and a goal), and another tantalising performance from young forward Jesse Wardlaw (two goals), the Lions were relentless.

After a heart scare forced him to watch the Suns match from his home rather than the coach's box, Starcevich would be delighted with what he saw.

After leading by 12 points at the main break the Lions slammed the door shut with three unanswered goals in the third quarter.

Svarc not only led the way with ball in hand, but doubled her influence by quelling the output of star GIANT Alyce Parker (11 touches).

Brisbane built its match-winning lead in a superb first quarter, harassing the GIANTS and creating a plethora of chances inside forward 50.

Starting with a goal off the ground to Svarc, they doubled their lead minutes later when Wardlaw pouched a terrific contested mark and then converted from 40m.

Despite having more of the ball, Brisbane's hunt without it was just as impressive, laying 20 tackles to six and only inaccurate kicking restricted the lead to 11 points.

Ally Anderson (24) and Maria Moloney (14) were also strong around the contest.

BRISBANE   2.5       4.5       7.7       7.9 (51)
GIANTS       1.0       2.5       2.5       3.5 (23)

GOALS
Brisbane: Wardlaw 2, Svarc 2, Bates, Lutkins, Postlethwaite
GIANTS: Privitelli, Bonner, Schmidt

BEST 
Brisbane: Svarc, Bates, Wardlaw, Moloney, Anderson, Grider
GIANTS: Zreika, Bennetts, Barr, Beeson 

INJURIES 
Brisbane: Nil
GIANTS: Nil

Reports: Nil

Crowd: 3297 at Hickey Park