Match Preview: Round 20 v Port Adelaide
Where and When: Sunday, August 1 at 3:10pm (AEST), venue TBD
Last time they met: It’s been a while. The GIANTS and the Power last played in round six of the 2020 season, with Port notching a 17-point win as they continued to establish themselves as a finals contender. Port Adelaide pulled away late, conceding the lead to the GIANTS early in the final quarter before kicking the next four goals in a row. The Power shared the goals around – while Charlie Dixon and Todd Marshall contributed, so did a handful of their midfielders – with Travis Boak and Dan Houston busy around the ball and Kane Farrell and Karl Amon doing some damage with their outside run. For the GIANTS, Jeremy Cameron kicked two of the team’s six goals, with Nick Haynes a standout down back, Lachie Whitfield running hard and Harry Perryman continuing his bright start to what became a very good season.
Where to watch: https://www.afl.com.au/broadcast-guide-premiership
What it means for the GIANTS: It’s simple. The GIANTS climbed from 12th spot back into the eight after last week’s defeat of Essendon, but to stay there they need to keep winning, with the Bombers, Richmond, Fremantle and St Kilda all breathing down their neck. Back-to-back wins have been rare this season – it’s happened just twice, in rounds 4-5 and 7-8 – but will be crucial in keeping those other clubs at bay with just four games left to play.
Where’s the opposition at: Port Adelaide sit in fourth spot on the ladder and are in strong form, with four wins from their last game and the one loss coming against another top-four side in Melbourne. They celebrated Boak’s 300th game with a win over Collingwood last week, pushing away from the Pies after half-time then regrouping when challenged early in the last quarter. Charlie Dixon, Todd Marshall and Mitch Georgiades have been teaming well together, with second ruck Peter Ladhams chipping in with two goals against the Pies. Boak has been in excellent form as has Ollie Wines, while Willem Drew had one of his best-ever game playing alongside them in the midfield last week. Zak Butters, Xavier Duursma and Connor Rozee returned from injury together, and also helped get their team over the line. Orazio Fantasia may return to the line-up after knee surgery, bringing with him some speed.
The number: 21. Connor Idun celebrates a big birthday tomorrow, and will do so as a very important part of the GIANTS team. The defender has been one of the season’s big improvers, getting the job done on opponents tall and small all year long without much external kudos but plenty from his coaches and teammates. Idun is yet to be recognised with a Rising Star nomination but ranks first among all candidates for total one percenters this season, first for total marks, third for total intercepts, third for effective disposals per game and fourth for total rebound 50s.
In the mix: Quarantine for Toby Greene, Matt de Boer, Kieren Briggs and Jake Stein is over, finally. Greene will come straight back into the team and the other three have cases to make too, with Briggs’ return to the side likely to depend on how Shane Mumford’s body is feeling and de Boer listed as the medical sub against Sydney two weeks ago before he was pulled from the line-up at the last minute. Phil Davis had a scare on Sunday – he was taken to hospital after receiving a hit to his back against Essendon – but was cleared of any injury. Adam Kennedy will unfortunately miss, after he fought on against the Bombers with a minor hamstring strain, but Stephen Coniglio is a chance to return after withdrawing from last week’s side after his toe issue caused him some grief in the leadup to the game. Jeremy Finlayson is another who will be considered for a return – he played a reserves game last week and could provide either Mumford or Briggs with some back-up in the ruck. James Peatling is knocking on the door, with Callum Brown and Jacob Wehr putting together some consistent form too.
