When and Where: 

Sunday, August 27 at 6:10pm 
Marvel Stadium | Wurundjeri Country

What it Means for the GIANTS: 

Sitting eighth ahead of the clash with Carlton, the GIANTS’ finals fate comes down to two results this weekend.

Firstly, the GIANTS will play finals regardless of the outcome against Carlton if the Western Bulldogs (ninth) lose to Geelong at GMHBA Stadium on Saturday night.

However, if the ‘Dogs take down the Cats, the GIANTS must defeat Carlton in the final game of the round to be a part of the September action.

Furthermore, a win over the Blues could see the GIANTS finish as high as sixth and secure a home elimination final.

This would happen if both St Kilda (sixth) and Sydney (seventh) lose their respective games against Brisbane and Melbourne, as well as the GIANTS making up the 3.3 percentage gap on the Saints.

The GIANTS will enter Sunday’s potential do-or-die clash at the peak of their powers following their record-breaking 126-point win over Essendon at GIANTS Stadium on Saturday night.

Not only was it the biggest winning margin in GIANTS’ history, but their score of 25.12 (162) was the biggest ever posted by the club. The record-breaking feats didn’t end there, with full forward Jesse Hogan setting new career-highs for goals (nine) and marks (17), while Tom Green set a new career-high with 39 disposals against the Bombers.

Last Time We Met: 

It was the wayward Blues who got the four points when the sides last met in round three, with the visitors overcoming poor kicking to register a 9.20 (74) to 9.10 (64) win at GIANTS Stadium.

In a see-sawing contest, the Blues were almost made to pay for their wastefulness in front of goal until Charlie Curnow - as well as a contentious free kick - got the Blues over the line in the dying stages.
Tom Green (34 touches, seven clearances), Josh Kelly (30 touches, nine tackles and a goal), and Coniglio (29 disposals) were standouts in the loss, while Lachie Ash (30 disposals) and Lachie Whitfield (27 disposals) were at their rebounding best.

Blues skipper Patrick Cripps was instrumental for his side with a career-high 42 disposals. Sam Docherty (39 touches, 10 marks) was also prolific, while defender Nic Newman received plenty of plaudits after finishing with 24 touches as well restricting GIANTS skipper Toby Greene to just five disposals and one goal.

Where’s the Opposition at?  

After having lost six straight games at the conclusion of round 13, the Blues have since won nine in a row to launch not only into the top eight, but into premiership contention.

On the back of that run, the fifth-placed Blues are guaranteed to play finals regardless of Sunday night’s result.

Carlton booked itself a spot in September - and in doing so breaking a 10-year finals drought - with a gripping four-point come-from-behind win over Gold Coast last week.

The Blues overcame a 40-point deficit in the second term to storm home and register a stunning 13.13 (91) to 13.9 (87) victory.

Charlie Curnow (five goals) starred in the win, not only dominating up forward but also taking the game-saving mark in his defensive goal square to cut off the Suns’ final foray forward in the dying seconds. The Coleman Medal leader's five-goal haul took his season tally to 75 ahead of the final round clash with the GIANTS.

Nic Newman (31 disposals) was also impressive ahead of his likely matchup with Toby Greene, while George Hewett provided his typical grunt around the ball with 23 disposals (15 contested) and 10 tackles.

While a win over the GIANTS will secure fifth spot, a Blues loss could see them drop to as low as seventh if the Saints and Swans both register big wins this weekend.

GIANTS Player to Watch: 

GIANTS star Stephen Coniglio will line up for game number 200 against the Blues on Sunday.

The inaugural GIANT is firmly in All Australian contention following what has arguably been the best season of his 12-year career. The speedy, line-breaking on-baller is posting career high averages in several key categories, including disposals (28.4), inside 50s (4.8), score involvements (7.3), and metres gained (428m).

The vice-captain continued his stellar season in the win over the Bombers last weekend, finishing with 31 touches (at 74 per cent efficiency), eight clearances and a goal.

The 29-year-old will need to be at his damaging best once again on Sunday if the GIANTS are to take down the Blues. 

In the Mix:  

Several GIANTS will come into consideration to take on the Blues, with forward Xavier O’Halloran and defender Nick Haynes both set to be available to return.

O’Halloran has overcome a thumb injury that sidelined him for the past six matches and will be assessed following main training later in the week. The 23-year-old, who has kicked 11 goals in his 12 games this season, has spent the past six weeks running before being cleared to return to contact this week.

Meanwhile young midfielder Finn Callaghan will increase his training from Wednesday after the achilles soreness that has caused him to miss the past two matches has eased.

Ruck Braydon Preuss is also in full training after missing last week’s VFL match with general soreness after playing his first match of the season the previous weekend.

Zippy forward James Peatling (29 disposals, eight clearances, five tackles) could also come into consideration after yet another impressive performance at VFL level over the weekend. Likewise, number one pick Aaron Cadman did his chances of a recall no harm with three more goals on the weekend, taking his tally to 14 majors across his past three VFL games. Harry Rowston (19 disposals, four clearances), Conor Stone (19 disposals, one goal), and Ryan Angwin (17 disposals, six tackles) also impressed in the VFL last week. 

Rehab Report:

Get a full injury update ahead of Sunday’s clash with Carlton here.

Where to Watch: 

Sunday’s match will be shown live on Fox Footy and Kayo nationally and on 7 Mate in NSW and the ACT from 6pm.

The GIANTS have ended Carlton's nine-game winning streak and secured a place in finals in one fell swoop, beating the Blues by 32-points at Marvel Stadium.

GIANTS captain Toby Greene kicked four goals to lead his side into finals, with the visitors posting a significant win, 16.9 (105) to Carlton's 11.7 (73) on Sunday evening to close out the 2023 home and away season.

It wasn't all bad news for Carlton, however, as it took less than a quarter for Charlie Curnow (three goals, six marks) to sew up his second Coleman medal.

The spearhead kicked two goals in the space of four minutes to pull ahead of Adelaide's Taylor Walker, aided by the late withdrawal of star GIANTS defender Sam Taylor.

Without Taylor, the GIANTS defence stood strong in the face of repeated forward 50 entries from the Blues. Jack Buckley (six intercepts, three marks) was handed the job on Curnow, while Harry Himmelberg and Connor Idun each played important roles behind the ball.

Stephen Coniglio (28 disposals, six tackles, two goals), Tom Green (35 disposals, eight clearances) and Callan Ward (16 disposals, five clearances, one goal) were instrumental around the ball for the Giants.

Carlton looked like world beaters when the ball was on the deck, attacking the contest with speed and running in waves to support one-another as it worked it down the ground. Blake Acres was instrumental in setting the tone out on the wing, gathering 12 disposals in the opening term, and ultimately finishing with 21 before being subbed out with a suspected collarbone injury in the third term.

The composure of George Hewett (20 disposals, eight inside 50s, one goal) heading inside 50 was impressive as the former Swan seemed to slow time with ball in hand, while Sam Walsh (27 disposals, seven clearances) repeatedly put his body on the line to impact at the source.

When in control, the GIANTS slingshot the footy out of their back half and were finding space in attack as the likes of Jesse Hogan and Toby Greene exploited a defence that was without Jacob Weitering and Adam Saad for a large portion of the second quarter. The Carlton pair, both being checked by club doctors, made their way back on the field before the half-time siren.

In the second half, as the visitors began to run away with the game, the Blues took an all-or-nothing approach, attempting to use the corridor with speed but too often they were let down by rushed kicks or fumbled marks.

The GIANTS fought, knowing what was on the line, and now looks toward an elimination final against the Saints in a fortnight. Meanwhile Carlton, already locked into the top eight for the first time since 2013, will host Sydney in the other own elimination final.

Coniglio stuns in game 200

Becoming just the fifth GIANT to reach 200 games, former captain Stephen Coniglio was back to his best, topped off with a stunning goal. Moving beautifully across the field, Coniglio registered 28 disposals and two goals as he did everything to secure the GIANTS a place in finals. But nothing was as impressive as his third-quarter goal. Up against the boundary Coniglio got on the end of a Lachie Keeffe handball out of a stoppage, before slotting it from the narrowest of angles and silencing the crowd.

CARTON                                              4.3    7.5    9.5   11.7 (73)
GIANTS                                             3.2    8.4    13.7   16.9 (105)

GOALS 

Carlton: Curnow 3, Owies 2, Cottrell, Martin, De Koning, Hewett, Durdin, Fisher
GIANTS: Greene 4, Riccardi 3, Coniglio 2, Ward, Keeffe, Hogan, Cuming, Lloyd, Brown, Daniels

BEST 

Carlton: Hewett, Curnow, Dow, Acres, Walsh
GIANTS: Greene, Green, Coniglio, Ward, Daniels

INJURIES 

Carlton: Acres (collarbone)
GIANTS: Nil

LATE CHANGES

Carlton: Nil
GIANTS: Toby McMullin replaced Sam Taylor (hamstring)

SUBSTITUTES 

Carlton: Caleb Marchbank (replaced Blake Acres in the third quarter)
GIANTS: Nick Haynes (replaced Toby McMullin in the third quarter)

Crowd: 44,354 at Marvel Stadium