The GIANTS will be looking to bounce back against an under-siege Saints side looking to live up to their huge off-season hype.
Round 2
GIANTS vs Saints
Saturday, March 21 at 4:15pm
ENGIE Stadium | Wangal Country
What It Means For The GIANTS
After a very Jekyll and Hyde start to their season, the GIANTS will be looking to show that their impressive Opening Round win over the Hawks is much closer to what we can be accustomed to seeing from them in 2026, rather than their flat showing against the Dogs last week.
After an upset 27-point win over the Hawks at ENGIE Stadium in Opening Round, the GIANTS were not so GIANT against the Bulldogs as they fell by 81 points in a disappointing performance from the orange and charcoal.
But, as they’ve often done under Adam Kingsley, the GIANTS now have the perfect opportunity to respond strongly as they return home to ENGIE Stadium to host a St Kilda side also looking for a response following two losses to start the season.
The GIANTS will be hoping some of their exciting youngsters can continue their strong starts to 2026 on Saturday, with Joe Fonti, Harvey Thomas, and recent debutant Phoenix Gothard all impressing across the first two weeks of the season.
After a result that the club acknowledges wasn’t up to their lofty standards, the GIANTS will be hoping their leaders can steady the ship on Saturday with a better outcome against the Saints, with the likes of Toby Greene, Jack Buckley, and Connor Idun, as well as midfield duo Finn Callaghan and Clayton Oliver, all lacking no motivation to help the GIANTS return to their winnings ways.
The Opposition
The Saints made headlines over the summer after landing several new recruits on big money, but now the critics are on their case after starting the season 0-2.
After close losses to the Pies and the Demons in the first two rounds, the Saints will now head to Sydney with the weight of expectation getting heavier by the day as they search for their first win of the year and avoid going 0-3.
But the Saints have played some strong footy over the first two rounds, and if not for a poor passage of play here and there could just as easily be 2-0 ahead of Saturday’s big clash with the GIANTS.
A huge talking point for the Saints this week has been the use – or misuse – of star Nasiah Wanganeen-Milera, with the All-Australian spending large amount of time up forward across the first two weeks, as well as an untimely stint on the bench late in the close loss to the Demons on the weekend.
Having established himself as a star of the competition last year playing both across half back and in the midfield, ‘Nas’ has become a crucial piece in Ross Lyon’s side, and where he plays on Saturday and the impact that he can have is sure to have a major say on who walks away from ENGIE Stadium with the four points.
Recent History
The GIANTS have had the wood over the Saints in recent years, having won the last four contests and having lost only once in five meetings since Adam Kingsley took the reins in 2023.
But despite looking for their fifth straight win over the Saints on Saturday, it hasn’t been light work for the GIANTS, having won the four straight contests by an average margin of just 16 points, including an epic one-point win in Canberra in 2024.
You don’t have to look too far back for the most recent clash between the sides, with the GIANTS claiming a hard-fought 11-point win over the Saints in round 24 at ENGIE Stadium last year, with Toby Greene leading the way with 17 touches and 4.2 to claim best-on-ground honours.
Key Match Up: The Ruck Battle
While he was beaten by Dees superstar Max Gawn last weekend, boom Saints recruit Tom De Koning had strong moments in the loss as he warms to his new colours.
The high-profile recruit will now be looking to build off that on Saturday in what will be an intriguing battle with the GIANTS’ likely ruck stocks of Kieren Briggs and Jake Riccardi.
With the new ruck rules allowing the more athletic leaping ruckmen to thrive in the early goings of the season, De Koning is the prime case of a player who can use the rule change to his benefit as he skies high to give his midfielders first use at ball ups.
The Saints are yet to determine whether TDK will be their only ruck in the side this week, with fellow ruck Rowan Marshall listed as a test as he looks to exit concussion protocols which forced him to miss the loss to the Demons.
Regardless of if Marshall can get up to for Saturday’s clash, the ruck duel between the GIANTS and the Saints at ENGIE Stadium on Saturday is sure to play a major role in which song blasts at the final siren.
GIANTS Player to Watch: Joe Fonti
Third-year GIANT Joe Fonti is fast establishing himself as a very promising young defender following a strong start to 2026.
Drafted out of Western Australia with pick 44 in the 2023 Draft, Fonti made his AFL debut in round 17 of his maiden 2024 season and has since gone on to showcase his dash and dare across 24 games for the GIANTS.
Having added an enhanced focus to the defensive side of his game across the summer to assist his exciting attacking flair off half back, Fonti has put in a pair of superb performances across the first two games of the season to continue to cement his position in Adam Kingsley’s side.
With the Saints possessing a duo of dangerous small forwards, most notably Jack Higgins and mid-forward Max Hall, Fonti is certainly one to watch on Saturday as he looks to both shutdown his direct opponent and provide plenty of run and carry to continue his hot start to 2026.
In The Mix:
A positive out of last week’s clash was that the only injury concern was a nasty cut to the chin of reliable defender Harry Himmelberg.
After requiring surgery on the cut, Himmelberg will be assessed later in the week to determine if he’s fine to play. If any changes are needed, the likes of Conor Stone, James Leake, Ollie Hannaford, or emerging ruck Nick Madden are all ready to go if required.
Team Selection:
The GIANTS will name their team to take on the Saints on Thursday at 6:20pm at gwsgiants.com.au.
Rehab Report:
Get a full injury update ahead of Saturday’s match here.
