Star midfielder Lachie Whitfield will take on the Richmond on Sunday at the MCG, joined in the team by debutant Bobby Hill, forward Daniel Lloyd and defender Matt Buntine.
The GIANTS have made four changes to the side that went down to the Lions at GIANTS Stadium last weekend with Whitfield returning from a broken collarbone suffered in round 11.
“He’s missed a month and the bye in between that,” coach Leon Cameron said.
"He’s trained well and is obviously very, very important to the way we play. He comes back in and we look forward to seeing him in there.
"He’s trained well for about a week and a half, two weeks now and ticked the box on Thursday.”
As revealed on Wednesday evening, livewire forward Bobby Hill will make his AFL debut with the 18-year-old playing on the home of football for just the second time.
GIANTS fans should look out for the enigmatic forward’s blistering speed; he loves to use his pace to put plenty of pressure on the opposition and can play as a deep or high forward.
And he has a touch of magic.
“I’m just going to play my role for the team, it’s what I’m there for, my tackle pressure,” Hill told GIANTS Media.
“I’ll let my magic do the rest.”
Cameron said there’s no doubt Hill’s inclusion will give everyone a lift on Sunday.
“He’s got some exceptional talent but also a willingness to join in to what the team wants and you like that,” the coach said.
“He’s got an infectious smile, he’s really popular already in his short time at our footy club. He’s got some challenges this week with his first game but the excitement of all that we look forward to.
“With him running around beside Toby Greene and Brett Deledio and Jeremy Cameron and Harry Himmelberg, clearly they want to be able to cause some havoc at ground level and some excitement so we look forward to seeing that.”
Forward Daniel Lloyd and defender Matt Buntine have also been recalled to the side.
Lloyd has kicked 10 goals in 10 games this season with his last appearance against the Crows in round 12.
“‘Lloydy’ we held over last week but the game before that he was really good and probably stiff not to play in the Brisbane game,” Cameron said.
“He’s progressed and got better and better every year he’s been at our footy club. He’ll come in and he’ll contribute to our centre-forward.”
Buntine has played eight games this season and been used in a variety of roles with the traditional defender finding himself starting as a forward earlier in the year.
“Matt’s been in really good form so we just want to reward that and guys that have been playing their role and playing some good footy, you’ve got to reward it,” Cameron said.
“We look forward to seeing those boys coming into the team and no doubt they want to play at the MCG on Sunday.”
Cameron knows the surging Tigers prove another tough test but it’s one he’s welcoming head-on.
“It’s the only thing you can do really,” he said.
“Our form’s been down and we’ve struggled in the past month … but that’s footy and there’s always next week in terms of being able to front up.
“It’s a huge task, we understand the magnitude of the challenge against Richmond. You can go in there hoping or you can go in there and want to have one hell of a crack and our boys will be doing that.”
The GIANTS take on the Tigers at the MCG on Sunday.
Richmond v GIANTS
Sunday, July 14 at 1:10pm
MCG
FB: Phil Davis, Sam Taylor, Zac Williams
HB: Sam Reid, Nick Haynes, Brett Deledio
C: Adam Kennedy, Stephen Coniglio, Toby Greene
HF: Tim Taranto, Jeremy Cameron, Brent Daniels
FF: Adam Tomlinson, Harry Himmelberg, Bobby Hill
RR: Dawson Simpson, Harry Perryman, Jacob Hopper
Interchange: Heath Shaw, Daniel Lloyd, Matt Buntine, Lachie Whitfield
In: Bobby Hill (debutant), Daniel Lloyd, Matt Buntine, Lachie Whitfield
Out: Josh Kelly (calf), Zac Langdon (ankle), Jeremy Finlayson (omitted), Jackson Hately (omitted)
Emergencies: Jackson Hately, Matt Flynn, Jeremy Finlayson, Jake Stein
