The GIANTS face an important test in their first away trip for the season, as they travel to Melbourne to take on the Demons.
AFLW – Round Two
Demons v GIANTS
Sunday, August 23 at 2:35pm
Casey Fields | Melbourne, Wurundjeri/Boon Wurrung
What It Means for the GIANTS
Starting their season with a win over the Eagles at ENGIE Stadium, the GIANTS stunned the competition in a showcase of their development and work rate over the last six months.
Taking the four points over last season’s finalists shapes as a marquee moment to set the standard for the year, with GIANT expectations on what the team can achieve in the remaining eleven matches.
In their first away match of the 2026 NAB AFLW Season, the GIANTS face off with perennial contenders the Melbourne Demons, a game that presents an opportunity to continue their momentum and put down a marker to the rest of the league.
The Demons, who have missed finals just once throughout their ten-season history present as a yardstick for the GIANTS to continue testing their new work rate and efficiency against one of the best ball-usage teams in the game.
The Opposition
A handball-heavy team that makes end-to-end movement look easy, the Demons 2026 campaign got off to a winning start last week against the Hawks, with the Dees defeating Hawthorn by 19-points.
Missing last year’s grand final by just 10-points, the Demons have set the standard of excellence in the AFLW for almost decade and have produced some of the game’s biggest stars including AFL Hall of Fame inductee Daisy Pearce.
In a new era, following the departure of their inaugural coach Mick Stinear, Melbourne looked to continue their ongoing trajectory with trademark fast hands out of contest and efficiency in the air and inside 50.
Captained again by Kate Hore, one of the most decorated players in the league and a deadly asset to their forward line, the Demons appear to be sticking with the game plan under new head coach Tom Wilson, focusing on their transition game and punishing teams with ruthless efficiency inside their attacking arc.
Recent History
Last going head-to-head back in 2024, the Demons hold a six-one record over the GIANTS, though the orange and charcoal have the longstanding ace of enjoying their first win as a club over the Demons.
Melbourne ran out 16-point winners on the day, where Hore - 27 disposals, 18 contested possessions, 12 clearances – proved the difference for the visitors.
The match also marks the first time the GIANTS will have played at the Demons home ground since 2022, with Melbourne returning half of their home matches to the club’s training facility last season.
Melbourne boasts one of the competitions most prominent home ground advantages, with the Demons boasting an 82.35 percent win record at the venue, as travelling teams struggle to adapt to swirling and unpredictable wind conditions.
Key Match Up: Disarming Austin’s Power
Coming off a mammoth four-goal haul against the Hawks, new Demons forward Mia Austin shapes as a damaging prospect the GIANTS will need to nullify early.
Traded in from the Blues at the end of the 2025 season, Austin’s debut performance for the Demons sent her straight to the top of the stats leaderboard and showed that she is an important consideration for opposing backlines.
Coming off her own debut win, GIANTS’ recruit Poppy Boltz shapes as a potential antagonist to Austin.
Boltz was clinical in defence against the Eagles, helping to diminish the travellers efficiency inside 50 and impacting their aerial route to goal with a strong performance in her one-on-one battles.
Highlighted by a goal saving smother in the first quarter that set the tone in pressure for the rest of the match, Boltz presents as an important addition to the GIANTS key defender stocks with an ability to match-up on tall forwards like Austin while also providing rebounding skills from turnover.
GIANTS Player to Watch: Bec Beeson
Coming off a career-high three goal performance in round one and playing in her milestone 75th AFLW game against the Demons, the GIANTS captain looks just as dangerous in her eleventh AFLW season as she did in her first.
The last standing player from the GIANTS inaugural season of 2017, Beeson was the beneficiary of great ruckwork by debutant Yasmeen Janschek, notching 18 possessions and running more than 400 metres out of contest to accompany her majors.
Beeson has gone from strength to strength since taking over the captaincy from teammate Alicia Eva in 2024, delivering her best two seasons to date over the past two years.
With Alyce Parker back in the centre and overloading on the contested work, Beeson was freed to be the second set of hands out of stoppage and drive the GIANTS forward with strong ground ball work and an insatiable rate of effort.
Beeson will be looking to back up her performance with another strong showing in her milestone match, as just the third GIANT behind Eva and recently retired Katherine Smith to reach the mark and the first to play each of those games in orange and charcoal.
Team Selection:
The GIANTS will name their squad on Thursday at 6:20pm and final team on Friday at 5:00pm at gwsgiants.com.au.
Rehab Report:
Get a full injury update ahead Sunday’s match here.
