As the GIANTS prepare to take on Collingwood at the MCG on Saturday afternoon, we take a look at the stats that matter ahead of the clash.

With the two sides having already met each other once in 2018 - with the GIANTS’ big winners in a JLT Community Series clash at UNSW Canberra - they will be quite familiar with each other’s game styles.

The game looks to be won by whichever side can gain the ascendancy in clearances, contested possession and forward half turn-overs.

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In 2017, Collingwood were ranked first in the AFL for contested possession differential, winning 7.7 more contested possession than their opponents per game, compared to the Giants +5.3 (3rd). 

When it came to the clearance differential, the GIANTS were No.1, winning 7.1 more clearances than their opponents per game, while the Pies were second with +2.6. 

While these stats suggest both sides were pretty similar in these facets of the game in 2017,  what they did with these clearances and contest ball is largely different.

The GIANTS used the clearance and contested football differential to their advantage, averaging 34.3pts per game (5th) and the Pies 31.3pts (10th). 

Last week Collingwood destroyed the Hawks in the clearances, recording 7 more but could only kick three behinds from this dominance.

Conversely the GIANTS lost clearances by 8 to the Western Bulldogs but still managed to outscore the Dogs and scored 38pts from clearances.

The GIANTS had a big win in contested ball in round one (+20) against a team that prides itself on that aspect of the game.

It will be interesting to see how the likes of Stephen Coniglio, Callan Ward, Dylan Shiel, Josh Kelly and Tim Taranto go against Collingwood’s main contested ball winners in Adam Treloar, Taylor Adams and Scott Pendlebury, who all averaged 11 contested possessions in 2017.

The big area that Collingwood have improved on from 2017 is their ability to generate turnovers in the forward half of the ground.

Players like Travis Varcoe and Will Hoskin-Elliott add a solid pressuring element to their game. Last week against the Hawks they generated 34 turnovers (averaged 25 in 2017) and kicked 45 points from these. 

The GIANTS also had a lot of success last weekend with putting the opposition backs under pressure, generating 31 forward half turnovers for 44 points. 

The GIANTS forwards will be licking their lips after watching the Hawks torment the Magpies backline last weekend with unrelenting pressure. Hawthorn generated 29 forward half turnovers for a whopping 53 points.