Where and when: GIANTS Stadium, Sunday July 5, 6.10pm AEST
Last time they met: You may remember that "snow game" in Canberra, with the temperature falling to just 2.5 degrees on a Friday night in the nation's capital. A few weeks out from the finals, a GIANTS side hit heavily by injury struggled to score, kicking just one goal after half-time to be well beaten by the Hawks, who scored 13 goals to win by 56 points. Toby Greene did his best and had help from Tim Taranto, Lachie Whitfield, Zac Williams and others, while Luke Breust, Mitchell Lewis, Paul Puopolo and Tim O’Brien kicked two goals apiece for the winners. It’s been a little while since GWS have toppled Hawthorn: they restricted the GIANTS to a low score in round eight last year, too.
TV and online: https://www.afl.com.au/broadcast-guide-premiership
What it means for the GIANTS: It’s a chance to string together two wins in a row, build on what was a tough win against Collingwood last weekend and start putting together some consistent form as this strange season starts to take some shape. It’s also an opportunity to find a way past an opponent that had the better of the GIANTS in both their 2019 clashes.
Where’s the opposition at? The Hawks are sitting fourth on the ladder, with three wins from their four games. They survived a late charge by North Melbourne last Sunday, squeaking home by four points after leading by 31 midway through the last quarter and needing a Jy Simpkin snap to hit the post in order to hold on. Chad Wingard kicked three goals in a lively game, Ben McEvoy did a great job in defence on Ben Brown and midfielders James Worpel and Tom Mitchell both won plenty of the ball.
The number: 89. That’s the number of games Jonny Patton played for the GIANTS after being drafted as the No. 1 draft pick at the end of 2011. Patton made his way to the Hawks last off-season, and played in the first three games of the season before missing the North match with a foot injury. Will this be his first chance to take on his old mates?
In the mix: Zac Williams is out with a hamstring injury and Isaac Cumming can’t take his place: he hurt his hamstring in a scratch match last weekend. Adam Kennedy could push to play, with the likes of Zac Langdon, Daniel Lloyd, Bobby Hill and Xavier O’Halloran pushing hard for a game. Phil Davis (hamstring) is set for a test; if he doesn’t get up, Lachie Keeffe, Connor Idun or Jake Stein could come into the mix.
In the spotlight: Nick Haynes has been almost impossible to pass in the backline all season, and together with his backline mates did a great job keeping a Collingwood forward line featuring Jordan De Goey, Jaidyn Stephenson and Brody Mihocek under control last week. Haynes’ courage in the air and intercept marking catch the eye most easily and he took seven uncontested grabs last week, breaking Collingwood’s possession chain 10 times for the game.
