Last time they met

Round 20, 2018 - GWS Giants 23.13.151 defeated Carlton 7.4.46

A disaster from start to finish in a game that we were widely expected to lose.

The Giants were far too good for our young and inexperienced Blues.

Josh Kelly was superb with 41 possessions and 205 SC points

Harry McKay had a breakout game with 15 possessions, 8 marks and 3 goals

One of the low points of our season as GWS finished the game with 16 players on the field and still took the absolute piss out of us.

What I'm excited about

A chance to see our young midfielders match up against the elite Giants midfielders. Seems like yesterday the Giants were the newcomers to the competition and now they are really leading the charge and it goes to show what happens when you allow players to develop.

Sam Walsh and Josh Kelly matching up on each other. A great opportunity for Walshy to look into the future of his career and learn from a player who he shares similar traits with.

The response to yet another set of challenging circumstances - more experience to come out of the side and potentially shuffling the lineup to cover for the missing defenders.

Our forward line taking another step forward. They finally started clicking against the pies and it's time to continue improving

What I'm mindful of

Like most, if not all of you, I was shocked to see the GWS result against the Hawks. Returning home, I'm sure the Giants will be enduring a tough week on the training track and desperate to respond. This is just unfortunate timing for us and if we aren't careful, the game could get ugly.

The midfield class and running power of the Giants cannot be understated. When they are playing well, they look very silky like like Collingwood. Kelly and Coniglio especially are two that can give us major headaches.

This is not the right week to have a depleted backline with Jeremy Cameron and Toby Greene to be fired up. Both are prolific in their own way and if we aren't careful, they are capable of kicking 8 or more goals between them

Team selection

OUT - Tom Williamson | Lachie Plowman

IN - Nic Newman | Matthew Kennedy

I think we can manage with the current lineup by either moving McGovern or Jack to defense and bringing in another midfielder.

AFL / josh kelly

Round 9: Carlton V GWS Giants | Preview

Round 9: Carlton V GWS Giants | Preview

Round 9: Carlton V GWS Giants | Preview