The red-hot Giants host the Swans for a crucial encounter that promises to be another cracking Sydney Derby.

Match Details

• Who: GWS Giants vs Sydney Swans
• When: Saturday 5 August, 7.30pm AEST
• Where: Giants Stadium, Sydney
• Weather: min 12, max 20. 80% chance of rain, 0 to 15mm
• Click here to buy tickets
• All time head-to-head record: Played 25. Giants 10 wins. Swans 15 wins.

Teams

Giants

IN: Jesse Hogan, Tom Green

OUT: Aaron Cadman (omitted), Isaac Cumming (sub), Ryan Angwin (omitted)

Two big inclusions for the Giants with Green and Hogan returning to bolster the midfield and forward line respectively.

Swans

IN: Aaron Francis, Tom Hickey

OUT: Dane Rampe (injured), Justin McInerney (injured), Lance Franklin (injured)

Sydney begins the post-Franklin era this weekend after the superstar injured his calf and announced his immediate retirement. The Swans remarkably picked up two more calf injuries last round with Rampe and McInerney both out. Hickey comes in as the number one ruckman while Francis will likely play down back.

Click here to see the complete team line-ups.

Season so far

GWS 6^th – 102.4% | 1581 points for | 1544 points against| 11 wins & 8 losses | WWWWW

After a slowish start to the season, the Giants are one of the form teams in the competition with seven wins on the trot.

From sitting in the bottom four after round 10, the Giants have won 8 of their last 9 and have put themselves in a strong position to play finals.

Their wins haven’t just come against struggling teams either, claiming big scalps including the Cats in Geelong, the Crows in Adelaide, Melbourne in Alice Springs and the Bulldogs in Ballarat.

With arguably the best forward (Toby Greene) and best defender (Sam Taylor), the Giants have plenty of talent to match it with the best and they also have a host of role players contributing every week.

A win would keep GWS’ top four chances alive and all but end Sydney’s finals chances, so you know the Giants will get themselves up for this.

Swans 10^th – 111.2% | 1710 points for | 1538 points against | 9 wins, 9 losses & 1 draw | WWWLD

The Swans have looked down and out a few times this year, but have kept themselves in the increasingly close race for finals with three straight wins.

Two of those wins were by just two points, including last weekend’s nail biter against the Bombers where Sydney managed to just hold on despite losing the inside 50 count 69-47.

The Swans have started to play some really good footy in patches lately, but they’ve struggled to put four good quarters together consistently.

It’s been an emotional week for the club given Franklin’s retirement and they would love nothing more than to claim a crucial win over their rivals.

Key players

GWS – Sam Taylor

Taylor is probably leading the conversation as the best key defender in the AFL right now and has the potential to control the defensive 50 in this game.

The 24-year-old earned his first All Australian selection last year and despite missing some games, he deserves to feature again this year as he continues to dominate opposition forwards.

The Bulldogs found it almost impossible to get past him last week, with Taylor finishing with a game-high 15 intercept possessions.

He normally gets the Buddy Franklin match up but will likely now go to Joel Amartey or Logan McDonald.

Sydney – Errol Gulden

Gulden had a terrific first two years for the Swans but has taken his game to the next level in year three and is right in the All Australian mix for 2023.

The 21-year-old is coming off a stellar performance against the Bombers, finishing with 37 touches, 6 clearances, 2 goal assists and a brilliant goal.

He’s at his best when he gets forward and hits the scoreboard, so with GWS such a good defensive side, Sydney are going to need Gulden to be at his attacking best.

Last 5 meetings and Giants Stadium history

• 2023 round 7: Swans 16.10 (106) defeated by Giants 17.5 (107) at SCG
• 2022 round 20: Swans 17.10 (112) defeat Giants 5.9 (39) at SCG
• 2022 round 1: Giants 13.14 (92) lost to Swans 17.10 (112) at Accor Stadium
• Elimination Final 2021: Swans 10.13 (73) lost to Giants 11.8 (74) at UTAS Stadium
• 2021 round 8: Giants 11.6 (72) lost to Swans 15.8 (98) at Metricon Stadium

The Swans have won three of their past five matches against GWS, but it was the Giants that snatched a thrilling one-point win in their first clash this season.

Trailing by 20 points in the last quarter, the Giants mounted a late comeback and who else but Toby Greene delivered the match winning goal in the dying stages.

These two sides have played seven times since their last meeting at Giants Stadium, back in round 20 2019, which GWS won by two points.

Overall, they have met six times at the venue with both sides winning 3 matches each.

Pre-match predictions

Double trouble: The two Toby’s (Greene and Bedford) to combine for six goals. Giants by 14.

Buddy big foots to fill: Joel Amartey to establish himself as Sydney’s new number one key forward with 3 goals.

Have any pre-match predictions of your own? Let us know in the comments below.