Ben McEvoy
Ben McEvoy will be keen to exert himself on this match-up on Saturday night, with his likely opposition having managed little senior action in recent times. Dawson Simpson has played just nine AFL matches over the past two and a half years, the same period that McEvoy has played 58 games. Standing at 206cm and weighing 116kg, Simpson is certainly not an easy proposition but the more experienced McEvoy will be hoping he can give us midfielders first use at stoppages on Saturday night.
Jaeger O’Meara
Alongside his housemate Tom Mitchell, O’Meara is the Hawks’ next best clearance player as the side comes up against the second-best clearance club in the competition. The Hawks’ engine room will have to fire if they are to overcome the power of the Giants’ on-ballers. O’Meara is coming off a strong performance against his former side the Gold Coast Suns last week, gathering 24 disposals, 10 tackles and a goal. Hawks fans will be hoping he can emulate a similar performance this Saturday night.
Read: Giants clash 'like a final', says Jaeger
Jarryd Roughead
There is no side in the competition that Roughead averages more goals or more disposals against than GWS. Over his five encounters with the Giants, the Hawks captain has averaged 17.2 disposals and 3.2 goals per game. He also averages one Brownlow vote for each time he has met the Giants. Having kicked three goals over the past four weeks, Roughead would love to find some goalkicking form in this all-important game for his club.
Jonathon Patton
With Jeremy Cameron facing five weeks on the sidelines following his suspension earlier this week, Patton faces the enormous task of filling the void left by his talented teammate. Cameron leads the Giants’ goalkicking this year by an enormous margin, with his 35 goals leading first-year forward Zac Langdon (12 goals) and midfielder pair Ryan Griffen (12) and Stephen Coniglio (10). Patton has managed just nine goals over his 11 matches this season and simply must lift as the Giants search for different avenues towards goal.
Josh Kelly
Josh Kelly is one of the premiere midfielders of the competition. His return to the Giants’ line-up after a six-week lay-off due to a groin injury has coincided with his side winning their last three games. Over this time, the 23-year old has averaged 33.7 disposals, 6.3 marks, 4.7 tackles and 1.3 goals per game. The hard-running Kelly is almost impossible to completely nullify but the Hawks will want to remain cognisant of the influence of his possessions.
