From today's AgeMichael Gleeson
18 September 2017Deledio will no doubt play back again. He looked better there and it released Williams to play as a mid-forward. That had as big an effect as anything in the improved Giants ball movement and forward set-up.
Williams, like Deledio, has pace but Williams has a dancer's feet. Deledio, while fast, is a straight-line runner. He can run a diagonal but not with the light craftiness of Williams.
Ideally, this Saturday you want to see Deledio on Dustin Martin one out in the goal square at the Punt Road end, competing in front of a vocal yellow and black army. It's doubtful that will happen.
While Martin would be too strong for Deledio, the Giants would in any event not want Deledio deep in defence. When he plays behind the ball he plays high half-back, while Martin, when he is forward, tends to play deep in attack.
With Deledio, Leon Cameron, Wayne Campbell (football manager) and Craig Cameron (list manager), the Giants have a solid quartet of former Tigers for whom this match will carry extra sentiment.
The Giants lost last year's preliminary final against the Bulldogs in what was a confrontingly hostile home environment. And that was the Bulldogs at Spotless Stadium! Quite how they will then cope with a frothing 80 to 90,000 at the MCG is anyone's idea.
The Giants will hope the crowd creates a perverse pressure on Richmond, that it lifts the expectation. It is a thin hope.
For all the Giants' draft picks, this Richmond side has three star players superior in talent to anything the Giants have on this year's form. The Giants do not have an equal for Martin, Alex Rance or Trent Cotchin.
Equally, the Giants then have probably six or eight players – Josh Kelly, Toby Greene, Tom Scully, Jonathon Patton, Stephen Coniglio, Dylan Shiel, Lachie Whitfield – of arguably superior quality to Richmond's next-best bracket.
The query is whether the Giants have the depth in their midfield to better the greater quality of the Tiger stars. Deledio can make the introductions for them.
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Stevie Johnson can't be dropped now. Of course, when you kick six goals, and four in a quarter, that is not a big statement.
Whether his creaking, aching knees recover enough for him to back up for Saturday's prelim, something that has been a week-to-week question all year, is the only thing stopping him being picked now.
True, Johnson didn't kick his first goal until the Giants were seven goals up on Saturday but he was disruptive early on and he made the reconfigured Giants forward line more creative.
The Giants were too tall against the Crows and looked far better on Saturday for the forced changes injuries demanded. Rory Lobb played as a genuine ruckman and looked good where Shane Mumford was sore and immobile. Cameron would have played if fit and so Harry Himmelberg would have missed.
The Giants' forward line looked better when firstly they were able to move the ball with pace in the midfield, but then not bomb it long and dumb as they did early on and let Jeremy McGovern mark it. Once the ball started turning over in midfield and coming in fast and varied to the forwards McGovern – who has great hands but is not quick – didn't have time to get back or to get across to contests.
With Johnson, Patton and Greene as genuine targets they had choices, but they also had Zac Williams pressing forward with Deledio playing in defence. Wiliams gave them more speed and pressure but generally the Giants mindset seemed to shift to play with more urgency to defend in their forward line.
Ordinarily you would expect David Astbury to go to Jonathon Patton this week and Rance to play on the young Himmelberg.
The Tigers are rare in that they have a player in Dylan Grimes who is the ideal match up for Toby Greene. Grimes is quick enough for Greene but is taller and good overhead.
http://www.theage.com.au/afl/afl-news/4-points-time-for-extiger-to-lift-the-lid-for-giants-20170917-gyjavr.html
