The second of Saturday’s AFL Round 8 matches is between Hawthorn Hawks and Greater Western Sydney Giants. The game is set to commence at 2:10PM local time with the game to be played at Aurora Stadium. Home team Hawthorn Hawks go into the match as the favourites in the market. View our preview and teams for the game between Hawthorn Hawks and Greater Western Sydney Giants.
Round: Round 8 2:10 PM May 18, 2013
Stadium: Aurora Stadium
Weather: 14° Partly cloudy.
Featured Bookmakers:
Hawthorn Hawks $1.001 vs Greater Western Sydney Giant $41.00 at Sportsbet Australia get a $500 FREE BET on this match
Hawthorn Hawks $1.01 vs Greater Western Sydney Giant $34.00 at Luxbet Australia get a $500 FREE BET on this match
Odds Comparison by AFL Odds:
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| Hawthorn Hawks | 1.001 | 1.01 | 1.01 | 1.01 | 1.001 | 1.01 |
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Greater Western Sydney Giants
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41.00 | 21.00 | 34.00 | 21.00 | 41.00 | 40.00 |
Preview:
The second of Saturday’s game looks as lob-sided as the first.
Hawthorn continued on their winning way last week and registered their best win of the season in the process, when accounting for Sydney 119-82.
They were dominant from the start last week and displayed the form their capable off.
It was there sixth win of the season and followed wins over North Melbourne and Adelaide Crows.
GWS had their chance in round 4 when, against the Melbourne Demons, to register a win when they took an eleven point lead into the final quarter. The situation was so foreign to them however, that they literally didn’t appear to know what to do and lost by 41!
Since then they’ve been beaten by 44, 41 and were absolutely embarrassed last week by Adelaide who beat them by 135 points!
A similar result, if Hawthorn remains focused for the entire game, is on the cards here.
To make any bet worthwhile in this game, you have to take Hawthorn at the line, where they are 4-3 this season.
Teams:
Hawthorn Hawks:
B: Taylor Duryea, Brian Lake, Luke Hodge
HB: Shaun Burgoyne, Ben Stratton, Grant Birchall
C: Isaac Smith, Sam Mitchell, Bradley Hill
HF: Michael Osborne, Lance Franklin, Liam Shiels
F: David Hale, Jarryd Roughead, Luke Breust
Foll: Max Bailey, Brad Sewell, Jordan Lewis
Int: Matt Spangher, Jonathan Simpkin, Jack Gunston, Paul Puopolo
Emerg: Cheney, Guerra, Grimley
In: Spangher
Out: Gibson
Greater Western Sydney Giants:
B: Stephen Gilham, Joshua Bruce, Aidan Corr
HB: Adam Kennedy, Tim Mohr, Toby Greene
C: Lachie Whitfield, Callan Ward, Mark Whiley
HF: Tomas Bugg, Adam Tomlinson, Rhys Palmer
F: Taylor Adams, Jeremy Cameron, Devon Smith
Foll: Jonathan Giles, Tom Scully, Stephen Coniglio
Int: Dean Brogan, Anthony Miles, Tim Golds, Dylan Shiel
Emerg: Curtly Hampton, Kurt Aylett, Samuel Frost
In: Miles, Bugg, Golds, Whiley
Out: Reid, Treloar, Townsend, Williams
Hawks have set up their AFL season: Hodge
Surviving the toughest opening draw of any AFL club largely unscathed has toughened Hawthorn for the remainder of the season, according to skipper Luke Hodge.
After beginning their 2013 campaign with a loss to bogey team Geelong, the Hawks have overpowered the other six finalists from last year to sit third on the ladder.
And their last success, against Sydney – their conquerors in the 2012 grand final – has been perhaps the most satisfying win of all.
Hawthorn, who finished on top of the ladder last year, contemplate the prospect of banking victories against fledgling clubs Greater Western Sydney and Gold Coast and a hapless Melbourne side in the next three rounds.
Hodge said the side’s only regret was not sealing the opening match against the Cats.
“We let that round one slip,” Hodge said. “We were in a great situation to win it and it was disappointing to drop it.
“But we knew we had a big start to the season with the first seven rounds playing last year’s seven other finalists.
“We had a huge focus to get off to a good start and the footy that the boys have played, especially in the last two or three weeks, has been pretty good.”
Hodge said he expected a different set of challenges over the next three weeks.
“You come up against the two new franchise teams and you’ve got to expect that they’re going to develop,” he said.
“They’re going to play good footy at times and probably, as younger guys, they’re going to be a little bit inconsistent.
“We have to be prepared to just focus on what we can control, playing contested football, making sure we’re disciplined and still play the team-orientated football we’ve done so far.”
One of the queries over the Hawks has been about the form of star forward Lance Franklin who had been goalless the past two rounds before breaking his drought against Sydney.
“As a teammate, the confidence has always been there,” Hodge said.
“Even though he hadn’t kicked a goal in two weeks, he still had seven shots and still set up goals.
“If anything, it was good for him to kick a goal to get the media off his back.”
Hawthorn host GWS in Launceston on Saturday.